The officers of an 1845 English ship belonged to the nobility, but they

experienced more severe lead poisoning on an extended voyage than

did the working-class crew.  It was discovered later that canned foods,

bought by the crew and officers to supplement the equally distributed

dried food rations, were tainted with lead. 

Given the information above, which of the following, if true, would most

contribute to an explanation of the greater severity of lead poisoning

among the officers?

    A  Although all ship members ate the same amount of food per day,

       the crew ate all of their daily dried food rations while the officers

       substituted canned food for most of their rations. 

     B The canned food produced in England in 1845 could last the dura-

        tion of most extended voyages without becoming inedible. 

    C  On average, the officers had spent less time at sea than had the

       members of the working-class crew. 

     D The population of England in 1845 got much of its drinking water

       from lead pipes that carried the water  from rivers and lakes,

       thereby contaminating the water with lead particles. 

    E  The rate of consumption of canned foods did not increase as

       the ship’s voyage continued. 

答案A