When I was about fifteen years old we had
retired to our house near Belrive, when we
witnessed a most violent and terrible
thunderstorm. It advanced from behind the
mountains of Jura, and the thunder burst at once
with frightful loudness from various quarters of
the heavens. I remained, while the storm lasted,
watching its progress with curiosity and delight.
As I stood at the door, I suddenly beheld a
stream of fire issuing from an old and beautiful
oak which stood about twenty yards from our
house; and as soon as the dazzling light
vanished, the oak had disappeared, and nothing
remained but a blasted stump. When we visited
it the next morning, we found the tree shattered
in a singular manner - not splintered by the
shock, but entirely reduced to thin ribbons of
wood. I never beheld anything so utterly
destroyed.
Before this I was not unacquainted with the
more obvious laws of electricity. On this
occasion a man of great research in natural
philosophy was with us, and excited by this
catastrophe, he entered on the explanation of a
theory that he had formed on the subject of
electricity and galvanism, which was at once
new and astonishing to me. All that he said
threw greatly into the shade the lords of my
former study; but by some fatality the overthrow
of these men disinclined me to pursue my
accustomed studies. It seemed to me as if
nothing would or could ever be known. All that
had so long engaged my attention suddenly
grew hateful. By one of those sudden impulses
of the mind which we are most subject to in early
youth, I at once gave up my former studies. I set
down natural history and its related studies. I
entertained the greatest disdain for a would-be
science that could never even step within the
threshold of real knowledge. In this mood I
betook myself to mathematics and the branches
of study pertaining to that science as being built
upon secure foundations, and so worthy of my
consideration.
Adapted from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, 1818.
22
Which theme is best supported by the passage?
A.
The beauty of nature and the ugliness of scientific study
B.
The questioning of some scientific methods in the face of natural catastrophes
C.
The usefulness of modern science to understand natural catastrophes