#19 - Specific Reference, Must Be True, Purpose

[Administrator]

Please post your questions below! Thank you!

[emilym]

I picked E because I understood the last paragraph as explaining and providing further details to supplement the finding in P2, and then the fact that "no one knows exactly what conditions awaken V. Cholerae" seemed to match up nicely to the latter part of the sentence.

Can you please explain where I went wrong and why B is the correct answer?

[Rachael Wilkenfeld]

Hi Emily,

I can see where you were tempted by answer choice (E). The last part of the answer choice sounds really good. But it is a good example of a half-right, half-wrong answer. These answer choices are tempting because part of them is just so spot on. Here, the paragraph clearly talks about the limitations of our knowledge. But it doesn't really enumerate the effects of a biological phenomena. It doesn't enumerate the effects of cholera or of the bacterial presence in the water.

It does serve the function of answer choice (B). The paragraph answers the question posed earlier of if the bacteria persisted without a human host, and how they did so. But the fact that the bacteria are in the water and dormant raises new questions, namely what causes the bacteria to reactivate? Answer choice (B) might be harder to see because the answer choice discusses questions, and the paragraph doesn't have any question marks. However, it does bring up the questions raised by the evidence even if it doesn't use phrasing we associate with questioning.

Hope that helps!
Rachael