PrepTest 118, Section 2, Question 16
A lichen consists of a fungus living in(450 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(13 more words not shown)
- Ato suggest that(15 more words not shown)
- Bto show that(18 more words not shown)
- Cto explain the(18 more words not shown)
- Dto demonstrate that(14 more words not shown)
- Eto explain how(8 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The last paragraph moves from where these fungi belong to what their placement tells us. An old assumption says parasites evolve toward less harmful, eventually mutually beneficial relationships. The new family tree suggests that the direction can reverse. So I'm looking for an answer about an implication of the findings, perhaps naming that challenge to the old assumption.
Working the answers
- A
This changes the assumption. The paragraph isn't challenging the idea that lichen-forming fungi are primarily symbiotic. It's challenging a claim about the direction in which relationships evolve.
- BCorrect
The findings about classification challenge the longstanding assumption that parasitic relationships inevitably become more benign and eventually symbiotic. That’s why paragraph 3 opens by identifying a consequence of the recent findings.
- C
We aren't being told the fundamental reasons for classifying fungi. We're being shown what this particular research suggests about evolution.
- D
“Verified” goes the wrong way. The writer says the new research helps overturn the assumption, not confirm it.
- E
The paragraph says a reversal toward parasitism can happen, but it doesn't explain the biological process that produces that reversal. Its job is to show how that finding challenges the previously assumed direction of evolution.
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