Both tropical and temperate, the Galapagos Islands are volcanic; there

1. Which of the following statements finds the LEAST support in the passage?
(A) Darwin’s arrival at the Galapagos Islands had at least something in common with original species arrival.
(B) The Galapagos island chain is a unique genetic environment for the study of species development.
(C) Some species endured harsh salt, sun, and waves over a long distance before arriving in the Galapagos.
(D) Human introduction of new species types has been injurious to island ecosystems.
(E) Two distinct climate types are responsible, in part, for the extraordinary genetic diversity in the Galapagos.

For this question, it is not A as it is mentioned in the passage. The problem is people would still choose A as this is an highly unlikely answer, so it is always advisable to refer to the passage. The relevant portion of text - "Since the arrival of Darwin, blown by the wind and carried by the sea, the island group has been prized as a seedbed and mecca of genetic diversity, a natural laboratory of species adaptation and evolution."

SC knowledge is required here. The modifier "blown by the wind & carried by the sea" is modifying the noun "arrival".

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3. Which of the following statements is most readily inferable from the information in the passage?
(A) The odds against survival on the islands were greatest for those life forms originating in temperate climates.
(B) Galapagos reptiles outcompeted and displaced original amphibian populations.
(C) When they rise from the sea, volcanic islands are completely devoid of life.
(D) The odds in favor of survival on the islands were greatest for those species that were able to swim to the archipelago.
(E) The 600-mile distance to the mainland continues to favor the arrival and survival of certain species.

The question is not as hard as you may think. Let us bust some myths with the top two faulty answers E & B.
Lets tackle E first. The problem is the underlined words in the option - The 600-mile distance to the mainland continues to favor the arrival and survival of certain species.
No it does not 'continue to favour'. The author refers to the 600 miles as not big enough, while he was making the point about invasive species. The answer is cleverly constructed by using text from the passage but is completely unrelated.

Now on to B. First of all it is nowhere claimed that the Galapagos reptiles displaced original amphibian population. Secondly, you might be using your outside knowledge of Evolution to infer this - which is not how you should approach a RC. And finally, let us see this part of the passage - "Due to the unique and remote location of the archipelago, some species, such as reptiles, were able to survive and thrive, while other species and groups, such as amphibians and mammals, are scarcely in evidence in the island chain."
You cannot really infer option B from this information can you? Yes its using the two facts stated in B, but it is not a Cause->Effect relationship.

The answer is C.
Let us see the part of the passage - "the Galapagos Islands are volcanic; therefore, all species that now inhabit them arrived by sea and by wind"
Volcanic island --> that is the reason why all species immigrated from outside
What does that mean? No original inhabitants.

Hi Expert,

I am still unable to understand why option A is not an answer to question no 1. As per my understanding, it cannot be inferred from the passage at all.

Request you to enlighten your expertise on this.

thanks for your PM. I don't have much else to add than my answer. But I'll give it one more shot.

To start the question is a LEAST support question. Which means we are looking for 4 answer choices which are supported in the passage. Its actually picking out 4 and marking the 'odd' one out as your answer.

Next we come to this part in the passage -
"Since the arrival of Darwin, blown by the wind and carried by the sea, the island group has been prized as a seedbed and mecca of genetic diversity, a natural laboratory of species adaptation and evolution."

The modifier is underlined.

What is the modifier modifying? the arrival of Darwin.
In simpler English this means - Darwin came to the Galapagos by a big ship. The ship "sailed" through the ocean to the Galapagos. A poet would write this journey as - blown by the wind and carried by the sea. The author might have a poetic inclination but that's not the point haha. Ok so we hold on to this that Darwin came via a ship which was blown by the wind and carried by the sea.

Now let us come to this part of the passage -
"Because of the distance of some 600 miles from the mainland, the original arrival of species, some by means of floating on a raft of algae, others by means of an against-all-odds long-distance swim, may seem a form of travail and triumph for some species."

See the underlined portion describes some species arrived by floating on a raft of algae. It can be reasonably inferred that the raft was blown by the wind and carried by the sea.

So A is supported.

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