What mood is the verb in bold letters? It is essential that he read the manuscript.

A.
Past perfect
B.
Past
C.
Subjunctive

The correct answer is C. The verb in bold letters is in subjunctive mood.

Explanation:

The subjunctive verb tense implies an eventual and hypothetical affirmation, on which a new affirmation will be made. It does not imply a conditional sentence, since there is no causal connection between both assumptions, but an affirmation that is not strictly firm but is based on a hypothesis or eventuality. Thus, in the presented sentence, the verb read is in the subjunctive, since it is essential that the person has read the manuscript to carry out a certain action in the future.

21 balloons is the story of professor william sherman's travels.

in 1883, he set off from san francisco for a balloon ride over the pacific and was found a month later floating with 21 balloons in the atlantic ocean. this seemed an astounding feat and everyone wanted to know what had happened.    

professor sherman was loyal, however, and said he would tell his tale first to the western american explorers club in san francisco, of which he was a member. this built up suspense for several chapters before he began to tell of the wonders of his adventures and the amazing island of krakatoa, an island which had just been blown up by a volcano.  

the residents of krakatoa are all millionaires who live under a "gourmet government" of their own devising. we get to see all the incredible adventures that creative people with unlimited resources would create according to the author.