PrepTest 118, Section 2, Question 17
A lichen consists of a fungus living in(450 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- Aexplanation of the(19 more words not shown)
- Bdefinition of lichens;(18 more words not shown)
- Cdefinition of lichens;(19 more words not shown)
- Ddiscussion of the(20 more words not shown)
- Eexplanation of the(23 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
A rough map is enough here: introduce lichens, explain why their fungi were hard to classify, show how new research resolved that problem, then discuss an implication. We don't need to reproduce every scientific detail. We need an answer whose parts do those same jobs in that order.
Working the answers
- A
The difficulty of classification comes after the introduction, and we don't get a description of the actual DNA sequence. We learn what analyzing a gene allowed researchers to discover.
- B
The beginning sounds right. But the final paragraph uses the findings to challenge a longstanding evolutionary assumption. It doesn't present a theory and build a case for that theory. B changes the job of the final discussion.
- CCorrect
The opening defines lichens. The second paragraph explains the classification difficulty and the new tools that resolve it. The final paragraph discusses what the resulting family tree implies about evolution. That's our map in different words.
- D
The research distinguishes the fungus's DNA from its partner's DNA. It isn't a method for telling parasitic fungi apart from symbiotic fungi. D misdescribes the central research.
- E
The ending concerns the implications of the new findings, not the implications of the old research problems. E skips the solution that makes the final discussion possible.
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