A student reads the following extract from an autobiography about growing up in rural Vietnam:

'Grandmother's kitchen was a universe unto itself. Every jar held secrets — dried plums wrapped in salt, fermenting fish sauce that had outlived three generations of our family, rice paper so thin you could read through it.'

The phrase 'a universe unto itself' suggests that the kitchen was:

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Question

A student reads the following extract from an autobiography about growing up in rural Vietnam:

'Grandmother's kitchen was a universe unto itself. Every jar held secrets — dried plums wrapped in salt, fermenting fish sauce that had outlived three generations of our family, rice paper so thin you could read through it.'

The phrase 'a universe unto itself' suggests that the kitchen was:

Accepted Answer

A complete, self-contained world of significance — Award 1 mark for understanding that the metaphor suggests the kitchen was a rich, self-contained world of meaning and importance. A is incorrect — the metaphor refers to significance, not physical size. B is incorrect — isolation is not implied. D is literal interpretation of a figurative phrase.

Answer

Extremely large and spacious

Answer

Isolated from the rest of the house

Answer

Decorated with pictures of stars and planets

Answer

A complete, self-contained world of significance

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