Read the excerpt from The Time Traveler’s Guide to Elizabethan England . There is some respite at the end of the reign: the law against eating meat on Wednesdays is repealed in 1585. At the same time, there is a general slackening of fish-eating and an increase in the consumption of meat. By the 1590s most wealthy households have dropped the strict Lenten fast and replaced it with a reduced-meat diet. In 1593 the government bows to the inevitable and reduces the punitive £3 fine to £1. Now many households begin to eat meat in Lent and on Fridays and Saturdays, if the head of the household wishes to do so, even though it is still technically against the law. The details from this excerpt support the inference that
Answer
A
meat was consumed only by wealthy Elizabethans.
B
fish was still a more common staple than meat in Elizabethan diets.
C
Elizabethans’ attitude toward eating meat was becoming more relaxed.
D
many Elizabethans resisted the idea of eating more meat.
Explanation
The excerpt describes laws and customs becoming less strict about eating meat: the Wednesday restriction is repealed, the fine for eating meat during Lent is reduced, and households increasingly eat meat on restricted days. These details support the inference that Elizabethans’ attitudes toward eating meat were becoming more relaxed. The passage does not say that only wealthy people ate meat or that many resisted eating it.
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