New Project RC Butler 2019 - Practice 2 RC Passages Everyday Passage # 395, Date: 17-Oct-2019 This post is a part of New Project RC Butler 2019 . Click here for Details Bog bodies, most of them dating from between 500 BCE and 100 CE, have been found across northwestern Europe. They are remarkably well preserved in many cases, sometimes down to wrinkles and scars on their leathery, reddish-brown skin. They have not been kept intact in the same way as Egyptian mummies, deliberately embalmed through painstaking human technique, but have likely been perpetuated by an accident that archaeologists who study the Iron Age might call a happy one. The wetlands in which the bodies are found are exclusively sphagnum moss bogs. These exist in temperate climes where the winter and early spring weather is cold, leaving the water in the bogs below 40°F during those months, and the bogs are all near sources of salt water. Together these elements create the perfect environment for the preservation of skin and internal organs. The biochemistry of preservation in bogs has several components. Both the cold temperatures and dense peat from the moss, which constitutes a mostly anaerobic environment, prevent significant bacterial growth in the water. As layers of moss die and deteriorate in the water, they create humic acid, also known as bog acid; the acidic environment further inhibits bacteria. Interestingly, this acid often erodes the bones of bog bodies, leaving only the skin and organs, in a process quite the opposite of that which acts upon bodies outside of bogs. The dead layers of moss also release sphagnan, a carbohydrate that attaches itself to the skin of the bodies, preventing rot and water damage. Besides bodies, bogs have also preserved books, boats, and even bread and “bog butter”—waxy dairy- or meat-based substances sometimes found stored in barrels in the bogs, which likely served as the equivalent of Iron Age refrigerators, preserving food just as they preserve human skin. Much can be learned about our ancestors from the Iron Age and even earlier due to the unique ability of sphagnum moss bogs to preserve so thoroughly that which has fallen into them: scholars have studied such diverse features of early human life as medical conditions like arthritis and parasitic infection, diet, and how far from home people traveled. The bogs offer a fascinating window into the past. 1 A 1. According to the passage, all of the following conditions are conducive to the preservation of bog bodies EXCEPT (A) long winters (B) low air temperatures (C) proximity to salt water (D) cool water (E) sphagnum moss 2 C 2. The primary purpose of the passage is to (A) explain the ways in which bog bodies are different from other preserved bodies, such as mummies (B) challenge the position that the preservation of bodies in bogs is probably the result of intentional effort (C) discuss the characteristics of sphagnum moss bogs that allow bodies to be found in a condition that permits unique study (D) argue that scholars would not understand significant aspects of human life during the Iron Age had bog bodies not been discovered (E) analyze the differences between sphagnum moss bogs and the types of environments in which bodies decay 3 D 3. In the context of the passage as a whole, the third paragraph serves primarily to (A) evaluate the relative importance of the elements discussed in the second paragraph (B) provide support for an argument presented in the fourth paragraph about the significance of the subject of the passage (C) outline the creation of the environment that produces the effect that is the topic of the passage (D) elaborate on the mechanisms underlying an effect achieved by elements introduced in the second paragraph (E) explain the prominence of a particular academic discipline in the study of the topic of the passage 4 E 4. According to the passage, bacterial growth is inhibited by all of the following EXCEPT (A) an anaerobic environment (B) the presence of sphagnum moss (C) breakdown of layers of dead moss (D) cold water temperature (E) release of sphagnan from dead moss Source: Kaplan Prep Plus 2020

Last visit was: 18 Nov 2025, 18:40

It is currently 18 Nov 2025, 18:40

Toolkit

Reading Comprehension (RC)

GMAT Club Daily Prep

Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.

Go to My Error Log Learn more

Request Expert Reply

Confirm Cancel

Nov 18
GMAT Quiz #50 - Live GMAT Practice Covering Quant, Verbal, RC, & Data Insights
11:00 AM PST
-
12:00 PM PST
Join us in a live GMAT practice session and solve 30 challenging GMAT questions with other test takers in timed conditions, covering GMAT Quant, Data Sufficiency, Data Insights, Reading Comprehension, and Critical Reasoning questions.
Nov 22
GMAT RC Masterclass
11:00 AM IST
-
01:00 PM IST
Do RC/MSR passages scare you? e-GMAT is conducting a masterclass to help you learn – Learn effective reading strategies Tackle difficult RC & MSR with confidence Excel in timed test environment
Nov 23
Conquer Algebra on the GMAT Focus Edition
11:00 AM IST
-
01:00 PM IST
Attend this free GMAT Algebra Webinar and learn how to master the most challenging Inequalities and Absolute Value problems with ease.
Nov 25
Try OnDemand GMAT Masterclass
10:00 AM EST
-
11:00 AM EST
Prefer video-based learning? The Target Test Prep OnDemand course is a one-of-a-kind video masterclass featuring 400 hours of lecture-style teaching by Scott Woodbury-Stewart, founder of Target Test Prep and one of the most accomplished GMAT instructors.

Back to Forum

Create Topic

Bog bodies, most of them dating from between 500 BCE and 100 CE, have

1 2

egmat

e-GMAT Representative

Joined: 02 Nov 2011

Last visit: 18 Nov 2025

Posts: 5,108

Own Kudos:

32,883

Given Kudos: 700

GMAT Date: 08-19-2020

Expert

Expert reply

Posts: 5,108

Kudos: 32,883

06 Nov 2025, 22:06

Kudos

Bookmarks

Option (C) says "creation of the environment" - this would mean explaining how bogs form/come into existence. The passage never does this.

What paragraph 3 actually does: It takes an already-existing bog (from para 2) and explains HOW the preservation chemistry works inside it.

Cold → stops bacteria
Humic acid → inhibits bacteria
Sphagnan → coats skin, prevents rot

That's why it's (D), not (C).
Make sense?

mkeshri185

outline the creation of the environment that produces the effect that is the topic of the passage

i did not get why this option(C) is wrong for Q3. third para talks about the formation of some environment and due to which something happens. And the effect of passage is indeed preserving the bodies so talked about that too. then why is this wrong

1 2

Moderators:

GMATNinja

GMAT Club Verbal Expert

7445 posts

GMATNinjaTwo

GMAT Club Verbal Expert

234 posts

Sajjad1994

GRE Forum Moderator

17289 posts

miag

188 posts

Prep Toolkit

Announcements

Master in Management, Finance, Business Analytics and more Master’s Programs!

Solving 705+ Level MSR Questions with Data Synthesis Skils

Tuesday, Nov 18, 2025
10:30am NY / 3:30pm London / 9pm Mumbai

Live Profile Evaluation Chat Session with ARINGO

Wednesday, November 19, 2025
09:00 am PDT | 10:30 pm IST
Location: GMAT Club Chat

Top GMAT Focus Debriefs

Bog bodies, most of them dating from between 500 BCE and 100 CE, have

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

Bog bodies, most of them dating from between 500 BCE and 100 CE, have

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards