On the dinner plate that is planet Earth, there exists a veritable buf

Question

On the dinner plate that is planet Earth, there exists a veritable buffet of viruses — an amount of biomass that is the equivalent of about 25 billion human beings. So perhaps  it’s a bit baffling  that scientists have yet to pinpoint a species that deliberately eats viruses for energy.

But mounting evidence suggests that at least one group of organisms might willingly nosh on nutrientrich viruses: protists, microscopic and often singlecelled organisms that scientists have struggled to place on the tree of life. According to a study published in the journal ‘Frontiers in Microbiology’, protists, like viruses and bacteria, seethe in seawater by the billions and trillions and some might slurp up marine viruses. In fact, bacteria, protists, and viruses cohabitate.

While that study cannot independently nail the consumptive connection between protists and viruses, a sister study that analyzed samples from nearly 1,700 individual protists, splitting their cells open one at a time, discovered that rather than containing a large amount of bacterial material, the cells contained genetic material from viruses of all shapes and sizes. Scientists argued that since this genetic material belongs to viruses that cohabitate with the protists, examining these cells is almost like examining the stomach contents of a predatory wild animal such as a tiger and discovering a lot more deer than buffalo, thereby proving that protists have eaten the viruses by choice under natural conditions despite having access to bacteria as an additional food source.    1  
 1. What does the author imply by “it’s a bit baffling” ( Highlighted )?

A. The fact that till recently, it was extremely difficult to kill viruses despite their being so many of them.
B. The fact that a rich variety and a huge quantity of viruses exist, yet it has been difficult to find a species that feeds on the same as their primary food source.
C. The fact that few multicellular organisms like single cell viruses.
D. The fact that there are more viruses than human beings.
E. The fact that the total mass of viruses exceeds that of human beings.

2  
 2. The mounting evidence that the author refers to is

A. The discovery that protists coexist with viruses and bacteria and convincing proof that they seem to prefer eating viruses over bacteria.
B. The discovery that protists coexist with viruses and bacteria in the seawater by the billions and trillions.
C. The discovery that protists coexist with viruses and bacteria in the seawater and slurp up viruses by the billions and trillions.
D. The discovery that the stomach content of protists contains more bacteria than viruses.
E. The discovery of several, previously unknown types of viruses in sea water

3  
 3. Which of the following cannot be inferred from the passage?

A. Protists are normally single celled organisms.
B. The first study proved the existence of protists as cohabitative species (with bacteria and viruses, in sea water), but did not conclusively prove that protists feed on the viruses.
C. Protists feed on viruses by choice, despite having the option of eating bacteria, because viruses are richer nutrient wise.
D. The sister-study found more genetic content from viruses than bacteria in the protist cells.
E. Protists feed on viruses by choice, despite the availability of bacteria as a food source.

4  
 4. What is the main point of this passage?

A. To explain a scientific study which managed to prove the existence of a species that cohabitates with bacteria and viruses.
B. To illustrate through a scientific study how a particular species feeds on viruses.
C. To highlight the existence of a species that feeds on viruses and provide scientific evidence for the same.
D. To discuss the importance of a co-habitative species, that lives along with bacteria and viruses.
E. To discuss the implications of the discovery of a species that feeds on viruses.

thakurarun85 · Answer

Can someone explain why A is correct for Q2. I marked B.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Option (B)  has limited scope for the purpose of the question, it failed to cover up all the necessary findings. It didn't cover up a necessary finding "that protists eat viruses". So it is out.

Option (A)  covers all necessary details

1. Cohabitation of protists with bacteria and viruses
2. proof that they eat viruses

A is better than B

YashLohia · Answer

Where can I find the solution for this passage?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

1. In e-GMAT RC Webinar
2. Post your question here I will provide you the explanation

thakurarun85 · Answer

True that B do not cover the scope of question. However, how do we know that protists prefer virus over bacteria.

