The passage below is adapted from an article about deep-sea exploration.
For centuries, oceanographers assumed the deep ocean floor was a barren desert, devoid of life due to the crushing pressure and complete absence of sunlight. This narrative was shattered in 1977 with the discovery of hydrothermal vents along the Galápagos Rift. Instead of a wasteland, scientists found thriving ecosystems fueled not by photosynthesis, but by chemosynthesis. At the heart of this bizarre world are extremophile bacteria that convert the toxic hydrogen sulfide spewing from the vents into usable energy. These microbes form the bedrock of a complex food web, supporting giant tube worms, blind crabs, and ghostly white fish. The vents, once dismissed as mere geological anomalies, are now understood as vital engines of marine life, forcing scientists to redefine the very boundaries of where life can exist.
Match each word from the passage with its primary rhetorical function.
- "shattered"To emphasize the sudden and complete disruption of a long-held scientific assumption
- "bedrock"To illustrate the fundamental role that extremophile bacteria play in supporting the vent ecosystem
- "mere"To highlight the dismissive or minimizing attitude scientists previously held toward hydrothermal vents