PrepTest 154, Section 3, Question 15
For nearly a century after the discovery in(452 more words not shown)
The passage suggests that biologists(18 more words not shown)
- AV. cholerae could(8 more words not shown)
- BV. cholerae bacteria(6 more words not shown)
- CV. cholerae bacteria(6 more words not shown)
- DColwell's new method(6 more words not shown)
- Ethe only V.(11 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Recall the two reasons for the skepticism. Biologists thought these bacteria could not persist without a human host, and there was no nearby cholera outbreak to explain their presence in Chesapeake Bay. Colwell's claim challenged that picture.
What we’re looking for
We need the skeptics' belief at that point, not a later finding that helps show why their assumption was mistaken.
Working the answers
- A
Difficulty culturing living bacteria is part of Colwell's explanation. It isn't the belief the skeptics use to reject the possibility that the bacteria are in the bay.
- BCorrect
If the bacteria require a human host to persist, they cannot remain alive independently in seawater. This applies the skeptics' stated assumption to Colwell's claim. The answer needn't repeat the exact words human host to express that implication.
- C
Dormancy explains how bacteria can survive without showing up in cultures. The skeptics' objection comes before that explanation; we aren't told they rejected her claim because they understood this dormant state.
- D
The account doesn't describe them identifying a flaw in her new detection method. Their resistance rests on the prior belief about human hosts and the absence of a local outbreak.
- E
Finding the bacteria in crabs would allow them to exist outside human hosts. That would not supply the skeptics' reason for rejecting Colwell's environmental finding. Their position isn't that crabs are the only place in the bay where the bacteria could live.
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