PrepTest 123, Section 4, Question 23
In tracing the changing face of the Irish(440 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- AAnalysis of fossilized(22 more words not shown)
- BAnalyses of historical(21 more words not shown)
- CAnalysis of fossilized(15 more words not shown)
- DAnalysis of fossilized(26 more words not shown)
- EWhile pollen evidence(22 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
We've already predicted the main point: pollen helps improve the historical picture of Ireland's vegetation, even though it can't answer every question. Now we want an answer that expresses that idea.
What we’re looking for
The cereal and flax examples show how pollen corrects earlier beliefs. The ending adds a limitation—some plants leave indistinguishable pollen—but doesn't undo the method's value. A main-point answer should capture that overall value, rather than treat one example or the final qualification as the whole point.
Working the answers
- ACorrect
This captures what the examples are there to establish: pollen is a useful addition to the historical record. The second paragraph says it can add to or revise what written sources tell us. Calling it useful doesn't claim it can identify every species, so the final limitation is compatible with this main point.
- B
The examples revise earlier views, but they support a broader claim: pollen can add information missing from fragmentary documents as well as correct mistakes. B reports the revisions without stating that broader value of the method.
- C
Identifying ancient plant species isn't the central question. We want to reconstruct when and where vegetation changed in Ireland, and for some plants the pollen cannot even identify the species.
- D
The examples don't establish that all three crops significantly changed Ireland's landscape. In particular, madder appears because its pollen cannot be distinguished from native weeds, not because the pollen demonstrates the impact of its cultivation.
- E
Severely limited makes the qualification sound like the overall verdict, despite the successful cereal and flax examples. And cannot identify plant species generalizes a problem affecting only some plants.
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