Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: Beaches that were left alone ...

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: Beaches that were left alone after the Exxon Valdez disaster recovered more quickly and more completely than the cleaned beaches BECAUSE hot water removed the oil but also killed
 
  most shoreline organisms. A) The assertion and the reason are both correct, and the reason is valid.
  B) The assertion and the reason are both correct, but the reason is invalid.
  C) The assertion is correct but the reason is incorrect.
  D) The assertion is incorrect but the reason is correct.
  E) Both the assertion and the reason are incorrect.