#1 - Global Reference, Must Be True, Main Point

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

The correct answer choice is (A).

Answer choice (A): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (B):

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[Roeezy]

I can see how and why the answer is "A" but I'm a bit confused as to why "D" is wrong? Is it because D says ".... and provides new information about neurogenesis in the adult human brain" rather than saying something more direct, like A did, about how the study of canaries could be used to further develop the human brain?

In short, what makes "A" a better answer than "D"?

[Dana D]

Hey Roeezy,

Answer choices (A) and (D) are pretty similar, which can make picking a "winning" answer choice hard. It's important to look not just consider the content the answer choices are referring to but also to the descriptors about how the passage operates.

For example, answer choice (A) says that "new evidence...challenges an established theory" - this best captures the structure of the passage. Look at the first paragraph - it opens by telling us that it is well accepted that you can't make new neurons. Then it describes this new canary research which challenges that.

In comparison, answer choice (D) describes the second paragraph of the passage, but misses the point of the first entirely. It also conclusively says the canary research provides information about the adult human brain, but in reality the passage is much less sure that the canary findings will relate to humans - see lines 50 and 58. The author is hopeful, but not certain. Answer choice (A) better captures this cautious hope - saying the research "suggests the possibility".

So while on the surface both answer choices present the same information (the passage is about neurogenesis and canaries) we also need to consider the author's tone and the structure of the passage.

Hope that helps!