Which line from the excerpt provides clues about the setting?

Soon the men began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes.

They stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed.

The women, wearing faded house dresses and sweaters, came shortly after their menfolk.

They greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip as they went to join their husbands.

Soon the men began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes.

Explanation:

Shirley Jackson's short story The Lottery revolves around the annual tradition of a small village where they chose one member of a family as a 'sacrifice' for the stoning event. This story delves into the themes of society's outdated practices and the need to reevaluate and make changes wherever necessary according to the times.

The setting of any scene or story is the location or place or environment where the scene takes place. Settings are known through the many descriptions of how the author presents the scenes. In this particular passage, the setting can be known from the sentence "Soon the men began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes". This is the best clue that can provide the setting of the given scene in the story.

Thus, the correct answer is the first option.