题目内容：
回答题：Oceanography has been defined as “Theapplication of all sciences to the study of the sea”．
Beforethe nineteenth century，scientists with an interest in the sea were few and far between．Certainly Newton considered some theoretical aspects of it in hiswritings，but he was reluctant(不愿意)to go to sea to further his work．
For most people the sea was remote，and with the exception ofearly intercontinentaltravellers or others who earned a living from the sea，there was little reason to ask many ques—tions about it．1et alone to ask what lay beneath the surface．The first time that the question What is at the bottom of theoceans? had to be answered with any commercial consequence was when the layingof a telegraph cable from Europe to America wag proposed. The engineershad toknow the depth profile(起伏形状)of the route to estimatethe length of cable that hadto be manufactured．
It was to Maury of the U．S．Navythat the Atlantic Telegraph Company turned，in 1853forinfonnation on this matter．In the 1840s，Maury had been responsible for encouraging voyagesduring whichsoundings were taken to investigate the depths of the North Atlantic andPacificoceans．Later．some of hisfindings aroused much popular interest in his book The Physical Ge—ography ofthe Sea．
The cable was laid.but not until 1866 wasthe connection made permanent and reliable .At tlle eady attempts，the cable failed and whenit was taken out for repaim it was found to be covered in living growths，a fact which defied contemporary scientific opinion that there wasnolife in the deeper parts of the sea．
Within a few years oceanography was under way．In 1872 Thomson led ascientific expedition(考察)，whichlasted for four years and brought home thousands of samples from the sea.Theirclassification and analysis occupied scientists for years and led to afive’volume report，the last volume being published in1895．
It Was_________that asked Maury for helpin oceanographic studies． A．those who earned a livingfrom the sea
B．some earlyintercontinental traveners
C．the American Navy
D．the company which proposedto lay an undersea cable
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