Read the excerpt from the chapter “Laughter” from The House on Mango Street.

Nenny and I don’t look like sisters…not right away. Not the way you can tell with Rachel and Lucy who have the same fat popsicle lips like everybody else in their family. But me and Nenny, we are more alike than you would know. Our laughter for example. Not the shy ice cream bells’ giggle of Rachel and Lucy’s family, but all of a sudden and surprised like a pile of dishes breaking.
What is the meaning of “surprised like a pile of dishes breaking”?

It suggests that they laugh continuously.
The girls’ laughter is loud and startling.
Their laughter comes in short, interrupted bursts.
It implies that their laughter is unappealing.

First of all the meaning. If you have ever dropped a pile of dishes while working in a cafe, you know exactly what it means. It is loud, much louder than the chaos of the noise created by those in the cafe. It startles everyone in there. So it really is a surprise.

It is a bit unappealing, but that is not the fault of the question. It was intended to be unappealing. The answer is not exactly correct. The problem is the figure of speech. You have to try something else. Not D.

Go back to what happened. The noise of dishes dropping is not short. That's the true part of the figure of speech. So don't choose C.

It's not A either. Same reason its not C.

The only answer you can choose is B