Question

questions 13 through 27 refer to the following. read the following passage carefully before you choose your answers. note: pay particular attention to the requirement of questions that contain the words not, least, or except. (this passage is excerpted from a publication by a contemporary biologist.) we know less about life on earth than we know about the surface of the moon and mars—in part because far less money has been spent studying it. taxonomy, the study of classification and hence of biological diversity, has been allowed to dwindle, while other important fields such as space exploration and biomedical studies have flourished. like glass - blowing and harpsichord manufacture, taxonomy of many kinds of organisms has been left in the hands of a small number of unappreciated specialists who have had few opportunities to train their successors. to take one of hundreds of examples, two of the four most abundant groups of small animals of the soil are springtails and oribatid mites. marvelously varied, having complex life cycles, and teeming by the millions in every acre of land, these tiny animals play vital ecological roles by consuming dead vegetable matter. thus they help to drive the energy and materials cycles on which all life depends. yet there are only four specialists in the united states who can identify springtails - one is retired - and only one is an expert on oribatid mites. the reason that so little is heard about these important organisms in the scientific literature and popular press is that there are so few people who know enough to write about them at any level. the general neglect of expertise in the face of overwhelming need and opportunity redounds to the discredit of many other enterprises in science and education. museums are understaffed, with too few biologists to develop research collections and prepare exhibitions. systematics, the branch of biology 13 it can be inferred from the passage that the author assumes the reader is a a student seeking facts in order to develop a testable thesis b a colleague evaluating a proposal for a research project c an enthusiast aware of current discoveries and debates

Explanation:

The passage discusses various aspects of biology, including the lack of public knowledge about important organisms and the challenges in biological research. The author seems to assume the reader has some basic understanding and is interested in current biological topics, like an enthusiast. A student seeking facts for a thesis would likely need more in - depth and specific information, a colleague evaluating a research proposal would focus on different elements like methodology and feasibility, and the passage doesn't suggest these contexts.

Answer:

D. an enthusiast aware of current discoveries and debates