Even more than mountainside slides of mud or snow, naturally occurring

Question

Even more than mountainside slides of mud or snow, naturally occurring forest fires promote the survival of aspen trees. Aspens' need for fire may seem illogical since aspens are particularly vulnerable to fires; whereas  the bark of most trees  consists of dead cells, the aspen's bark is a living, functioning tissue that―along with the rest of the tree―succumbs quickly to fire.

The explanation is that each aspen, while appearing to exist separately as a single tree, is in fact only the stem or shoot of a far larger organism. A group of thousands of aspens can actually constitute a single organism, called a clone, that shares an interconnected root system and a unique set of genes. Thus, when one aspen―a single stem―dies, the entire clone is affected. While alive, a stem sends hormones into the root system to suppress formation of further stems. But when the stem dies, its hormone signal also ceases. If a clone loses many stems simultaneously, the resulting hormonal imbalance triggers a huge increase in new, rapidly growing shoots that can outnumber the ones destroyed. An aspen grove needs to experience fire or some other  disturbance  regularly, or it will fail to regenerate and spread. Instead, coniferous trees will invade the aspen grove's borders and increasingly block out sunlight needed by the aspens.   1 
 C 
1. The primary purpose of the passage is to explain the

(A) qualities that make a particular organism unique

(B) evolutionary change undergone by a particular organism

(C) reasons that a phenomenon benefits a particular organism

(D) way in which two particular organisms compete for a resource

(E) means by which a particular organism has been able to survive in a barren region

2 
 A 
2. It can be inferred from the passage that when aspen groves experience a " disturbance ", such a disturbance

(A) leads to a hormonal imbalance within an aspen clone

(B) provides soil conditions that are favorable for new shoots

(C) thins out aspen groves that have become overly dense

(D) suppresses the formation of too many new aspen stems

(E) protects aspen groves by primarily destroying coniferous trees rather than aspens

3 
 A 
3. The author of the passage refers to " the bark of most trees " most likely in order to emphasize the

(A) vulnerability of aspens to damage from fire when compared to other trees

(B) rapidity with which trees other than aspens succumb to destruction by fire

(C) relatively great degree of difficulty with which aspens catch on fire when compared to other trees

(D) difference in appearance between the bark of aspens and that of other trees

(E) benefits of fire to the survival of various types of trees

4 
 D 
4. According to the passage, which of the following would occur if an aspen failed to regenerate periodically?

(A) Individual aspens would cease to produce hormones.

(B) Individual aspens would grow outward instead of upward.

(C) The root system of the grove's clone would die.

(D) The grove would lose its access to sunlight.

(E) Soil conditions in the grove would become unfavorable for the growth of aspens.

bkkanurag · Accepted Answer

1)  C

A. qualities that make a particular organism unique
Here the author doesn't compare the qualities of Aspen trees with other trees or organisms to make it unique. He just just mentions them.  So not A

B. evolutionary change undergone by a particular organism.
The author doesn't mention any stages of evolution of the Aspen plant.  So not B .

C. reasons that a phenomenon benefits a particular organism 
 Correct answer  because the first paragraph introduces the importance of the phenomenon (forest fires) and the body paragraph explains the benefits of it.

D. way in which two particular organisms compete for a resource
The author doesn't draw a comparison between two trees. He mentions coniferous trees at the last only to explain what would happen if there were no forest fires.  SO not D

E. means by which a particular organism has been able to survive in a barren region
The author doesn't even mention that the trees are growing on barren lands.  So not E.

2) A

A. leads to a hormonal imbalance within an aspen clone 
 Correct answer  because the disturbance ( mainly forest fires) lead to hormonal imbalance which subsequently lead to new shoots of stems.

B. provides soil conditions that are favorable for new shoots
The author doesn't talk about soil conditions.  So not B

C. thins out aspen groves that have become overly dense
The disturbance thins out Aspen groves either thin or dense or otherwise. So cannot be the thinning of only dense groves.  So not C .

