Read the following passage and answer the question below. The Silk Road was an extensive network of trade routes that connected the East and West for over a thousand years, facilitating the exchange of goods, ideas, and culture between distant civilizations. Stretching from China through Central Asia to the Mediterranean, merchants transported silk, spices, precious metals, and other valuable goods along these routes. Beyond material trade, the Silk Road also served as a conduit for the spread of religions such as Buddhism, technologies like papermaking, and even diseases, including the bubonic plague. Cities along the route, such as Samarkand and Kashgar, flourished as bustling centers of commerce and cultural exchange, where travelers from different backgrounds interacted and shared knowledge. The decline of the Silk Road began with the rise of maritime trade routes, which offered faster and often safer alternatives for transporting goods between continents. Nevertheless, its legacy as a symbol of cross-cultural connection endures to this day. Question: In the passage, the word 'conduit' most nearly means:
- A. A form of government
- B. A channel or pathway for transmission ✓
- C. A military alliance
- D. A type of currency
Correct answer
B. A channel or pathway for transmission
Explanation
'Conduit' describes the Silk Road as a pathway through which religions, technologies, and diseases were transmitted.