Read this quotation from paragraph 1 of the excerpt from "What the Octopus Knows."
On a summer holiday by the sea, I found Octopus and Squid: The Soft Intelligence (1973) in my
great-aunt's bookcase.
The most likely reason the author includes this detail about reading the book is to -
A engage the reader by describing a relatable situation
B establish scientific credentials to inform others about octopuses
C introduce scientific evidence from a leading octopus researcher
reveal to the reader the relevance of an ordinary incident
Passage 1:
from What the Octopus Knows
by Olivia Judson
My love affair with octopuses began when I was 9. On a summer holiday by the sea, I found Octopus and Squid: The Soft Intelligence (1973) in my
great-aunt's bookcase. Written by Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the great pioneer of scuba diving, and his colleague Philippe Diole, the book told of
encounters between humans and cephalopods-the group that includes octopuses, squid, cuttlefish, and their more distant cousins, the nautiluses. A few
days after I'd finished reading, I was out snorkeling and saw my first wild octopus. It was clambering over rocks in the shallows, changing color as it
went. I was so excited that, after it vanished into a crevice, I leaped out of the water and began telling two strangers on the shore everything I'd learned
from the book.
Cousteau and his team were the first to spend a lot of time-many hours at a stretch-in the water observing and filming wild octopuses and getting
to know different individuals by visiting them regularly. Before long, some of the animals would come out to greet the divers, even climbing onto them
and going for a ride. Others were shy, and would stay in their holes. Some appeared to develop preferences for particular humans. The divers wanted to
know whether octopuses-as suspected-steal fish from fishermen's nets, so they set up a net complete with several fish, and settled back to watch.
Sure enough, an octopus came and helped itself to the lot. Another octopus opened a jar containing food, while a third seemed disturbed by its reflection
when shown a mirror.
Cousteau's accounts are anecdotes, not scientific experiments. Yet, taken together, they capture three aspects of octopuses-some species of them,
at least-that strike anyone who spends time in the water with them.
First, different individuals have different temperaments. Some are shy, some are bold; some are inquisitive, some aggressive. Because of this
individuality, people who hang out with them, whether in the sea, at a public aquarium, or in the laboratory, tend to give them names-an honor
normally reserved for mammals such as dolphins and chimpanzees. Cousteau spoke of an octopus called Octopissimus; one scientific paper I read
referred to Albert, Bertram, and Charles.
Second, some octopuses will engage with you. They might reach out an arm and touch your hand. They will investigate an object you present to
them, giving every impression of thinking about it as they do so. All the while, they will appear to watch you with their large, mobile eyes. Again, these
are behaviors we associate with dolphins and dogs-but not with, say, fish, let alone animals such as sea urchins or clams.
Third, octopuses often behave in surprising ways. Although Albert and Bertram were prepared to pull levers to receive pieces of fish, Charles
destroyed the experimental equipment-he pulled it apart with his arms-and repeatedly squirted the experimenter with water. On a recent diving trip,
my partner and I came across a little octopus sitting in the sand, two of its arms holding a large half clamshell over its head like a roof. For a while, we
looked at it, and it looked at us. Then it shifted. It must have been reaching down with its other arms, because suddenly, like a small animated bulldozer,
it tossed up a heap of sand. It did this several times, watching us closely and giving us the sense that, though it was interested in checking us out, it was
also ready, if necessary, to pull the shell down like a lid and disappear into the seafloor.
The animals also frequently change their skin color and texture-which, to creatures such as ourselves, fine-tuned to watch faces for frowns and
smiles, blushes and blanches, gives the appearance of emotional expressiveness. In other words, an encounter with an octopus can sometimes leave you
with the strong feeling that you've encountered another mind.
1 answer
The most likely reason the author includes the detail about reading the book "Octopus and Squid: The Soft Intelligence" in her great-aunt's bookcase is to:
A engage the reader by describing a relatable situation.
This choice reflects the personal and engaging nature of the author's introduction to her fascination with octopuses, inviting the reader to connect with her experience during a summer holiday, which many can relate to. It sets the tone for the subsequent exploration of her interest in octopuses and their intelligence.
While establishing scientific credentials could also be a consideration (option B), the primary function of this anecdote is to create an engaging narrative rather than to assert scientific authority directly at that point in the text.
1 answer