D. suppresses the formation of too many new aspen stems
Actually it aids the formation of new stems.  So not D .

E. protects aspen groves by primarily destroying coniferous trees rather than aspens
The disturbance only destroys Aspen trees. The author never even mentions forest fires destroying coniferous trees let alone protecting Aspen trees by destroying other trees. So not E.

3) A

A. vulnerability of aspens to damage from fire when compared to other trees 
 Correct answer  because Aspen trees have a living bark unlike most trees which succumbs to fire quickly as stated in the passage.

B. rapidity with which trees other than aspens succumb to destruction by fire
Actually the passage says the opposite about the other trees catching fire.  So not B

C. relatively great degree of difficulty with which aspens catch on fire when compared to other trees
Again the passage says that Aspen trees catch fire quickly in comparison to other trees.  So not C.

D. difference in appearance between the bark of aspens and that of other trees
The author doesn't talk about the appearance of the barks.  So not D .

E. benefits of fire to the survival of various types of trees
The author says that fires are important for Aspen trees alone but he doesn't mention any other trees whose survival is aided by forest fires.  So not E

4) D

A. Individual aspens would cease to produce hormones
The passage never mentions that the shoots would stop producing hormones. In fact it says the exact opposite.  So not A

B. Individual aspens would grow outward instead of upward.
The passage doesn't talk about the direction of the growth of the grove. So not B

C. The root system of the grove's clone would die.
The passage never says that the root system would die if it doesn't regenerate. It only says that it would cease to grow new shoots.

D. The grove would lose its access to sunlight 
 Correct answer  because if it doesn't produce new shoots, coniferous trees will invade the groves and block sunlight as mentioned in the last line of the passage.

E. Soil conditions in the grove would become unfavorable for the growth of aspens.
The author never talks about effect of regeneration on the soil conditions.  So not E

rockrock · Answer

Can someone explain #2 to me. I chose (c) thins out aspen groves that become overly dense. I thought that the disturbance causes the trees to set on fire and and allows the sunlight to come in so the aspen trees can grow again.

How do you target the answer for A ...once you find the term disturbance... I was confused by the rest of the sentence "it will fail to regenerate and spread"...because the passage doesnt really explain what that means.

help pls!

ramgmat · Answer

@rock rock....
You have taken the disturbance to refer directly to the sentence mentioned " An aspen grove needs to experience fire or some other disturbance regularly, or it will fail to regenerate and spread." 
Whereas we need to look into the passage as a whole. 
The author refers to the fire when he mentions disturbance. It  does not  refer to just the line " An aspen grove needs to experience fire or some other disturbance regularly, or it will fail to regenerate and spread."

The fire/disturbance causes the stem to die thereby ceasing the hormones which is sent to the root system. Hence it can be said that that the fire leads to an imbalance in the aspen clone. The above two lines are not assumptions. They are rather mentioned in the passage.

It can be inferred from the passage that when aspen groves experience a "disturbance", such a disturbance

A.leads to a hormonal imbalance within an aspen clone 
- Right answer. 
B.provides soil conditions that are favorable for new shoots 
- Not mentioned in the passage
C.thins out aspen groves that have become overly dense 
- density of the aspen growth is not mentioned anywhere in the passage. We are not supposed to make broad assumptions here.

D.suppresses the formation of too many new aspen stems 
- Opposite answer. Incorrect.

E.protects aspen groves by primarily destroying coniferous trees rather than aspens 
- Incorrect. Coniferous only block sunlight. Nothing is mentioned about destroying confierous in the passage.

AN225 · Answer

The primary purpose of the passage is to explain the
A.qualities that make a particular organism unique << it is mentioned that 'most trees', so aspen is not unique
B.evolutionary change undergone by a particular organism << nice distractor, but not evolution is mentioned in the passage
C.reasons that a phenomenon benefits a particular organism - Bingo!
D.way in which two particular organisms compete for a resource << wow.. miles away
E.means by which a particular organism has been able to survive in a barren region << what does barren mean?

I don't know and this text is not about survival

leaderz · Answer

Kindly, give the explanation of the answer.

regards,
Ravi.

