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Question

Difficulty: EasyRecognizing Explicit Cause and Effect

Passage:
In 1291, the government of Venice issued a decree forcing all local glassmakers to relocate their workshops to the island of Murano, located a short distance across the Venetian Lagoon. Although later historians often emphasized the economic benefits of keeping glassmaking secrets contained on a guarded island, the municipal decree itself was driven by a much more immediate concern: safety. Because traditional glassmaking required massive furnaces burning at high temperatures, the timber-framed workshops in Venice posed a constant and severe fire risk to the city's densely built wooden structures. By removing these high-heat operations from the urban core, civic leaders successfully reduced the frequency of destructive urban blazes. Once established on Murano, the glassmakers continued to innovate, eventually discovering techniques to create cristallo, an exceptionally clear glass that became highly prized throughout Europe.

According to the passage, why did the Venetian government order glassmakers to move their workshops to Murano?

  1. The high-heat furnaces in timber-framed workshops created a severe risk of fire in the city.Answer
  2. B
    The glassmakers needed an isolated environment to secretly develop clear cristallo glass.
  3. C
    Frequent urban fires forced glassmakers to build heat-resistant furnaces on the island.
  4. D
    Civic leaders wanted to restrict the export of glassmaking tools to neighboring European nations.

Answer

The Venetian government ordered glassmakers to move to Murano because the high-heat furnaces in timber-framed workshops posed a severe fire risk to the city's wooden buildings.
The passage explicitly attributes the government decree to safety concerns, noting that traditional high-temperature furnaces in wooden workshops created a constant fire hazard for Venice's densely built wooden structures.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Locate the explicit reason for the decree in the text.
The text states that 'the municipal decree itself was driven by a much more immediate concern: safety' because furnaces 'posed a constant and severe fire risk.'
Explicit cause-and-effect questions require identifying the directly stated reason for an event.
2
Match the stated cause to the correct answer choice.
The option identifying the fire risk posed by high-heat furnaces in timber-framed workshops directly matches the passage.
The correct response accurately paraphrases the explicit detail provided in the text without altering its meaning.

Key Concept

Recognizing Explicit Cause and Effect
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Topics

Recognizing Explicit Cause and Effect

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