PrepTest 119, Section 1, Question 16
The pronghorn, an antelope-like mammal that lives on(465 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- AEvidence from present-day(32 more words not shown)
- BAlthough some biologists(34 more words not shown)
- CResearch into animal(28 more words not shown)
- DEven in those(26 more words not shown)
- EAlthough biologists are(29 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
We've already predicted the main point: the pronghorn's speed is a plausible example of behavior shaped by predators that no longer exist. Present-day observations help support that historical explanation.
What we’re looking for
We're looking for that idea, whether or not the answer uses the term relict behavior. The examples from other animals support the pronghorn explanation; they don't replace it as the central focus.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
This combines the evidence with the explanation it supports. Fossils establish the extinct predators, while current animal behavior helps make it plausible that the pronghorn's speed remains an adaptation to those predators.
- B
The arctic ground squirrels show that a defensive response need not persist forever. They don't undermine the possibility that a response can remain long after a predator disappears. B turns the final qualification into a rejection of the main explanation.
- C
We get several examples, not evidence about most animal characteristics. C expands the claim far beyond the behaviors studied here.
- D
Eventual disappearance is the final qualification, not the central claim about pronghorns. It also turns evidence that a behavior may disappear into a prediction that such characteristics will disappear generally.
- E
We aren't told that biologists have reached widespread agreement. The writer presents supporting evidence despite skepticism, not a report that the skepticism has been overcome across the field.
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