SOURH7WK · Answer

The question is what happens when Aspen trees fails to regenerate??

From the Last part of passage we understand that:

When Aspen grooves dies --------> it fails to send necessary hormones to regenerate --------> result other trees take up the space and block sunlight for aspen.

Hence answer is D.

saumya12 · Answer

For second question, initially thought the answer was C.

However, on closer reading, realized that C actually says the opposite of what is mentioned in the passage. C says that thins out aspen groves ; however, according to the passage, “disturbance” does not thin out aspen groves; “disturbance” actually results in “growing shoots that can outnumber the ones destroyed”. So, “disturbance” actually increases the density.

bolasao · Answer

Please, I have a question with this passage:

In question 1), I did not pick C because it states that ¨ reasons  that a phenomenon benefits a particular organism¨and in the passage it is just mentioned one reason (¨the resulting hormonal imbalance triggers a huge increase in new, rapidly growing shoots that can outnumber the ones destroyed¨). By contrast, after eliminating the other answers, I believed that answer A ¨qualities that make a particular organism unique¨ is supported by the quote that states ¨Aspens' need for fire may seem illogical since aspens are particularly vulnerable to fires¨.

Can sb explain??? Thank youu!!

vishwaprakash · Answer

Hi  bolasao ,

Let's analyse the structure of Passage.

First Para - Author Introduces the surprising fact "Destruction favor Particular tree (Aspen), The fact was surprising since Aspen are equally impacted from Fire"

Second Para - Author presented reason why Destruction help and what will happen in absence of Destruction (Fire)

Only two options come close. Option A and Option C.

A. qualities that make a particular organism unique
This is way to exaggerated. Author has not said, this organism is unique. Although to readers it may appear as unique but it may or may not be unique.
Although in Passage there are couple of occurrence of word "Unique" but those in some other reference.
This is how test maker play with the candidate thinking and put the trap.

Incorrect

C. reasons that a phenomenon benefits a particular organism
This is exactly Passage speaks about. Author talks about phenomenon "in first para" and "In second para" how that phenomenon helped particular organism "Aspan"

Hope it helps

rohan89 · Answer

Reasons are explained in the second passage. Second passage tells us why an aspen reacts in such way to any disturbance such as fire. Now, if we were not told about the aspens working as a single organism...and so on, we wouldn't know why is it growing instead. First passage says that it may SEEM illogical that Aspens need fire or a phenomenon to grow, and the same is explained/reasoned in the following passage. Hope that helps! Hit kudos if you like my post

Rohan.

swaskapoor · Answer

In last question I think A should be correct because the passage says that the individual stem cease to send growth hormones to the root . The inaccessibility to sunlight only occurs if coniferous trees would invade the groves and has said nothing about it, its uncertain may be grooves are not invaded but release of growth hormones are certainly inhibited if number of individual stems are not altered. Also invasion occurs as a result of lack of growth. Please present your views on this. Thank you.

anje29 · Answer

Hi,
You missed this line mentioned in the passage  'While alive, a stem sends hormones into the root system to suppress formation of further stems.'  . Passage doesn't mention about cease of hormone production but it does mention this 'But when the stem dies, its hormone signal also ceases.' , using this line you can not infer option A. Only option D is supported by the passage.

pikolo2510 · Answer

Woah! Thats pretty fast

How do you read and answer questions so quickly? Please shed some light on your RC strategy. Thanks

jokschmer · Answer

took total 7:16 min, passage plus first question took 4:13.

All correct, but have seen a guy took 2:51 min that is outstanding, some times it take same time for me to do a single SC question.

Skywalker18 · Answer

Took 4 mins 30 seconds, including 2 mins to read

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to explain the
C. reasons that a phenomenon benefits a particular organism - "Even more than mountainside slides of mud or snow, naturally occurring forest fires promote the survival of aspen trees"

2. It can be inferred from the passage that when aspen groves experience a "disturbance" , such a disturbance
A. leads to a hormonal imbalance within an aspen clone - But when the stem dies, its hormone signal also ceases. If a clone loses many stems simultaneously, the resulting hormonal imbalance triggers a huge increase in new, rapidly growing shoots that can outnumber the ones destroyed.

