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Verbal·Craft and Structure·Text Structure and Purpose
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Before mechanical refrigeration, most households preserved perishable food by salting, smoking, or drying it, or by storing it in iceboxes cooled with blocks of harvested ice. When electric refrigerators became common in American homes in the mid-twentieth century, however, their significance reached well beyond keeping milk cold. The appliance changed how often families shopped for groceries, helped bring an end to the once-thriving ice-delivery trade, and created a market for frozen foods that reshaped the food industry.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
A
To describe the far-reaching effects of the widespread adoption of a household appliance
B
To explain why iceboxes were ultimately less effective than electric refrigerators at preserving food
C
To argue that the decline of the ice-delivery trade was an unfortunate consequence of technological change
D
To trace the technical innovations that made electric refrigerators affordable for most households