Question

12th grade post - assessment
discovered in 82 broken, corroded pieces — along with a shipwreck full of other treasures, such as marble, pottery, and coins — the damaged artifact was initially disregarded. it wasnt until 1951 that the antikythera mechanism began to garner interest. after two decades of study, physicist and historian derek de solla price published the first research on the antikythera mechanism in 1974, and the artifact gained the renewed interest of scientists worldwide. due to its eroded, fragmented state, which comprised only a third of the original instrument, scientists struggled to understand the devices inner workings.
however, modern technologies have helped decode the once inscrutable artifact. by analyzing the 82 remaining pieces, scientists concluded that the original antikythera mechanism consisted of at least 30 bronze interlocking gears. the gears sat in a wooden compartment about the size of a modern - day shoebox. a 2006 study led by tony freeth, a mechanical engineer at the university college london, brought more clarity to the device’s purpose. freeth and the ucl antikythera research team used surface imaging and high - resolution x - ray computed tomography (ct), or detailed internal imaging, to discover more about the back of the device. their study found two large dials on the back cover. the large upper dial consisted of a metonic cycle calendar, which covered a 19 - year span and 235 moon phases, and a smaller, related dial tracking the olympic games. the large lower dial was a 223 - month saros dial used to predict the dates of solar and lunar eclipses. the x - ray ct scans also revealed previously unseen inscriptions on the back of the artifact that acted as a user manual for the device.
assessment questions
25 out of 38 answered
question 27
which word is closest in meaning to \inscrutable\ in paragraph 3?
a. cryptic
b. ingenious
c. obstinate
d. invaluable

Explanation:

To determine the word closest in meaning to "inscrutable", we analyze the context. The Antikythera mechanism was hard to understand due to its damaged state, but modern tech helped decode it. "Inscrutable" means difficult to understand.

• Option A: "Cryptic" means having a hidden or ambiguous meaning, hard to interpret, which matches the idea of the artifact being hard to understand.
• Option B: "Ingenious" means clever or inventive, not related to being hard to understand.
• Option C: "Obstinate" means stubborn, not related to intelligibility.
• Option D: "Invaluable" means extremely valuable, not related to being hard to understand.

So "cryptic" is the closest in meaning.

Answer:

A. cryptic