Question

Difficulty: MediumDetermining Stated Sequence of Events

Read the following passage carefully:

Before Captain Tobias Finch successfully hoisted the bronze astrolabe from the wrecked merchant vessel The Wanderer in the autumn of 2019, his marine survey team spent six months mapping the seabed using side-scan sonar. However, the true breakthrough had occurred three years prior to that sonar survey, when archival researcher Clara Higgins uncovered a forgotten 1682 ship's log in a maritime museum detailing the reef's location. Following the 2019 extraction of the astrolabe, Finch’s team spent two years conserving the metal in a specialized chemical bath before finally displaying the artifact at the International Maritime Summit in 2022. Remarkably, preliminary timber sampling of the hull—conducted immediately after the sonar mapping was completed but prior to the astrolabe's extraction—had already confirmed the vessel’s identity.

Based on the passage, which of the following events occurred immediately after the side-scan sonar mapping of the seabed was completed?

  1. A
    Clara Higgins discovered the forgotten ship's log in a maritime museum.
  2. Preliminary timber sampling of the vessel's hull was conducted.Answer
  3. C
    The bronze astrolabe was hoisted from the shipwreck site.
  4. D
    The astrolabe was displayed at the International Maritime Summit.

Answer

Preliminary timber sampling of the vessel's hull was conducted.
The passage directly states that preliminary timber sampling of the hull was 'conducted immediately after the sonar mapping was completed but prior to the astrolabe's extraction.' Therefore, timber sampling is the event that directly followed the sonar survey.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the key milestone mentioned in the question prompt.
The target milestone is the completion of the side-scan sonar mapping of the seabed.
The question specifically asks for the event that occurred immediately after this milestone.
2
Scan the passage for explicit temporal indicators surrounding the sonar mapping.
The final sentence explicitly notes: 'preliminary timber sampling of the hull—conducted immediately after the sonar mapping was completed but prior to the astrolabe's extraction...'
Literal comprehension requires matching explicit textual sequence markers ('immediately after').
3
Confirm the sequence relative to other options.
Timeline: (1) 2016: Archival log discovered -> (2) Early 2019: Sonar mapping -> (3) Mid 2019: Timber sampling -> (4) Autumn 2019: Astrolabe hoisted -> (5) 2019-2021: Chemical bath conservation -> (6) 2022: Displayed at summit.
Verifying all events ensures no misreading of flashback structures.

Key Concept

Determining Stated Sequence of Events
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