Read the passage below from “Pinball: Where Science Meets Fun.” We’re talking pirate ships that sink, small basketballs you shoot, miniature people, buildings, and vehicles; exploding castles, ringing phones, moving trains, gumball machines that spit out pinballs, trolls that pop up out of nowhere, even balls that magically levitate!
Which words best infer the tone of the passage above?

spit out pinballs
small basketball
ringing phones
magically levitate

How does the narrator’s knowledge of his postapocalyptic world in "by the waters of babylon” affect his reactions to the different settings? it motivates him to make up stories about the world and the places he explores. it has caused him to fear the settings outside the hill country, so he tries to avoid them. it forces him to reject what he sees and experiences himself at various locations in the story. it makes him cautious about new settings yet open-minded and critical of what he experiences.

What distinguishes the dialogue of this excerpt most clearly as a work of the postmodern era?

Which inference can a reader make based on the information in the excerpt?