My grandfather's study is filled with fascinating objects from his travels. On one shelf, he keeps his geology collection. (line 3) He has dozens of mineral specimens, each with a small, neatly written label identifying its type and where it was found. His favorite is a sparkling quartz crystal he discovered in a cave many years ago. He told me that each rock tells a story about the Earth's history.
In line 3, the word "specimens" most nearly means
- treasures
- containers
- tools
- samples (correct answer)
Explanation: The passage discusses a collection of minerals used for study, each with a label. In a scientific or collection context, individual items kept as examples of a type are called "samples" or specimens. (A) is too general; while he may treasure them, their primary role in a collection is as examples. (B) is incorrect as containers would hold the specimens, but are not the specimens themselves. (C) is incorrect because rocks in a collection are not typically tools.