Question

centuries, over two million sailors died of the disease.
humans are one of only a few species that cant produce their own vitamin c. we must acquire it from fresh fruits and vegetables or we develop scurvy. unfortunately, because fruits and vegetables spoil quickly, theyre not ideal for long voyages, so they generally werent part of early sailors diets. and because vitamins wouldnt be identified until the 1800s, doctors before that time failed to understand that vitamin c deficiency was responsible for sailors scurvy.
eighteenth - century scottish surgeon james lind was determined to devise a cure for scurvy, so he scoured existing medical literature and seafarers accounts. his investigation revealed that plant foods seemed to help sufferers of the disease. in 1753, lind conducted an experiment illuminating the benefits of citrus fruit in curing scurvy. however, it wasnt until 1795 that physician gilbert blane convinced the british navy to start providing daily citrus juice to its sailors, likely preventing millions of deaths.
a student inferred that the underlying cause of scurvy was discovered much later than the treatment for scurvy.
which two quotations from the text, taken together, best support this inference?
choose 2 answers:
a for many years, the greatest threat facing long - distance sailors was neither fierce pirates nor wild storms—it was scurvy, a dangerous illness caused by lack of vitamin c.
b in fact, its estimated that between the 16th and 18th centuries, over two million sailors died of the disease.
c and because vitamins wouldnt be identified until the 1800s, doctors before that time failed to understand that vitamin c deficiency was responsible for sailors scurvy.
d eighteenth - century scottish surgeon james lind was determined to devise a cure for scurvy and so scoured existing medical literature and seafarers accounts.
e in 1753, lind conducted an experiment illuminating the benefits of citrus fruit in curing scurvy.

Explanation:

• The third option mentions that vitamins (including vitamin C which causes scurvy when deficient) weren't identified until the 1800s. This is about understanding the underlying cause (vitamin C deficiency).
• The fifth option talks about Lind's 1753 experiment which was a treatment (using citrus fruit) for scurvy. So together, these two show treatment (1753) came before understanding the cause (1800s).

Answer:

C. "And because vitamins wouldn’t be identified until the 1800s, doctors before that time failed to understand that vitamin C deficiency was responsible for sailors’ scurvy."; E. "In 1753, Lind conducted an experiment illuminating the benefits of citrus fruit in curing scurvy."