Question

Mathilde was a pretty and charming girl, born, as if by an error of fate, into a family of clerks. She had no means of becoming known, understood, loved or be wedded to an aristocrat; and so she let herself be married to a minor official at the Ministry of Education. She dressed plainly, because she had never been able to afford anything better. She suffered endlessly, feeling she was entitled to all the luxuries of life. She suffered because of her shabby, poorly furnished house. All these things, that another woman of her class would not even have noticed, tormented her and made her resentful. She dreamed of a grand, palatial mansion, with vast rooms and inviting smaller rooms, perfumed for afternoon chats with close friends. Yet, she had no rich dresses, no jewels, nothing; and these were the only things she loved. She wanted so much to charm, to be envied, to be sought after. She had a rich friend, a former schoolmate at the convent, whom she avoided visiting, because afterwards she would weep with regret, despair and misery. One evening her husband came home with an air of triumph, holding a large envelope in his hand. “Look,” he said, “here’s something for you.” She tore open the paper and drew out a card, on which was printed the words: “The Minister of Education and Mme. Georges Rampouneau request the pleasure of M. and Mme. Loisel’s company at the Ministry, on the evening of Monday, January 18th.” Instead of being delighted, as her husband had hoped, she threw the invitation on the table resentfully, and muttered, “What do you want me to do with that ? And what do you expect me to wear if I go?” He hadn’t thought of that. He stammered, “Why, the dress you go to the theatre in. It seems very nice to me ...” He stopped, stunned, distressed to see his wife crying. He stuttered, “What’s the matter ? Let’s see, Mathilde. How much would a suitable dress cost ?” She thought for a moment, computing the cost, and also wondering what amount she could ask for without an immediate refusal. At last she answered hesitantly, “I don’t know exactly, but I think I could do it with four hundred francs.” He turned a little pale, because he had been saving that exact amount to buy a gun for a hunting summer, in the country near Nanterre, with a few friends. However, he said, “Very well, I can give you four hundred francs. But try and get a really beautiful dress.”

3) Pick out any two collocations from the passage.

please give me the right answer.​

Answer 1

She dreamed to be a palatial monument