How much time has passed since the end of Act 3 of the crucible? *

since it is asking for her reaction to elnora's trouble at school you can rule out any answers with a positive response (b). then you can rule out (d), this is because it does not show the mother's reaction but the daughter's response. that leaves you with two options (a) and (c), by looking at the options you can rule out (c) because it isn't referring back to elnora's issues at school.

your answer would be: d) eye contact

b is the answer.   i sat on the lumpy sofa, totally exhausted, with a bad taste in my mouth, wondering what i should do next.  

i’m alive so yes and the author is a technique idiom