|Question 5Verbal

Source Texts

Text
The following text is adapted from Anthony Trollope's 1855 novel The Warden. The narrator is describing a rectory, the residence of a clergyperson.

Let us observe the well-furnished breakfast-parlour at Plumstead Episcopi, and the comfortable air of all the belongings of the rectory. Comfortable they certainly were, but neither gorgeous nor even grand; indeed, considering the money that had been spent there, the eye and taste might have been better served; there was an air of heaviness about the rooms which might have been avoided without any sacrifice of propriety; colours might have been better chosen and lights more perfectly diffused; but perhaps in doing so the thorough clerical aspect of the whole might have been somewhat marred.
Which choice best states the function of the underlined portion in the text as a whole?
It offers a potential explanation for the furnishing choices the narrator critiques.
A
It emphasizes that the narrator finds it inappropriate for a clergyperson to have such grand furnishings.
B
It signals how the inexpensive-looking ornaments in the rectory could be enhanced.
C
It concedes that there is a lack of attention to the impression the rectory makes on people.
D