historical significance in hitherto overlooked episodes

[keannu]

Source : 12th graders' mock test - Oct - No 31

31. Choose the matching answer.
Some people may find it hard to believe they are making a difference all the time. In which case, it may help to abandon the global perspective for a moment and zoom in to our daily human interactions ― in which we spend every moment either deciding what must happen next or going along with somebody else’s ideas. Either way, our actions are all purposeful, and all produce effects. Our day-to-day lives are hardly the stuff of history, you might argue. Certainly not compared with Julius Caesar invading Britain, Genghis Khan sacking Baghdad and Christopher Columbus discovering America. That’s how many people understand history. ‘The history of the world is but the biography of great men,’ wrote Thomas Carlyle. But the ‘great man’ theory of history has been on its way out for years. Nowadays, we recognize that those men couldn’t have done what they did on their own. And we identify historical significance in hitherto _________________

① overlooked episodes
② unchallenged power
③ suppressed desire
④ voluntary surrender
⑤ unexpected disasters[/COLOR]

The answer is 1. But I can't understand the following answers. Does it mean that small episodes contributed to forming history.
This paragraphs doesn't seem to contain the later part to explain it, looking partly cut off.

And we identify historical significance in hitherto overlooked episodes

 

[Tarheel]

...
① overlooked episodes
② unchallenged power
③ suppressed desire
④ voluntary surrender
⑤ unexpected disasters
The answer is 1. But I don't understand the other choices

There is no reason to..

The previously overlooked episodes help explain things.

 

[Tarheel]

We talk about the invention of writing even though we don't know who was responsible. Also, nobody thinks Colombus sailed the Atlantic by himself.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

. . . The answer is 1.

Yes.

But I can't understand the following answers.

You're not suposed to. They don't make sense. They're wrong.

The teacher wants to see if you understood the paragraph.

Does it mean that small episodes contributed to forming history?

Yes.

This paragraphs doesn't seem to contain the later part to explain it, looking partly cut off.

It's not cut off. That's the end of the paragraph.

We can find historical significance in hitherto overlooked episodes.

Yes.

End questions with question marks. End statements with periods.

As always!