The traditional chief NARRATED the story to the children

Analyze the question

This is an emphatic stress question. The capitalized word (NARRATED) is the focus of the sentence. You must pick the option that expresses the question or statement the sentence answers, with the focus on the action of narrating.

Concept

Emphatic stress puts the spotlight on one word to contrast it with something else or to answer a specific question:

• "The traditional CHIEF narrated the story" answers "Who narrated the story?"
• "The chief NARRATED the story" answers a question about what the chief did with the story (told it, as opposed to hiding it, reading it, or keeping it back).

Step-by-step solution

1. Emphasis is on NARRATED, so the focus is on the action.
2. A. "the children heard the story from the chief" focuses on the children as recipients, or on the source. It doesn't isolate the action of narrating.
3. B. "who narrated the story to the children" would need stress on CHIEF, not on narrated.
4. C. "the children could not listen to the story" is a negative idea about the children, which has no link to the stressed verb.
5. D. "did the chief hide the story from the children" asks about the chief's action toward the story. The stressed answer, "The chief NARRATED the story", contrasts with "hide": he told it rather than concealed it. This matches the emphasis on the verb.

Note: Option A is the closest competitor because it is also about narrating. But it only restates the sentence without any contrast, and the stress pattern points to a contrast of actions, which D gives.

Tip: In emphatic stress questions, ask: "What question is this sentence answering?" or "What is it correcting?" Match the stressed word to the part of the option that carries the contrast. Stress on a verb means a contrast of actions, stress on a noun means a contrast of person or thing.