Read the excerpt from Part 2 of “To Build a Fire.”

There were no signs of a fire to be made, and, besides, never in the dog's experience had it known a man to sit like that in the snow and make no fire. As the twilight drew on, its eager yearning for the fire mastered it, and with a great lifting and shifting of forefeet, it whined softly, then flattened its ears down in anticipation of being chidden by the man. But the man remained silent.

Which is the best synonym for the underlined word?

A. scolded
B. distracted
C. trained
D. struck