Question

Fill in the blank with a suitable option:
The main purpose of the passage is to _________________.

• A. describe periods in Earth's recent geological history
• B. explain the methods scientists use in radiocarbon analysis
• C. describe evidence linking the volcano Samalas to the Little Ice Age
• D. explain how volcanic glass forms during volcanic eruptions

Answer 1

The correct option is C describe evidence linking the volcano Samalas to the Little Ice Age

Option C: The given passage is based mostly on the evidence that suggests that the volcano Samalas is linked to the Little Ice Age: "Volcanologist Franck Lavigne and colleagues now think they've identified the volcano in question: Indonesia's Samalas."; "It's not a total surprise that an Indonesian volcano might be the source of the eruption, Miller says".
Hence option C is correct.
Option A: The given passage is not based on the recent geological histories of the Earth, but only one such activity, known as the Little Ice Age. Hence option A is incorrect.
Option B: This was the study carried out in order to prove the main point of the passage- the link between Samalas and the cold snap.
Option D: This, again is explained as one aspect of the volcano in Samalas, that may or may not form a link: "But when Lavigne's team examined shards of volcanic glass from this volcano, they found that they didn't match the chemical composition of the glass found in polar ice cores, whereas the Samalas glass is a much closer match."
Hence options A, B and D are incorrect.