Question

Read this passage from "The City Without Us" by Alan Weisman:

In a future that portends stronger and more-frequent hurricanes striking North America's Atlantic coast, ferocious winds will pummel tall, unsteady structures. Some will topple, knocking down others. Like a gap in the forest when a giant tree falls, new growth will rush in. Gradually, the asphalt jungle will give way to a real one.
Which statement best explains how the structure of the passage supports the author's purpose?

A. The passage shows the effect of natural forces such as hurricanes to prove that laws protecting the environment are a necessary evil.

B. The passage shows the effect of natural forces, such as hurricanes, to highlight how nature, over time, will erode artifacts of urban civilization.

C. The passage identifies how two forces are alike — nature and human creativity — to show how both interact to build human civilization.

D. The passage traces several events in the order that they will occur to highlight how nature conquers human civilization.

Answer 1

b. the passage shows the effect of natural forces, such as hurricanes to highlight how nature over time will erode artifacts of urban civilization

Answer 2

This chosen passage from "The City Without Us" by Alan Weisman describes the transformational force that nature can inflict over urban civilizations by completing altering any city's landscape, and altering North American societies as a whole in a future in which the possibility of more powerful and frequent hurricanes hitting the Atlantic Coast seems more plausible .  

Hence the correct answer is B. The passage shows the effect of natural forces, such as hurricanes, to highlight how nature, over time, will erode artifacts of urban civilization.