Q23

[aisha.tolu]

I am having some problems understanding why (A) is correct could someone please explain. Thank you.

[matthew.mainen]

See lines 4-7. His investigation of the tree was a sidelight to his research on endangered birds. If A is a sidelight to B, then B is primary and A is secondary. Another way to look at it - if something is in the sidelight then the other thing is in the spotlight. The passage tells us what's in the sidelight and with respect to what, leading to the conclusion that his bird research was the spotlight.

[agutman]

Question Type: Identification (4-7)

This question requires that we simply identify supporting text in the passage. If we understand the structure of the passage, the language in the question, "research on birds of the island of Mauritius," should lead us to lines 4-7 (lines 34-35 are almost a match too, but they don’t specify that the birds are local). Apparently Temple’s investigation of the CM tree was a sidelight to his research of endangered species of Mauritius.
Answer choice (A) is correct, because endangered = facing the threat of extinction.

(B) is an unsupported interpretation.
(C) "roughly the same amount" is not supported.
(D) is a contradictory interpretation. Know the sides of your scale!
(E) is a trap for people who gravitate toward lines 34-35; you have to be very careful and pay attention to the exact wording of the question ("birds of the island of Maritius").

[qlewington]

I found this question a bit tricky, because it's really just one word in line 6 ("endangered") that cues you to the correct answer.

(B) can be quickly eliminated because "highly accurate estimates" has a degree-of-modifier issue.
(C) is unsupported.
(D) has another easily identifiable degree-of-modifier issue.
(E) is wrong because Calvaria was a sidelight into the bird research, not the other way around.

I hadn't expected the correct answer to depend so crucially on a single word so I wasted a lot of time on this one.