3. The author of the passage refers to "the bark of most trees" (line 6) most likely in order to emphasize the
A. vulnerability of aspens to damage from fire when compared to other trees - Correct

4. According to the passage, which of the following would occur if an aspen grove failed to regenerate periodically?
D. The grove would lose its access to sunlight - Correct - An aspen grove needs to experience fire or some other disturbance regularly, or it will fail to regenerate and spread. Instead, coniferous trees will invade the aspen grove's borders and increasingly block out sunlight needed by the aspens.

jabhatta2 · Answer

why is A the answer for 3 ?

I thought it was E actually ....when i read the underline below, seems like its telling me

--- counter intuitive for aspens to want to live

Even more than mountainside slides of mud or snow, naturally occurring forest fires promote the survival of aspen trees. Aspens' need for fire may seem illogical since aspens are particularly vulnerable to fires; whereas the  bark of most trees  consists of dead cells, the aspen's bark is a living, functioning tissue that - - along with the rest of the tree - -succumbs quickly to fire.

sandman13 · Answer

Took just over 5 minutes to answer all 4. Got the first question wrong. Can someone please shed some light on question 1:

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to explain the

(A) qualities that make a particular organism unique <-  aspen trees are hive-like and fires HELP them grow, unlike other trees 
(B) evolutionary change undergone by a particular organism
(C) reasons that a phenomenon benefits a particular organism <-  well, a weird thing is explained, so this is a contender as well
 (D) way in which two particular organisms compete for a resource
(E) means by which a particular organism has been able to survive in a barren region

mikemcgarry , can you please help with the first question?

Thanks.

goofytiwari69 · Answer

It can be inferred from the passage that when aspen groves experience a "disturbance", such a disturbance

(A) leads to a hormonal imbalance within an aspen clone

(B) provides soil conditions that are favorable for new shoots

(C) thins out aspen groves that have become overly dense

(D) suppresses the formation of too many new aspen stems

(E) protects aspen groves by primarily destroying coniferous trees rather than aspens

we know that the disturbance would first leadto a hormonal imbalance and then new aspens would grow. so a is the right answe also b,c,d and e can be easily eliminated

aragonn · Answer

P1 - tree problems with fire.
P2 - clone structure + why fire is helpful for tree.
Main point - a tree succumbs quickly with fire and it is important for its growth.

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to explain the

(A) qualities that make a particular organism unique - No
(B) evolutionary change undergone by a particular organism - No 
(C) reasons that a phenomenon benefits a particular organism - May be; well this one is best of the lot.
(D) way in which two particular organisms compete for a resource - No
(E) means by which a particular organism has been able to survive in a barren region - No

---------------------------------------------------
2. It can be inferred from the passage that when aspen groves experience a "disturbance", such a disturbance

(A) leads to a hormonal imbalance within an aspen clone - correct.
---------------------------------------------------
3. The author of the passage refers to "the bark of most trees" most likely in order to emphasize the

whereas the bark of most trees consists of dead cells, the aspen's bark is a living, functioning tissue that―along with the rest of the tree―succumbs quickly to fire.
(A) vulnerability of aspens to damage from fire when compared to other trees - may be
(B) rapidity with which trees other than aspens succumb to destruction by fire - no
(C) relatively great degree of difficulty with which aspens catch on fire when compared to other trees - No
(D) difference in appearance between the bark of aspens and that of other trees - No
(E) benefits of fire to the survival of various types of trees - too broad.

------------------------------------------------------

4. According to the passage, which of the following would occur if an aspen failed to regenerate periodically?
An aspen grove needs to experience fire or some other disturbance regularly, or it will fail to regenerate and spread. Instead, coniferous trees will invade the aspen grove's borders and increasingly block out sunlight needed by the aspens.

(D) The grove would lose its access to sunlight. - winner

Even more than mountainside slides of mud or snow, naturally occurring

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

Even more than mountainside slides of mud or snow, naturally occurring

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

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

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Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

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