The recovery of a 1,000-year-old Chinese shipwreck in the Java Sea near present-day Indonesia has yielded a treasure trove of artifacts, including thousands of small ceramic bowls. Using a portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer tool, Lisa Niziolek and her team were able to detect the chemical composition of these bowls without damaging them. By comparing the chemical signatures of the bowls with those of the materials still at old Chinese kiln sites, Niziolek and her team can pinpoint which Chinese kilns likely produced the ceramic bowls.
Which choice best states the main idea of the text?
A. Because of a new technology, researchers can locate and recover more shipwrecks than they could in the past.
B. Researchers have been able to identify the location of a number of Chinese kilns in operation 1,000 years ago.
C. With the help of a special tool, researchers have determined the likely origin of bowis recovered from a shipwreck.
D. Before the invention of portable X-ray fluorescence, researchers needed to take a small piece out of an artifact to analyze its components
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct answer is C. With the help of a special tool, researchers have determined the likely origin of bowls recovered from a shipwreck.
Explanation:
The passage focuses on how Lisa Niziolek and her team used a portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer to study the chemical composition of ceramic bowls recovered from a 1,000-year-old Chinese shipwreck. This tool allowed the researchers to identify the chemical signatures of the bowls without causing any damage to the artifacts. By comparing these signatures to the materials from old Chinese kiln sites, they were able to pinpoint which kilns likely produced the bowls. This demonstrates how the use of the X-ray tool helped the researchers determine the origin of the bowls found in the shipwreck.
Now, let’s examine why the other options are less accurate:
- A. Because of a new technology, researchers can locate and recover more shipwrecks than they could in the past.
This option is incorrect because the passage does not mention the use of technology for locating and recovering shipwrecks. It focuses on identifying the origins of the recovered bowls, not the process of locating the shipwreck itself. - B. Researchers have been able to identify the location of a number of Chinese kilns in operation 1,000 years ago.
While the passage discusses identifying specific Chinese kilns that likely produced the bowls, it does not claim that a number of kilns have been located. The focus is on determining the origin of the particular bowls from the shipwreck. - D. Before the invention of portable X-ray fluorescence, researchers needed to take a small piece out of an artifact to analyze its components.
Although this statement is true, it is not the central focus of the passage. The passage discusses the use of the X-ray tool in the current study rather than comparing it with past methods.
Thus, C best captures the main idea of the text.