After the long, dangerous voyage across the ocean, stepping foot in the new world was like a breath of fresh air. what does "like a breath of fresh air" mean in the sentence?

a. the mood was light and airy
b. the atmosphere was refreshing
c. the people felt relief at the end of their journey
d. the people were eager to get off the ship

C. The people felt relief at the end of their journey.

Explanation:

In this context, the sentence in quotation marks means that the people who had just endured a long and dangerous trip across the ocean felt relieved that their travels were over and that they were able to stand on solid ground once again. The sentence is, indeed, a simile, in which something, stepping foot on solid ground, is likened to something else, in this case, breathing fresh air.    

the sentence that best describes the tone of the passage from the radio broadcast compared to the passage from the book is b. the radio broadcast has a more surprised tone.

consider the text evidence: in the passage from the book, the description is more matter-of-fact. it is simply describing the things resembling little grey snakes, but there is no urgency in the description. on the other hand, in the passage from the radio broadcast, there is definetely urgency (you can tell from the expression used, "good heavens", which clearly indicates surprise.)