chesstitans wrote:
Which of the following best completes the passage below?
When a group of individuals is incapable of passing on its genes, the theory of evolution predicts that the group will be unable to persist over a span of generations, being weeded out through genetic attrition. Therefore, if the theory of evolution is true, and given successful organisms’ tendency to reproduce at high rates, we should expect that _______.
A. in a competitive environment, the organisms that persist over generations will be determined at random
B. as an environment becomes depleted of competitors through genetic attrition, the survivors will become less well adapted
C. the organisms that persist over generations will be the most effective at passing on their genes
D. in circumstances of heavy environmental competition, the organisms that persist over generations will be of inferior
genetic quality compared to their competitors organisms in competitive
E. environments will persist over generations if they specialize in something other than reproduction
source: ready4gmat
Pls explain me this question. C seems too extreme.
Also, this question is inference or conclusion?
This one is a conclusion question because we have to find the answer for the new information, not the given information.
The passage said that a group of individuals must be capable of passing on its genes in order to persist over a span of generations. This means that its genes must be varied.
Given that organisms’ tendency to reproduce at high rates (to contribute to the genes bank), that group of individuals would have more chance to pass its genes so it could avoid being weeded out.
In A, the information is irrelevant to the passage.
In B, the information about the competitors is irrelevant.
In D, the comparison between the organisms and their competitors is irrelevant.
In E, specializing in sth other than reproduction is irrelevant.
C is left. This choice means that , according to the theory of evolution, the organisms that persist over generations will be effective because they are capable of passing their genes over many generations.
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