PrepTest 114, Section 3, Question 4
The myth persists that in 1492 the Western(433 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(18 more words not shown)
- Aextensive homogeneous forests(3 more words not shown)
- Bextensive homogeneous forests(3 more words not shown)
- Cextensive heterogeneous forests(3 more words not shown)
- Dextensive heterogeneous forests(3 more words not shown)
- Eextensive sedimentary charcoal(4 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
This asks about the tropics before Europeans arrived. The charcoal finding was in the northeastern United States, so not every piece of evidence will qualify.
What we’re looking for
Return to the tropical example: warm, wet Nicaragua naturally favors mixed forest, yet it had pine-dominant forests near substantial Native settlements. We need to match that forest's composition and its lowland setting.
Working the answers
- A
The more uniform composition fits, but high elevation doesn't. The higher pine forests in Guatemala and Mexico are described as largely natural, unlike the lowland example connected to regular burning.
- BCorrect
Homogeneous means relatively uniform; the pine-dominant forests contrast with the mixed forests the climate would naturally favor. They “were present when Europeans arrived” and occurred only where Native settlements were substantial. When settlements were abandoned, mixed hardwoods returned. That pattern supports the connection to human burning.
- C
Heterogeneous means mixed, so this misses the pine-dominant composition. It also puts the forests at the wrong elevation.
- D
Low elevation fits, but mixed forest is what the warm, wet conditions naturally favor. It isn't the more uniform vegetation used as evidence of burning.
- E
The charcoal deposits are real evidence, but the example is in the northeastern United States, not the tropics. We also aren't told those deposits were at high elevation.
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