For most of recorded history, the speed of long-distance information transfer was limited by the speed of the fastest available courier on horseback or ship. The development of the electric telegraph in the mid-nineteenth century broke this constraint, allowing messages to travel between cities in minutes rather than days. The economic and political consequences of this shift were sweeping.
Which choice best describes the function of the second sentence in the text?
- A
It defines the term 'long-distance'.
- Bcheck_circle
It introduces a technological development that displaces the prior constraint and motivates the third sentence.
- C
It introduces an unrelated invention.
- D
It supports the constraint described in the first sentence.
Explanation
The telegraph displaces the courier-speed constraint and prepares the consequences in sentence three. B captures this transitional function.