If this preference is not justified by passage then B is wrong.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Paragraph 2

But mounting evidence suggests that at least  one group of organisms might willingly nosh on nutrientrich viruses:  protists, microscopic and often singlecelled organisms that scientists have struggled to place on the tree of life. According to a study published in the journal ‘Frontiers in Microbiology’, protists, like viruses and bacteria, seethe in seawater by the billions and trillions and some might slurp up marine viruses.  In fact, bacteria, protists, and viruses cohabitate.

Paragraph 3

"...........thereby proving that protists have eaten the viruses by choice under natural conditions despite having access to bacteria as an additional food source."

Blackhawk276 · Answer

A) In the last paragraph, they mentioned the tiger analogy citing protists prefer eating viruses over bacteria.

B) Distortion, it is mentioned that protists exist in millions and billions, not both combined.

C) Probably you wanted to pick this. This answer is mostly correct except for the last part where it talks about nutrients, there is no mention of viruses being more nutritious than bacteria.

D) This is the other way around, the stomach of protists contain more viruses than bacteria. Moreover, protists do not have a stomach, it was just an analogy.

E) Out of Scope, the passage never talked about the discovery of viruses.

PrachiMaloo · Answer

Can anyone explain questions 3 and 4?

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

3. Which of the following cannot be inferred from the passage?

Difficulty Level:   650

Explanation

Since this is a global question (no clues provided in the question), let us go to the options.

(A) Incorrect:  This is given in paragraph 2

(B) Incorrect:  True as per the passage. The sister study provided more conclusive evidence that protists eat viruses

(C)  Correct:   We are not given that viruses are richer, nutrient wise.

(D) Incorrect:  True as per the passage (as per the sister study)

(E) Incorrect:  True as per the passage (finding from the sister study

Answer: C

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

4. What is the main point of this passage?

Difficulty Level:   600

Explanation

Paragraph 1:  Surprise that no species that eats virus found by scientists
 Paragraph 2:  New evidence which talks about a species that  may  eat viruses
 Paragraph 3:  Further evidence that  confirms  that this species eats viruses, by choice

(A) Incorrect:  Misses the key point – that this species eats viruses

(B) Incorrect:  How the species feeds on viruses (the mechanism) is out of scope

(C)  Correct:   As per passage summary

(D) Incorrect:  The author does not discuss importance of such a species, just provides evidence that such a species exists

(E) Incorrect:  The author does not discuss implications or impact of such a species, just provides evidence that such a species exists

Answer: C

anish777 · Answer

Hi Sajjad1994

#2 How is A the right option choice ? From the passage, we see that the first study did not prove that the protists consumed virus and not bacteria. This was proven by the second study. The mounting evidence here refers to the existence of protists which consumes virus, but never refers to the fact that it prefers virus over bacteria.
C appears to be more correct. However, the study did not mention that protists gulped viruses in billions or trillions.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

(A) is correct  because it captures the main idea of the evidence presented in the passage. The evidence suggests that protists, viruses, and bacteria coexist in seawater, and the study analyzed the genetic material in individual protist cells, finding a large amount of genetic material from viruses. This supports the notion that protists may prefer eating viruses over bacteria.

(C) is incorrect  because it only mentions the coexistence of protists, viruses, and bacteria in seawater and the fact that protists slurp up viruses in large quantities. While this information is mentioned in the passage, it does not directly support the idea that protists prefer eating viruses over bacteria. The preference is inferred from the analysis of genetic material in protist cells, which is not explicitly mentioned in option (C).

anish777 · Answer

Hi Sajjad1994

Thank you for the explanation. But somehow, I am not convinced here. Here the mounting evidence refers to the coexistence of protists, virus and bacteria, and that protists might feed on bacteria. The beginning of the third paragraph clearly mentions that the study fails to convincingly address the consumptive relation between the protists and the virus.
Hence, the mounting evidence nowhere reflects the main idea of the passage. But the sister study analyses the protists and then it clarifies that protists actually feed on virus. I believe the first study and the second study are "sister" studies and with that logic in mind, A is the right answer choice.

On the dinner plate that is planet Earth, there exists a veritable buf

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

On the dinner plate that is planet Earth, there exists a veritable buf

Prep Toolkit

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

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

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From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards