PrepTest 123, Section 4, Question 27
In tracing the changing face of the Irish(440 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(13 more words not shown)
- AThe second paragraph(12 more words not shown)
- BThe final paragraph(19 more words not shown)
- CThe final paragraph(8 more words not shown)
- DThe second paragraph(21 more words not shown)
- EThe final paragraph(11 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The second paragraph explains how pollen analysis works and why it helps: preserved grains can reveal which plants grew and when, adding to or correcting the documentary record. The final paragraph points out that some related plants have indistinguishable pollen, so the method can't always identify a particular species.
What we’re looking for
That's a method and its value, followed by a limitation. We aren't abandoning the method; we're narrowing what we can claim it tells us.
Working the answers
- A
The final example shows a limit on pollen analysis. It doesn't provide evidence confirming a hypothesis from the second paragraph.
- B
Must be solved goes too far. The cereal and flax examples already show useful results; the method needn't distinguish every species before it becomes useful.
- CCorrect
Qualifies means limits or modifies the claim. Pollen can improve the historical record in many cases, but the final paragraph shows why it can't settle every question about which plant was present.
- D
The writer uses examples to support the method's value, then explains a limitation. That isn't an argument against the method described in the second paragraph.
- E
The ending offers no additional tests or procedures to solve the identification problem. It explains what the existing method cannot distinguish.
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