As I went farther and farther north and it got colder I was aware of more and more advertising for Florida real estate and, with the approach of the long and bitter winter, I could see why Florida is a golden word. As I went along I found that more and more people lusted toward Florida and that thousands had moved there and more thousands wanted to and would. The advertising, with a side look at Federal Communications, made few claims except for the fact that the land they were selling was in Florida. Some of them went out on a limb and promised that it was above tide level. But that didn’t matter; the very name Florida carried the message of warmth and ease and comfort. It was irresistible.
I’ve lived in good climate, and it bores the hell out of me. I like weather rather than climate. In Cuernavaca, Mexico, where I once lived, and where the climate is as near to perfect as is conceivable, I have found that when people leave there they usually go to Alaska. I’d like to see how long an Aroostook County man can stand Florida.
The trouble is that with his savings moved and invested there, he can’t very well go back. His dice are rolled and can’t be picked up again. But I do wonder if a down-Easter, sitting on a nylon-and-aluminum chair out on a changelessly green lawn slapping mosquitoes in the evening of a Florida October—I do wonder if the stab of memory doesn’t strike him high in the stomach just below the ribs where it hurts.
Part A
What conclusion does Steinbeck draw on his own from the ads he hears while traveling in northern New England?
He thinks Florida is a desirable place to live.
He thinks many locals are interested in moving to Florida.
He wishes he could spend winters in Florida.
He prefers to live in a place such as Alaska.
Part B
Which sentence or phrase from the passage supports your answer?
“ . . . with the approach of the long and bitter winter, I could see why Florida is a golden word.”
“I like weather rather than climate.”
“As I went farther and farther north and it got colder I was aware of more and more advertising for Florida real estate . . . .”
“. . . I do wonder if the stab of memory doesn’t strike him high in the stomach just below the ribs where it hurts.”
