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Question

Difficulty: MediumSequence of Events

Passage

Years after returning to his quiet study in London, the cartographer Wallace Gray would write that the defining moment of his career occurred not when he finally drafted the definitive map of the Sepik River's headwaters, but when he first saw the river rise after the monsoon rains. That deluge had instantly obliterated the land routes he had so painstakingly plotted. Decades of preparation had preceded that voyage; indeed, before his departure in the summer of 1922, Gray had spent three successive winters in the drafty archives of the Royal Geographical Society, tracing fragments of seventeenth-century Dutch charts. Yet, all that theoretical study proved fragile when his steam launch ran aground near the village of Tambanum, forcing him to confront a landscape that defied every historical record.

Question

Based on the passage, in what chronological order did these events in Wallace Gray's career occur?

  1. 1Gray studies seventeenth-century Dutch charts in London archives.
  2. 2Gray's steam launch runs aground near the village of Tambanum.
  3. 3Gray witnesses the monsoon deluge washing away his planned land routes.
  4. 4Gray writes about the expedition's defining moment in his London study.

Answer

The correct chronological sequence begins with studying the Dutch charts in the archives, followed by the steam launch running aground, then the monsoon rains flooding the routes, and finally writing his reflections in London.
The correct sequence tracks the events chronologically from the archives in London (before 1922), to the grounding of the launch, to the subsequent monsoon flood, and finally to the reflective writing years later.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the pre-expedition event in the passage.
Gray studying Dutch charts in the London archives.
The passage states that this occurred during 'three successive winters' before his departure in 1922.
2
Identify the initial event of the expedition.
The steam launch running aground near Tambanum.
This occurs during the voyage and challenges the theoretical knowledge gained from his archival study.
3
Identify the event that disrupted the planned land routes during the expedition.
The monsoon rains rising and washing away the routes.
The text indicates that the deluge obliterated the routes Gray had plotted after encountering physical difficulties.
4
Identify the post-expedition event.
Gray writing reflections on the journey's defining moment.
The text specifies that this writing took place 'years after returning' to his study in London.

Key Concept

Determining the chronological order of events in a non-linear narrative
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Topics

Sequence of Events

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