Question

floor to mount whitney’s summit
edwood groves, and yet across
rty - five species of snakes. almost twice
square miles, as if a house full of
and there are nearly
an half as many as in the continental
pass more lifestyles too, thanks to
t temperate bats feed on insects, for
use relatives specialize on fruit,
long intrigued naturalists, and its
ests usually occupy middle latitudes,
gions are hot and wet. some of them
rs, during which rising seas and
es, catalyzing the origin of new species.
coupled with geographical isolation
nt evolution—and thereby more
gs, frog - eating snakes, and birds and
ales earthquakes, volcanoes, and
tat, which are then colonized by
gaps. those sun - loving newcomers are
species, so that natural disturbances
ng patchworks of succession in what at
orest.
he most endangered anywhere, their
difficult to find. ecotourists adore
cent blue morphos, and with coaching
ers whose venom chemistry inspired a
rs are usually tough to see, though.
nd dozens of snakes on a missouri
appears to be unbroken forest. (paragraph 3)
what does the phrase patchworks of succession mean in the sentence?

1. dim parts of the rainforest that are the most

dense and least sunny

1. hidden places in the rainforest that are

difficult to locate and observe

1. small sections of the rainforest where the

largest numbers of species live

1. random areas in the rainforest where

changing conditions promote new growth
part b
which excerpt from paragraph 3 best supports the
correct answer from part a?

1. \more land, more sun, and more rain\
2. \geographical isolation and geological time\
3. \earthquakes, volcanoes, and windstorms\
4. \chunks of habitat, which are then

colonized\

Explanation:

Part A

To determine the meaning of "patchworks of succession", we analyze each option:

• Option 1: Talks about dim, dense, least sunny parts. "Succession" (ecological succession - new growth after disturbance) isn't about dimness. Eliminate.
• Option 2: Focuses on hidden, hard - to - observe places. Succession is about ecological change, not hiding. Eliminate.
• Option 3: Mentions areas with most species. Succession is about change over time (new growth), not just species count. Eliminate.
• Option 4: "Random areas" with "changing conditions promote new growth" matches ecological succession (disturbances lead to new growth in patches). So this is correct.

We need an excerpt that supports the idea of "patchworks of succession" (areas with changing conditions promoting new growth, like after disturbances).

• Option 1: "More land, more sun, and more rain" is about resources, not succession (change after disturbance). Eliminate.
• Option 2: "geographical isolation and geological time" is about evolution factors, not succession. Eliminate.
• Option 3: "earthquakes, volcanoes, and windstorms" are disturbances, but doesn't show the result (new growth/colonization). Eliminate.
• Option 4: "chunks of habitat, which are then colonized" shows that after some event (disturbance), habitats are colonized (new growth), which supports "patchworks of succession" (patches of new growth after change).

Answer:

1. random areas in the rainforest where changing conditions promote new growth

Part B