Answer:
the word in this excerpt that means 'to listen' is <em>hearkens</em>.
The situation wherein you would double the final consonant in a base word before adding a suffix is option D. When the base word ends with consonant + vowel + consonant and the suffix begins with a vowel. For example: the word, "FAT" when we add the suffix -er and -est, it becomes "fatter" and "fattest". The letter "T" is doubled, then add the vowel suffix.
