In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank.
The silk routes are a good example of vibrant pre-modern trade and cultural links between ________1________ parts of the world. The name 'silk routes' points to the ________2________ of West-bound Chinese silk cargoes along this route. Historians have identified several silk routes, over land and by sea, knitting together vast regions of Asia, and ________3________ Asia with Europe and northern Africa. They are known to have existed since before the Christian Era and ________4________ almost till the fifteenth century. But Chinese pottery also ________5________the same route, as did textiles and spices from India and Southeast Asia.
The question asks us to choose the best word to fill the first blank in a passage about the Silk Routes. The sentence is: "The silk routes are a good example of vibrant pre-modern trade and cultural links between ________1________ parts of the world." We need to understand how the Silk Routes connected different regions to select the most suitable word.
Let's examine the meaning of each option provided:
The passage discusses the Silk Routes as facilitators of trade and cultural exchange between various regions. These regions were typically located far apart geographically. Therefore, 'distant' accurately describes the relationship between these interconnected parts of the world. The Silk Routes bridged vast geographical separations, enabling interactions that might otherwise have been impossible.
The sentence, once completed, reads: "The silk routes are a good example of vibrant pre-modern trade and cultural links between distant parts of the world." This highlights the significant geographical scope of these historical trade networks.