Read the passage given below and answer the question that follow:
Miss Polly Harrington entered her kitchen a little hurriedly this June morning. Miss Polly did not usually make hurried movements; she specially prided herself on her manner of repose. But today she was hurrying-actually hurrying.
Nancy, washing dishes at the sink, looked up in surprise. Nancy had been working in Miss Polly's kitchen only two months, but she already knew that her mistress did not usually hurry. 'Nancy!'
'Yes' ma'am,' Nancy answered cheerfully, but she still continued wiping the pitcher in her hand.
'Nancy', Miss Polly's voice was very stern now 'when I'm talking to you, I wish you to stop your work and listen to what I have to say.
Nancy flushed miserably. She set the pitcher down at once, with the cloth still about it,
thereby nearly tipping it over-which did not add to her composure.
'Yes, ma'am; I will, ma'am,' she stammered, righting the pitcher, and turning hastily. 'I was only keeping on with my work cause you specially told me this morning to hurry with my dishes, ye know.'
Her mistress frowned.
'That will do, Nancy, I did not ask for explanations. I asked for your attention'.
'Yes, ma'am,' Nancy stifled a sigh. She was wondering if ever in any way she could please this woman. Nancy had never 'worked out' before; but a sick mother suddenly widowed and left with three younger children besides. Nancy herself, had forced the girl into doing something towards their support, and she had been so pleased when she found a place in the kitchen of the great house on the hill-Nancy had come from "The Corners', six miles away, and she knew Miss Polly Harrington only as the mistress of the old Harrington homestead, and one of the wealthiest residents of the town. That was two months before. She knew Miss Polly now as a stern, severe-faced woman who frowned if a knife clattered to the floor, or if a door banged-but who never thought to smile even when knives and doors were still.
'When you've finished your morning work, Nancy, Miss Polly was saying now, 'you may clear the little room at the head of the stairs in the attic, and make up the cot bed. Sweep the room and clean it, of course, after you clear out the trunks and boxes'.
From Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter
Why was Miss Polly's voice stern?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Because she thought Nancy was not paying attention to her
Nancy answered "Yes, ma'am" but went on wiping the pitcher. Miss Polly's voice became stern as she said, "when I'm talking to you, I wish you to stop your work and listen", and later, "I asked for your attention." She was annoyed because Nancy did not seem to be giving her full attention.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Because she found Nancy too cheerful for no reason — Incorrect. Wrong reason: Nancy did answer cheerfully, but Miss Polly's complaint is about her carrying on with her work, not about her mood.
Option 3: Because she was always in a hurry and Nancy wasn't — Incorrect. Contradicted: Miss Polly did not usually hurry; her haste that morning was unusual.
Option 4: Because she thought Nancy was ill mannered — Incorrect. Contradicted: Nancy was polite throughout ("Yes, ma'am; I will, ma'am"); Miss Polly objected to her lack of attention, not to rudeness.