UPCAT Reading Comprehension practice question 12: The mother's remark that "It took me eleven minutes" most strongly implies that she
Correct answer
C. once had a similar conversation with her own mother and already understands Delia's position
She says she told her own mother the same thing and was allowed to finish, then invites Delia to speak without interruption. The detail signals recognition, not reproach.
The Last Bus
Delia had rehearsed the sentence for three weeks. She would say it at the terminal, where the noise would carry half of it away and her mother would have to lean in, and leaning in would soften whatever came next.
But her mother arrived early, and she arrived with food. Two plastic bags of it, still warm, arranged in the order Delia would want to eat them. She set them on the bench and did not sit down.
"Manila is not far," her mother said, before Delia had opened her mouth. "Four hours. Less, if the road is clear."
Delia looked at the bags. Someone had woken at three in the morning to make what was inside them.
"I was going to explain," she said.
"I know what you were going to say." Her mother finally sat, smoothing her skirt with both hands, the way she did before difficult conversations at church. "I said the same thing to my mother. She let me finish. It took me eleven minutes." She looked up. "Go on, then. I will not interrupt."
And Delia, who had rehearsed for three weeks, found she could not remember the first line.
The question
The mother's remark that "It took me eleven minutes" most strongly implies that she
- Option A: is warning Delia not to take too long
- Option B: has been timing how long Delia has kept her waiting
- Option C: once had a similar conversation with her own mother and already understands Delia's positionCorrect
- Option D: doubts that Delia has thought the decision through
Why C is correct
She says she told her own mother the same thing and was allowed to finish, then invites Delia to speak without interruption. The detail signals recognition, not reproach.