Question

the excerpt is from the history of cotton manufacture in great britain, by edward baines. a great number of streams ... furnish water - power adequate to turn many hundred mills: they afford the element of water, indispensable for scouring, bleaching, printing, dyeing, and other processes of manufacture; and when collected in their larger channels, or employed to feed canals, they supply a superior inland navigation, so important for the transit of raw materials and merchandise. according to the excerpt, in what ways did water help england’s industrial boom? ①water supplied power and a means of transportation. ②water helped people build hundreds of mills. ③water helped people trade goods with nations overseas. ④water enabled people to create raw materials.

Explanation:

The excerpt states water-power turned mill wheels (supplied power) and canals/rivers aided inland navigation for raw material/merchandise transit (means of transportation). Other options misinterpret: "build hundreds of mills" is not stated; "trade with nations overseas" is incorrect (it’s inland navigation); "create raw materials" is false (water processed, not created, raw materials).

Answer:

A. Water supplied power and a means of transportation