Read "The Undertow" ("The Undertow”, from Illuminate) and then answer the question that follows.
The Undertow
Anna lived in the outer banks of North Carolina in a small, clapboard house with her family. She truly loved living there. At 16, Anna was a smart and shy young woman. She preferred simple walks along the beach by herself to the complicated parties that her peers enjoyed. In fact, her ideal day included hours of swimming, jogging, collecting shells, and sunbathing on the beach all by herself.
Having lived by the ocean since she was a small girl of four, Anna was quite familiar with the dangers and joys associated with living so close to the ocean. She knew how to swim quite well, and, more importantly, she knew when to stay out of the water. Her parents exposed her constantly to the sea to familiarize her with it. They even showed her, from the safety of their living room television, what an intense hurricane was capable of doing. She also knew, from her countless trips to the seaside to collect shells, that the tide was strong, and the undertow was tricky. The ocean was a living, breathing beast that was not to be trusted or underestimated.
In fact, Anna was confident in her knowledge of the ocean and was, therefore, angry when her little brother, Gerard, would constantly say that her fears of the ocean were exaggerated. They would battle day after day over the topic, never reaching a compromise. One Saturday morning, though, their argument ended. Although they would both end the day safe and sound on their living room couch watching television, Anna's ocean knowledge and Gerard's naiveté were both tested that morning.
Anna set off from their house early that day to collect purple shells to complete a collage she was constructing. Gerard tagged along behind her, struggling to carry his boogie board in his small, six-year-old arms. Anna and Gerard reached the seaside and Anna cautiously walked into the shallow waves of the ocean to check for the undertow, like a mother duck that checks the water before letting her ducklings swim. After several minutes, she realized that there was, in fact, a strong undertow that morning.
Anna told Gerard to stay in the very shallow water to avoid the danger of the undertow. Gerard agreed. However, Gerard secretly had other ideas and refused to let his sister restrict him. As soon as Anna turned her back to explore the beach several yards away from him, Gerard paddled his boogie board into the waves. Anna squatted down, scanning a dense patch of shells. Because she was so engrossed in what she was doing, she missed seeing Gerard swim out too far. She did not see him get tossed underwater by a majorly harsh wave.
When Gerard surfaced, he knew the undertow had pulled him out further than was safe for him, and he began to panic. He called for his sister, but she could not hear him. He had no way of knowing when she would turn to look for him. He quickly let his boogie board go and tried to paddle for the shore. He felt the undertow pulling him sideways, though, when he wanted to go forward, and panic gripped his young heart. The undertow was like a string pulling him, and he was as useless as a wooden puppet to stop it. The impact of his stubborn refusal to listen to his sister was becoming more and more clear to him as the shoreline looked further and further away. His false confidence left him, and terror seized him.
Finally, when he was beginning to lose hope, Anna stood up and turned her gaze toward the ocean. With a panicked scream, Anna threw her shells to the ground and ran for the water. She carefully, but swiftly, paddled out to where Gerard was struggling. Thankfully, Anna's ocean knowledge along with her patience and confidence won the war against the undertow. Because of her strong swimming skills, both Anna and Gerard made it to shore safely.
After a tumultuous fight with the ocean, both Anna and Gerard finished the day with a healthy respect for its power. Gerard finally understood, and they never had another fight about the ocean.
Question: What evidence in the text most effectively supports the inference that Gerard overestimated his readiness for ocean swimming?
(1 point)
Responses
His false confidence left him, and terror seized him.
His false confidence left him, and terror seized him.
Gerard tagged along behind her, struggling to carry his boogie board in his small, six-year-old arms.
Gerard tagged along behind her, struggling to carry his boogie board in his small, six-year-old arms.
He quickly let his boogie board go and tried to paddle for the shore.
He quickly let his boogie board go and tried to paddle for the shore.
With a panicked scream, Anna threw her shells to the ground and ran for the water.
With a panicked scream, Anna threw her shells to the ground and ran for the water.
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