How many different words can you come up with to replace “said"?

Hundreds

Explanation:

For example:

screamed

yelled

shouted

whispered

mentioned

stated

exclaimed

observed

cried

laughed

explained

flustered

(Lots more)

Your question is missing the passage to be analyzed. I've found the complete question online. It is as follows:

A few years ago, she offered to give me the piano, for my thirtieth birthday. I had not played in all those years. I saw the offer as a sign of forgiveness, a tremendous burden removed.

"Are you sure?" I asked shyly. "I mean, won't you and Dad miss it?"

"No, this your piano," she said firmly. "Always your piano. You only one can play."

"Well, I probably can't play anymore," I said. "It's been years."

"You pick up fast," said my mother, as if she knew this was certain. "You have natural talent. You could been genius if you want to."

"No, I couldn't."

"You just not trying," said my mother. And she was neither angry nor sad. She said it as if to announce a fact that could never be disproved. "Take it," she said.

But I didn't at first. It was enough that she had offered it to me. And after that, every time I saw it in my parents' living room, standing in front of the bay window, it made me feel proud, as if it were a shiny trophy I had won back.

Based on the narration and dialogue, which statement describes the narrator's mother best?

A. She is still bitter that her daughter is not a genius.

B. She doesn't really want to give the piano to her daughter, but Suyuan can't play it.

C. She's confident that her daughter's attitude is the only reason she's not a genius.

D. She knows what the piano means to her daughter.

The statement that describes the narrator's mother best is:

c. She's confident that her daughter's attitude is the only reason she's not a genius.

Explanation:

The excerpt we are studying here belongs to the short story "Two Kinds" by author Amy Tan. The narrator is a woman reminiscing about her childhood as the daughter of a Chinese immigrant in America. Her mother, Suyuan, still influenced by Chinese traditions and cultural values, expected her to become a child prodigy, a little genius. The narrator, however, did not share her mother's values and did not appreciate her behavior or the pressure. She chose to fail, never truly dedicating herself to learn how to play the piano.

In the passage above, the narrator is already a grown woman. Her interaction with Suyuan makes it clear her mother still thinks she was more than capable of becoming a true genius. Suyuan believes her daughter’s lack of discipline and stubbornness were the reason why she never succeeded:

"You pick up fast," said my mother, as if she knew this was certain. "You have natural talent. You could been genius if you want to."

"No, I couldn't."

"You just not trying," said my mother.