YEVGRAF IVANOVITCH SHIRYAEV, a small farmer, whose father, a parish priest, now deceased, had received a gift of three hundred acres of land from Madame Kuvshinikov, a general’s widow, was standing in a corner before a copper washing-stand, washing his hands. As usual, his face looked anxious and ill-humoured, and his beard was uncombed.
“What weather!” he said. “It is not laid upon us. It’s raining again!”
He grumbled on, while his family sat waiting at table for him to have finished washing his hands before beginning dinner. Fedosya Semyonova, his wife, his son Pyotr, a student, his eldest daughter Varvaram and three small boys, has been sitting waiting a long time. The boys – Kolka, Vanka and Arhipka – grubby, snub-nosed little fellows with chubby faces and tousled hair that wanted cutting, moved their chairs impatiently, while their elders sat without stirring and apparently did not care whether they ate their dinner or waited…
From the passage, what was the weather like when the incident took place?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → It was raining again
As he washes his hands, Yevgraf grumbles, "What weather! ... It's raining again!" The word "again" shows that it had rained before as well, and his bad temper about the weather is the first thing the passage shows of his character. So on the day of the incident it was raining.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: It was a bright and sunny day — Incorrect. Contradicted: Yevgraf complains that it is raining; a bright, sunny day would give him nothing to grumble about.
Option 3: It was snowing heavily — Incorrect. Contradicted: the passage speaks of rain, not snow.
Option 4: A dust storm was blowing — Incorrect. Not mentioned: a dust storm is a strong wind carrying clouds of dust over dry land; it is the opposite of wet, rainy weather, and the passage does not mention one.