Fear

Meryl Turner, an eighth grader at Ashmore Middle School, was furious when her mother, Sandra, enrolled her for swimming classes without her permission.
She shrieked, "Mom, why would you do something like this? You know how uncomfortable I am in water!"
Sandra calmly replied, "Darling, don't you think it's time you tried to let go of this fear? I used to be afraid of trying out new things, but once I let go of my doubts, I saw how silly my fears were. Please do this for me, Meryl!"
Meryl respected her mother, so she took a few moments to ponder over Sandra's words. Then she said, "OK, Mom. I'm ready to take swimming lessons."
At first, it was difficult for Meryl to get the hang of swimming. While she did OK in the shallow end of the pool, she could not find the courage to go into the deep end. Luckily for Meryl, her instructor Harry was kind and patient, and gave her sufficient time to get accustomed to every area of the pool.
Once she was comfortable in deep water, Harry coached Meryl for two hours every day until she had perfected the basic strokes. After about four months of regular practice, swimming had become Meryl's favorite hobby, and Harry was delighted that their hard work had paid off. That fall, Meryl even made it onto her school's swim team!
One evening, Meryl said, "Mom, you were right to push me to meet new challenges. If I had not listened to you, I would never have made the swim team. From now on, I'm going to use the valuable advice you gave me whenever I'm up against something that scares me."
"I'm so proud of you, Meryl!" Sandra exclaimed as she hugged her daughter.
4
How does Sandra contribute to the theme of the story?
A.
Sandra tricks Meryl into learning how to swim.
B.
Sandra encourages Meryl to face her fears.
C.
Sandra chooses the best instructor for Meryl.
D.
Sandra helps calm Meryl when she is angry.
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