PART A: Which statement best expresses the central idea of the text?
A. Scientists continue to study the plague’s spread through Europe in the 14th century because they can’t understand how it spread so aggressively.
B. Upper-class people lost their influence over lower classes of people as it became clear that even they would not be spared from the plague.
C. The plague modernized health and medicine in Europe as people realized that doctors were unintentionally spreading the plague rather than treating it.
D. While the plague was devastating to Europe’s population, it also reshaped their social order to allow for greater equality.

The headings of this article can help us to determine the central idea. The first part of the article starts with a narrative about a ship carrying disease. Then the headings give the main idea of each section. We know that the article begins with "The Arrival and Spread of the Black Plague" then moves to "Symptoms and Devestation", before describing the "Societal Effects", and then ends with "The Black Death's Legacy". These headings show us that the text is not just about what happened during the plague but also what it's long term effects were. Option D best covers what was happening during the plague and also what it's long term effects were.