Recent technological advancement in manned and unmanned undersea vehicles…
2025
Recent technological advancement in manned and unmanned undersea vehicles overcome some of the limitations of divers equipment. Without a vehicle, divers often became sluggish and their mental concentration was limited. Because of undersea pressure that affected their minds, concentration among divers was difficult or impossible. But today, most oceanographers make observations by means of instruments that are lowered into the ocean or from samples taken from the water. Direct observations of the ocean floor are made not only by the divers but also by deep-diving submarines. Some of these submarines can dive to depths of more than several miles and cruise at depths of 15 thousand feet. Radio-equipped buoys can be operated by remote control in order to transmit information back to land-based laboratories including data about water temperature, currents, and weather. Some of mankind’s most serious problems, especially those concerning energy and food may be solved with the help of observations made possible by these undersea vehicles.
This passage suggests that the successful exploration of the ocean depends upon:
- A.
removal of the limitations of diving equipment
- B.
vehicles as well as divers
- C.
controlling currents and the weather
- D.
radio that divers use to communicate
Attempted by 1 students.
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Correct answer: B
In an inference-type reading comprehension question (“this passage suggests…”), the correct option must be a claim directly supported by specific statements in the passage — not a plausible-sounding idea that goes beyond what is stated, and not a partial reading that drops one of the passage's stated points.
The passage states that recent advances in undersea vehicles overcome only some of the limitations of divers' equipment, and separately that direct observations of the ocean floor are made not only by divers but also by deep-diving submarines. Read together, these statements show the passage treating successful ocean exploration as a joint effort — divers working alongside vehicles/submarines, each covering the other's limitations. This directly supports the idea that success depends on vehicles as well as divers.
“removal of the limitations of diving equipment” overstates the passage, which says the advancements overcome only some limitations, and it ignores the passage's point about submarines making direct observations alongside divers.
“controlling currents and the weather” confuses reporting with control — the passage says radio-equipped buoys transmit data about currents and weather to laboratories, not that anyone controls them.
“radio that divers use to communicate” misattributes the radio equipment: the passage assigns it to the buoys, not to the divers.
So the passage supports the claim that successful exploration depends on vehicles as well as divers, not on any single one of the other stated ideas.