Question

have existed in harsh mountain environments where crops couldnt be grown. the archeologists hypothesize that the inhabitants of these cities survived by making metal tools and weapons, using strong mountain winds to power their furnaces, and trading with other regions for food. what is the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole? choose 1 answer: a) it rejects the research discussed in the previous sentences. b) it poses a question about the researchers methods that is addressed in the following sentence. c) it introduces another team of researchers whose work is discussed in the following sentence. d) it explains the significance of the discovery discussed in the previous sentences.

Explanation:

The underlined sentence provides context about the harsh mountain environments (where crops couldn't be grown) where the cities existed. This context is important as it sets up the need for the hypothesized survival methods (making metal tools/weapons, using mountain winds for furnaces, trading for food) mentioned in the following sentence. It doesn't reject previous research (no previous research is contradicted), doesn't pose a question about methods (it's a statement of environment), and doesn't introduce another team of researchers. Instead, it explains why the hypothesized survival methods (in the next sentence) might have been necessary, thus explaining the significance of the discovery (the existence of cities in such harsh environments) by showing the challenges those cities faced.

Answer:

D. It explains the significance of the discovery discussed in the previous sentences.