SaiBook.us Reading

Home Course Section

Schedule Admission Social

Lesson Example Discussion Quiz: Class Homework

Example

Title: TextStructureAndPurpose

Grade: 1400-a Lesson: S2-L1

Explanation: Let us discuss an example of an SAT Reading comprehension question.

Examples:

Short Passage:

The mimosa tree evolved in East Asia, where the beetle Bruchidius terrenus preys on its seeds. In 1785, mimosa trees were introduced to North America, far from any B. terrenus. But evolutionary links between predators and their prey can persist across centuries and continents. Around 2001, B. terrenus was introduced in southeastern North America near where botanist Shu-Mei Chang and colleagues had been monitoring mimosa trees. Within a year, 93 percent of the trees had been attacked by the beetles.

Question:

Which choice best describes the function of the third sentence in the overall structure of the text?

A) It states the hypothesis that Chang and colleagues had set out to investigate using mimosa trees and B. terrenus. B) It presents a generalization that is exemplified by the discussion of the mimosa trees and B. terrenus.

C) It provides context that clarifies why the species mentioned spread to new locations.

D) It offers an alternative explanation for the findings of Chang and colleagues.

Answer:

B) It presents a generalization that is exemplified by the discussion of the mimosa trees and B. terrenus.

Tip :

Choice B is the best answer because it most accurately describes the function of the third sentence within the overallstructure of the text. The third sentence makes a generalization, asserting that evolutionary links between predators and preycan persist across great expanses of time and distance. This generalization is exemplifi ed by the text’s discussion of therelationship between mimosa trees and B. terrenus beetles. When mimosa trees were introduced to North America in 1785,no B. terrenus beetles were present, so the relationship between the trees and the beetles that exists in their native East Asiawas disrupted. When the beetles were introduced to North America more than 200 years later, however, they quickly attackedmimosa trees, illustrating the generalization that links between predators and prey "can persist across centuries andcontinents."