Taka  +  76259 Thu, 24 Feb 05 10:48 AM Phra was too ( ) to bring it out at first. How could he sell a piece of glass as a diamond? He had always been honest in his business. But Lao was really beginning to irritate him, because no matter what Phra showed him, Lao didn't want it. And Phra could tell that lao didn't know anything about diamonds anyway, so he finally brought out the glass pendant that was made to look like a diamond and said, "Here is a diamond that you might like. I might be able to let you have it cheap. 1. tired 2. afraid 3. ashamed 4. uninterested The answer is #3, but doesn't #2 work as well? Taka Joined on Tue, Sep 7 2004 Japan Senior Member 2,625

	pieanne  +  76261 Thu, 24 Feb 05 11:05 AM Hello! I think it depends on the context where this story takes place... We don't know either what happened before, nor the relationship beween the 2 characters... I find it very hard to choose! It might be "afraid" because he had never done such a thing, and he dared not bring out the pendant. On the other hand, he might also feel "ashamed" in advance, because he already knows he's going to do something bad? pieanne Joined on Thu, Jan 20 2005 South of France ...But I'm Belgian! Veteran Member 7,517 I'm glad to help, but I'm not a native! And please excuse my typos...

	Taka  +  76262 Thu, 24 Feb 05 11:21 AM Phra= a man who bought and sold jewls for a living. Very honest in his job and everyone knew that they could trust him. Lao= sent by the emperor of China to buy diamonds for a crown that the emperor was having made. Since Phra was the most prominent jewler in town, Lao had come to him first. Other than that, no explicit context specified. Taka

	pieanne  +  76305 Thu, 24 Feb 05 03:24 PM Yes, now I can see he was very much "ashamed" of what he was contemplating to do... But I think he could also be "afraid" for fear someone might catch him? pieanne

	MrPedantic  +  76316 Thu, 24 Feb 05 04:04 PM Hello Taka and Pieanne I think if the quote stopped here: 'Phra was too ( ) to bring it out at first. How could he sell a piece of glass as a diamond?' we could choose 'afraid', because the 2nd sentence would then mean: 'how could he take the dangerous step of selling a piece of glass etc? (Someone might catch him...)' But once we add: 'He had always been honest in his business', we need an adjective that looks forward to 'honest', as otherwise there's a 'non sequitur': 1. ?He was afraid>he dared not>he was honest. (Honesty doesn't preclude fear.) 'Ashamed', on the other hand, is the emotion of an honest man who is about to be dishonest: 2. He was ashamed>he could not>he was honest. Only my interpretation, though! MrP MrPedantic Joined on Tue, Oct 12 2004 Veteran Member 12,592 ...opella forensis / adducit febris...

	pieanne  +  76319 Thu, 24 Feb 05 04:10 PM Is it an exercise of vocabulary or moral? Could you tell us, Taka? pieanne

	Taka  +  76323 Thu, 24 Feb 05 04:27 PM 2. He was ashamed>he could not>he was honest. Yes. I know that's the usual logic. I just wondered--out of curiosity--if 'afraid' could work as an alternative. Taka

	Taka  +  76324 Thu, 24 Feb 05 04:29 PM s it an exercise of vocabulary or moral? Could you tell us, Taka? Supposed to be both a vocabulary and a reading question. At least, not a moral question, I think. Taka Vocabulary

	MrPedantic  +  76375 Thu, 24 Feb 05 11:26 PM Hello Taka 'Afraid' would work with a small change: 'Phra was too afraid to bring it out at first. How could he sell a piece of glass as a diamond? And he had always been honest in his business...' – thus making 'fear of being caught' the first consideration, and 'lapsed honesty' the second. On the other hand, if the writer of the passage were a mildly adventurous novelist who had accustomed his reader to elisions of emotional logic, there would be no reason why we shouldn't find: 'Phra was too afraid to bring it out at first. How could he sell a piece of glass as a diamond? He had always been honest in his business.' In an exercise, I would say 'ashamed'; but in a piece of fiction, 'afraid' would no doubt be fine. MrP MrPedantic