Follow the effect of demanding effort
Read for meaning first. Select a highlighted word if you want a closer look.
A strenuous rowing practice in the novel requires vigorous effort from the crew as they work against a stubborn current. The narrator describes how repeated exhausting sessions begin to debilitate the crew, leaving their movements weaker and less coordinated than earlier in the story. A later chapter follows their recuperation as they gradually recover strength after the demanding period. The reading group tracks those changes in the supplied narrative, focusing on what the descriptions establish about effort and capacity rather than turning the episode into a training plan.
The strenuous practice matters to the plot because the crew initially mistakes endurance of difficulty for proof that every arrangement is working well. The repeated strain continues to debilitate them until they acknowledge the weakness the narrator has described. Their recuperation then becomes part of a quieter chapter in which they regain the ability to work together with their earlier control. Readers compare the first and later descriptions, explaining how the author makes a change in condition visible through the characters' actions.
Before you move on
Look away from the passage. Can you explain each focus word in your own words?
Original fictional passages for vocabulary practice.