Select the passage that has a more scornful tone. The others were yelling with laughter. Have you ever noticed how very amused people always are when you're not there? If you're in bed-ill, or in disgrace, or anything-it always sounds like far finer jokes than ever occur when you are there. I think I never heard so many old played-out jokes strung together in my life. He was worse than a jester, worse than the clown in the circus. It seemed peculiarly sad to sit here and listen again to poor, flat, worm-eaten jokes that had been terrible when I was a boy.

This passage clearly exhibits a scornful tone as it expresses both bitterness and disdain for the laughing crowd. The speaker's remarks about how the humor felt much better when absent showcase a jealousy mixed with resentment. Descriptions like "old played-out jokes" and "poor, flat, worm-eaten jokes" further emphasize the contempt felt towards the humor that seems to thrive only in one's absence. The comparison of the speaker to “a jester” or “the clown in the circus” adds a layer of sarcasm, suggesting that the speaker perceives their own situation as more dignified than the frivolousness of the others. It rings with a sharp edge of frustration, revealing not only the speaker’s isolation but also a disdain for the superficiality of the laughter surrounding them.