Which factor most directly prompted Parliament to act? (Passage: The Great Stink)
In the summer of 1858 the River Thames in London was so foul that Parliament, whose riverside buildings were hit hardest by the smell, considered relocating. The river received the sewage of over two million people. Many believed disease was carried by foul air, known as miasma, and the stench seemed to confirm this. Within weeks Parliament passed a bill funding a new sewer network designed by the engineer Joseph Bazalgette. Although the miasma theory was mistaken, the sewers separated drinking water from waste and sharply reduced cholera outbreaks in the following decades.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. The smell affecting its own riverside buildings
- Step 1: Look for why Parliament was personally affected. Step 2. The passage says Parliament was hit hardest and considered relocating. Answer: The smell affecting its own riverside buildings. Why not the others: No cholera outbreak is cited in 1858; Bazalgette designed the network after the bill; population is only mentioned as two million.
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