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1000CR Question No 1 : Test 16

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1000CR Question No 1 : Test 16

by samyak » Mon May 10, 2010 11:10 am
The chanterelle, a type of wild mushroom, grows beneath host trees such as the Douglas fir, which provide it with necessary sugars. The underground filaments of chanterelles, which extract the sugars, in turn provide nutrients and water for their hosts. Because of this mutually beneficial relationship, harvesting the chanterelles growing beneath a Douglas fir seriously endangers the tree.
Which of the following, if true, casts the most doubt on the conclusion drawn above?
(A) The number of wild mushrooms harvested has increased in recent years.
(B) Chanterelles grow not only beneath Douglas firs but also beneath other host trees.
(C) Many types of wild mushrooms are found only in forests and cannot easily be grown elsewhere.
(D) The harvesting of wild mushrooms stimulates future growth of those mushrooms.
(E) Young Douglas fir seedlings die without the nutrients and water provided by chanterelle filaments.

IMO, Ans is E. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
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by prosaicblabber » Mon May 10, 2010 11:22 am
(D) appears riht to me
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by samyak » Mon May 10, 2010 11:32 am
Please explain your view.
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by prosaicblabber » Mon May 10, 2010 11:46 am
harvesting the chanterelles growing beneath a Douglas fir seriously endangers the tree
The answer choice should cast a doubt or weaken this statement i.e we have to choose a statement
that doesn't imply ,endangering Douglas fir by Hravesting chanterelles . looking at answer choices

A) NO relation .
B) We are talking about harvesting Chanterlles growing specifically under Douglas fir , so this is irrelevant to the
context.
C) No relation.
D) It indicates harvesting mushrooms will stimulate growth of mushrooms and since mushrooms are source of nutrients
to Douglas fir . It implies harvesting will stimulate the growth of Douglas fir in a way hence weakening the original
conclusion drawan in passage.
E) It supports the argument rather than weakening it
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by samyak » Mon May 10, 2010 12:11 pm
I'm not sure I've understood why E is supporting the conclusion.

E says "Young Douglas fir seedlings die without the nutrients and water provided by chanterelle filaments. "...So chanterelle is actually helping in growth of Douglas fir & hence can't endanger the same.

Please point out the flaw in this reasoning.
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by josh@knewton » Mon May 10, 2010 2:19 pm
The conclusion drawn in the passage is, "Because of this mutually beneficial relationship, harvesting the chanterelles growing beneath a Douglas fir seriously endangers the tree." We are looking for a statement that will weaken this conclusion, most likely by providing evidence that harvesting the chanterelles either will not affect, or will improve the health of, the Douglas fir tree.

Choice D casts doubt upon the conclusion. If the harvesting of wild mushrooms stimulates future growth of those mushrooms, then the Douglas fir will continue to be sustained by the "necessary sugars" provided by the new mushrooms. If this is the case, the trees will not be endangered--the opposite of the conclusion drawn in the passage.

In response to your question, samyak: Choice E supports the conclusion in the passage. E tells us that Douglas fir seedlings will die without the nutrients provided by the wild mushrooms; in other words, the lack of mushrooms will seriously endanger the tree. This is precisely the conclusion drawn in the passage, and thus is exactly the opposite of a correct answer choice.
Josh Anish
Senior Editor, Knewton
https://www.knewton.com
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