8. (03.04 MC) Read the following excerpt from Walden by Henry Thoreau and then choose your answer.

Society is commonly too cheap. We meet at very short intervals, not having had time to acquire any new value for each other. We meet at meals three times a day, and give each other
a new taste of that old musty cheese that we are. We have had to agree on a certain set of rules, called etiquette and politeness, to make this frequent meeting tolerable and that we
need not come to open war. We meet at the post-office, and at the sociable, and about the fireside every night; we live thick and are in each other's way, and stumble over one another,
and I think that we thus lose some respect for one another. Certainly less frequency would suffice for all important and hearty communications. Consider the girls in a factory - never
alone, hardly in their dreams. It would be better if there were but one inhabitant to a square mile, as where I live. The value of a man is not in his skin, that we should touch him.

Which of the following best states the author's claim? (5 points)

A. In order to better appreciate one another, we should increase the amount of time and money that we give to our acquaintances.

B. By increasing the quantity of time spent with others, we will increase the quality of our communication and raise our level of mutual respect.

C. By decreasing the quantity of time spent with others, we will experience more meaningful communication and raise our level of mutual respect.

D. Polite communication during frequent interactions greatly increases the likelihood of meaningful relationships.