Passage Analysis: Understanding the Author's Fear

The passage describes an experience where the author is trying to sleep in bed. After extinguishing the light, the author finds it impossible to sleep because of fear. This fear directly leads to the author sitting up in bed and peering into the darkness.

The text explicitly states: "I lay still trying to get to sleep but my fear made that impossible and soon I sat up in bed peering into the darkness..." This sentence clearly links the author's fear to the action of sitting up and peering.

Evaluating the Given Options

Let's examine each option in relation to the passage:

• Option 1: he had put out the light.

  The author did put out the light, but this action occurred before the fear prevented sleep. Putting out the light was a prerequisite to trying to sleep, not the reason for sitting up and peering due to fear.

• Option 2: he wished to see the window.

  While the author does glance at the round window ("occasionally glancing at the round window"), the passage indicates that the inability to sleep due to fear is the reason they sat up. Looking at the window was something done while sitting up, not the cause of sitting up.

• Option 3: the window had looked like a plate

  The comparison of the window to a plate is a descriptive detail about the author's surroundings. It does not explain why the author sat up in bed peering into the darkness.

• Option 4: he was afraid.

  This option directly aligns with the passage's explanation. The text explicitly mentions, "...my fear made that impossible and soon I sat up in bed peering into the darkness...". Therefore, the author's fear is the cause for sitting up and peering.

Based on the direct textual evidence, the author sat peering into the darkness because they were afraid.