1. Which sentence would provide good textual evidence that the leader of the dancing traders was indeed clever?
Answer: D. At the same time he observed that these last had placed their weapons on the ground, in the assurance of having thoroughly cowed the traders.
Explanation: The leader of the dancing traders proved to be clever because he was the one who noticed that the robbers already placed their weapons on the ground. So, this means that they already have the chance to fight back since there were only three robbers and 10 of them. From there, he used their secret language of trading in order to fool the robbers and hold them down.
2. Which character in this story comes the closest to being a "complex character"?
Answer: C. the merchant who leads the dance.
Explanation: A complex character refers to a dynamic character in the story. This allows the readers to see a variety of his sides, which may come at a surprise when events unfold. For example, the merchant who led the dance showed his complex side by remembering the secret language that they used in trading and by using this in their song while dancing in order to fool the robbers.
3. Which is the best statement of the theme of this passage?
Answer: D. When everyone else gives up, a clever person can come up with a solution.
Explanation: The story shows that despite how big the number of merchants were (10 of them), they were defeated by the three notorious robbers. It seemed like everyone almost gave up until a clever one (who was more observant) came up with a solution. This means that in a group of people, there will always be a clever one who can solve the problem or provide a solution. So, I believe the theme of the story centers on this.