The Voyage of the Mary Rose: A Passage-Based Inference
In 1545, the English warship Mary Rose sank during a battle. Historians have debated why. One hypothesis holds that the ship capsized because a sudden gust of wind hit her while her gunports were open. A second hypothesis says that the crew was already overwhelmed by water because the ship had been overloaded with soldiers and equipment. A recent examination of the wreck found that the gunports on the lower deck were open and that the ship was carrying 700 men, though designed for 400. The examination also found that the ship's center of gravity was unusually high. The passage's author notes that both hypotheses can be true simultaneously.
1. What is the main point of the passage?
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The passage presents two competing explanations for the Mary Rose's sinking and then qualifies the debate by noting that the explanations are not mutually exclusive. The author's main point is that the evidence supports a combined or multi-causal account: open gunports and a wind gust could have triggered the capsizing, while overloading and a high center of gravity could have made the ship vulnerable. The passage is not arguing that one hypothesis is false; it is reframing the debate as potentially both-true.
2. Based on the passage, what can be inferred about the relationship between the two hypotheses?
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They can be complementary rather than rival. The 700 men and high center of gravity support the overload hypothesis, while the open lower-deck gunports support the wind-gust hypothesis. If the ship was already low in the water and unstable, a gust through open gunports could have been the final trigger. The author's explicit note that both can be true means the evidence does not force a choice between them; it may support a chain of causes.
3. How does the evidence about the 700 men and open gunports function in the argument?
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It serves as independent support for each hypothesis and as a bridge between them. The 700 men (versus a designed 400) supports the claim of overloading, and the high center of gravity reinforces instability. The open lower-deck gunports support the sudden-gust mechanism. Together, the evidence shows why the author can say both hypotheses may be true: one set of facts explains vulnerability, the other explains the trigger.