Read the following passage and answer the item that follows. Your answer to this item should be based on the…
Read the following passage and answer the item that follows. Your answer to this item should be based on the passage only.
Passage:
Medieval merchants risked the hazards of the Silk Road to reach the markets of China; Portuguese caravels in the 15th century sailed beyond the bounds of the known world, searching less for knowledge than for gold and spices. Historically, the driver for opening frontiers has always been the search for resources. Science and curiosity are weaker drivers. The only way to open up space, whether the space of solar system or interstellar space is to create an economic engine and that engine is resource extraction.
Which one of the following statements best sums up the passage given above?
Wealth generation is the primary motive for any human endeavour.
Space, whether space in solar system or interstellar space, will govern our future economy.
Human beings are motivated to explore new frontiers principally by economic considerations.
Wealth generation is based on the risk-taking behaviour of some men.
Solution
The passage shows historically that the driver for opening frontiers - the Silk Road, Portuguese voyages, even space - has been the search for resources, i.e. economic considerations. Option (c) sums it up. Option (a) overstates it as the primary motive for any endeavour; (b) and (d) distort the passage.