Question

text structure and purpose: porcelain originated in china around 2,000 years ago, but its production remained a mystery to the western world for centuries. during the ming dynasty (1368 - 1644 ad), the chinese began exporting porcelain objects to europe. captivated by the delicate beauty, translucence, and strength of the \white gold,\ the europeans became obsessed with discovering the secret to its creation. it wasnt until the early 18th century that the alchemist johann friedrich böttger unlocked the secret, producing the first hard - paste porcelain manufactured outside of china in his factory in meissen, germany. which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole? choose 1 answer: a it describes the person responsible for introducing porcelain to europe. b it emphasizes the longstanding european desire to create porcelain themselves. c it identifies when and where porcelain eventually began to be produced in europe. d it suggests that europeans eventually innovated on the older chinese techniques of porcelain production.

Explanation:

The text first mentions that porcelain production was a mystery to the West for centuries and that Europeans were obsessed with discovering its creation secret. The underlined sentence then shows that after a long time (from the Ming Dynasty's export to the early 18th - century), Europeans finally managed to produce porcelain (Johann Friedrich Böttger produced the first hard - paste porcelain outside of China). This emphasizes that despite the long wait (long - standing desire), Europeans achieved porcelain production themselves.

• Option A: The text says the Chinese began exporting porcelain to Europe during the Ming Dynasty, not Johann Friedrich Böttger.
• Option C: While it does mention time (early 18th century) and place (Meissen, Germany), the more important function is related to the long - standing European desire.
• Option D: There is no mention of innovation on Chinese techniques in the text.

Answer:

B. It emphasizes the longstanding European desire to create porcelain themselves.