The following is a draft of an essay about a pioneering paleontologist.
[1]
Born in 1799 in a seaside town in Dorset, England, she was not trained as a scientist. Yet, she spent her days searching the cliffs of Lyme Regis for what she called "curiosities." Her discoveries of prehistoric marine reptiles, including the first ichthyosaur and plesiosaur skeletons ever correctly identified, challenged the scientific community's understanding of the history of the Earth.
[2]
At the time, geology was a field dominated by wealthy gentlemen who often purchased Anning's finds to display in museums. Although she possessed an extraordinary ability to locate and reconstruct fossils, her gender and lower social status prevented her from fully participating in the scientific societies of nineteenth-century Britain. Despite these barriers, her work laid the groundwork for major developments in paleontology and evolutionary theory.
Which of the following sentences, if placed at the beginning of the passage, would best introduce the main topic of the essay?
- Mary Anning, a nineteenth-century fossil hunter from a working-class background, made groundbreaking discoveries that revolutionized early paleontology.Answer
- BAlthough Mary Anning was a pioneering fossil hunter whose discoveries in the nineteenth century challenged the scientific community's understanding of Earth's history.
- CMary Anning discovered the first correctly identified ichthyosaur skeleton, her research changed the way scientists viewed the prehistoric world.
- DBecause she was born into a working-class family; Mary Anning was initially excluded from the official scientific community of nineteenth-century Britain.