As far back as 700 B.C., man has talked about children being cared for by wolves. Romulus and Remus, the legendary twin founders of Rome, were purported to have been cared for by wolves. It is believed that when a she-wold loses her litter, she seeks a human child to take its place.This seemingly preposterous idea did not become credible until the late nineteenth century when a French doctor actually found a naked ten-year-old boy wandering in the woods. He did not walk erect, could not speak intelligibly, nor could he relate to people. He only growled and stated at them. Finally the doctor won the boy's confidence and began to work with him. After many long years of devoted and patient instruction, the doctor was able to get the boy to clothe and feed himself, recognize and utter a number of words, as well as writ letters and form words. In this passage, the word preposterous most nearly means________