OE


The paragraph says that it is difficult to locate the many organisms living in the ocean because of the space they have to live in. Our lack of experience with them gives the organisms a secretive quality. "Haughty" means "proud." Being rarely seen would not cause aquatic life to be "proud." "Vituperative" means "offensive." Again, being rarely seen would not make aquatic life offensive. "Enigmatic" means "mysterious." This accurately describes how aquatic life would appear to humans if we've rarely or never seen them before.
The second sentence stresses the sheer size of the ocean and describes how this size is perceived in terms of searching for marine life. It must be considered excessively large for that purpose. "Coquettish" means "demure." This personality trait does not explain how the size of the ocean would be perceived by those looking for life within it. "Ardent" means "zealous." Once again, this word does not describe how the ocean would be perceived by those trying to find life within it. We are left with "Exorbitant." This word means "excessive." This describes exactly how one would feel about the size of the ocean when searching it for life.

The last sentence stresses how understanding every aspect of marine life is necessary in order to attain a certain type of understanding about the ocean. This "certain type" of understanding must be complete understanding if it requires understanding everything, including microscopic organisms. "Diminutive" means "small." A small understanding would not require knowing how every microscopic organism functions within the ocean. "Reticent" means "shy." A "shy" understanding does not make sense. "Exhaustive" means "complete." This makes sense. A complete understanding of marine life would require knowing how everything, including microscopic organisms, function within the ocean.