Read the following passage:
"Marie Tharp grew up in the 1930s, wanting to be a surveyor like her father. Although she helped him in his work, women
weren't welcome in the sciences, so she went to music school instead and waited for a chance. When colleges emptied of men
during World War II, she was allowed in to get a geology degree and then another in mathematics.
"She wanted to investigate the ocean depths, but women weren't allowed on research ships. So she waited again, this time in
a basement office, for her male colleagues to send back data. Working slowly and precisely, she tumed those numbers into the
most detailed map of the seafloor ever made.
"Marie wanted her colleagues to understand that her depictions of seafloor geography were powerful evidence for the theory
of continental drift, but they dismissed it as 'girl talk.' It took almost a decade for her work to be accepted. She'd wait many
more years to get full credit."
Which of the answers below is the best description of the cultural context of the reading?
Marie Tharp helped transform our understanding of the world during an era when women were first banned, then largely
ignored, in the sciences.
Marie Tharp was a scientist who needed help from male co-workers to get her work done.
Marie Tharp was a woman of many interests, including music, geology, and map-making. She earned several degrees in
these fields.
O Marie Tharp was a hard worker who made important scientific discoveries in the 1950s and 60s.

According to the given passage, Marie Tharp is described as being a woman who always had an interest in the sciences as she wanted to be a surveyor just like her father, but women were not allowed to be in the sciences, so she had to wait her turn by studying music.

When most of the men went off to war, she seized the opportunity and got a degree in geology and mathematics. She eventually worked on the details of the ocean, as women were not allowed on research vessels.

The answer that is the best description of the cultural context of the reading is that Marie Tharp helped transform our understanding of the world during an era when women were first banned, then largely ignored, in the sciences