PrepTest 119, Section 1, Question 18
The pronghorn, an antelope-like mammal that lives on(465 more words not shown)
The last paragraph most strongly(7 more words not shown)
- AAn absence of(24 more words not shown)
- BRelict behaviors are(7 more words not shown)
- CIf a behavior(18 more words not shown)
- DBehavior patterns that(18 more words not shown)
- EBehavior patterns invariably(9 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The last paragraph gives examples of defensive behavior persisting after predators disappear, then adds the arctic ground squirrels as a limit: after a much longer separation, the organized response is missing. Several details could support an answer, but the useful contrast is persistence for a long time versus persistence forever.
Working the answers
- A
We aren't given a comparison showing that having no predators is as dangerous as having predators. Loss of a defensive response doesn't establish that broad claim about an animal's well-being.
- B
The examples establish that relict behaviors occur in several populations. They don't tell us what proportion of all wild animals displays them.
- CCorrect
The arctic ground squirrels support the possibility that a behavior can eventually disappear when the conditions that favored it are absent. The writer introduces that example by saying the fear “apparently does not persist interminably.”
- D
Periodic reinforcement wasn't tested. We don't know whether occasionally reintroducing a predator would keep the response going forever.
- E
We aren't told how long these behaviors took to develop, so we can't compare development time with disappearance time.
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