Q26

[hyewonkim89]

Will someone help me eliminate (A)?

Thanks in advance!

[rinagoldfield]

Hi hyewonkim89,

Thanks for your post!

Tricky passage + tricky question!

(A) is unsupported. The passage doesn’t really offer examples in support of "the prevailing view of host-parasite relations" (bear with me here). Rather, all of its examples support the "challenge" to the prevailing view. That’s because the "challenge" doesn’t argue that the "prevailing view" is wrong. Rather, the "challenge" adds complexity to the "prevailing view."

Another way to say this: there’s the prevailing view, and there’s the prevailing view PLUS.

Let’s think about the three examples:

1. Regular pathogens like The Common Cold.
2. Vector-borne pathogens like Malaria.
3. "Sit and Wait" pathogens like TB.

The Common Cold fits with the "prevailing view" of pathogens. But the author is arguing that there are many forms of pathogen behavior, INCLUDING the prevailing one. The author therefore describes ALL of the above pathogens, including The Common Cold, as examples of the myriad methods by which pathogens infect and interact with hosts.

An example truly in support of the prevailing view would imply that pathogens ONLY develop benign relationships with their hosts.

(C) captures the tone of the passage: the author challenges the "prevailing view" of pathogens by adding to it, not by setting up an antithesis to it.

(B) is unsupported.
(D) is extreme and unsupported.
(E) is out of scope.

Does that make sense?

--Rina