by ohthatpatrick Mon Oct 20, 2014 1:32 pm
Sure. Since this question is testing a Specific Detail ("According to the Passage"), we have to start by finding the answer in the passage (unless we remember the answer ... but that's unlikely for most people on after only an efficient, Big Picture reading of the passage).
Let's pull out the keywords from the question stem and figure out what we're looking for:
"What was an obstacle scientists had to identifying the evolutionary origins of the lichen-forming fungi?"
Now you think of your Passage Map ... "Which paragraph would have discussed the obstacles scientists had in identifying"?
In this case, the 2nd paragraph is all about "complications for the researcher".
We can scan over the 2nd paragraph again, particularly looking for "identifying the evolutionary origins".
We can see in lines 28-32, phrases like "As a result ... difficult to classify ... unknown evolutionary origin."
Okay, "as a result" of what?
Lines 19-28 give us traits that make lichen-forming fungi "especially difficult to study":
- few distinguishing shapes/structure
- difficult to isolate from partner algae
So which of those obstacles did we overcome? Looking at lines 33-35, we see that new tools "allow scientists to isolate the DNA of fungi [from the partner algae]". Looks like this is our answer; let's go find it in the answer choices.
(A) Boom! Looks good. We can pick it and move on, or check out the other four if we think we have time / hesitation.
(B) Nothing about distinguishing lichen-fungi from other fungi.
(C) Scientists put lichen-fungi on its own branch BECAUSE they couldn't overcome the obstacle. But putting them on their own branch isn't ITSELF the obstacle.
(D) Nothing about "far less common than mushrooms".
(E) Nothing says that lichen DNA is significantly more complex than other fungi.
In case you haven't noticed yet, TONS of trap answers are just fake comparisons.
If you're not currently in the habit of finding your answer to an According to the Passage question in the passage BEFORE you look at answer choices, you should try to do so more often. You spend more time up front, but way less time on the answer choices. We already knew the answer when we went to look at the choices. We just had to find which choice said the answer.
Hope this helps.