Question

Climate change is one of the most hotly contested environmental debates of our time. Will the West Antarctic ice sheet melt entirely? Will the Gulf Stream ocean current be disrupted? Will it be the end of the world as we know it? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, Antarctica is a crucial element in this debate — not just because it's the only place in the world, which has never sustained a human population and therefore remains relatively 'pristine' in this respect; but more importantly, because it holds in its ice-cores half-million-year-old carbon record strapped in its layers of ice. If we want to study and examine the Earth's past, present and future, Antarctica is the place to go.

In the line: '.... a human population and therefore remains relatively 'pristine' in this respect ....' what does 'pristine' refer to?

Options

• Serene and peaceful.

• Lean and fresh.

• In its original condition.

• Without any contamination.

Answer 1

In its original condition.

Explanation:

The word 'pristine' means "spotless", "fresh as if new", "unblemished", and so on. In this case, it refers to the passage's original state.