Read the excerpt from The Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England. Another familiar disease is malaria, which Elizabethans refer to as ague or fever. You might associate this with more tropical countries of the modern world but in marshy areas in sixteenth-century England, such as the Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire Fens, the Norfolk Broads, and Romney Marsh in Kent, it kills thousands. No one suspects that it has anything to do with mosquitoes; rather people believe it is the corrupted air arising from the low-lying dank marsh (hence the term mal-aria). As a result, you will have no chance of getting proper treatment for the disease. How does the paragraph expand on the central idea that malaria was a deadly disease in Elizabethan England?
Answer
A
It gives a detailed description of the area known as Romney Marsh.
B
It proves that malaria is spread by mosquitoes in swampy areas.
C
It explains Elizabethan misconceptions about the spread of malaria.
Explanation
The paragraph says malaria killed thousands in marshy parts of sixteenth-century England, then explains that people wrongly blamed “corrupted air” rather than mosquitoes. This misconception also meant sufferers could not receive proper treatment. Choice C, “It explains Elizabethan misconceptions about the spread of malaria,” best shows how the paragraph develops the idea that the disease was deadly.
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