Question 127·Easy·Central Ideas and Details
Marine biologist Dr. Lin Chen began recording humpback whale songs off the coast of Alaska in 2008 with a single underwater microphone attached to her research boat. Over the next few seasons, she noticed that many whales swam beyond the device’s limited range, causing gaps in her recordings. In 2012, Chen responded by installing a network of stationary microphones across several kilometers of seafloor. The expanded system captured longer, clearer recordings and revealed subtle differences in melody that helped Chen identify which pods were singing at any given time.
Based on the text, if Chen had continued using only one microphone, which outcome would most likely have occurred?
For questions that ask what would most likely have happened under a different condition, first mark the “before” and “after” in the passage (what was true with the original setup vs. after a change). List the specific new abilities, observations, or results that came only after the change. Then mentally rewind: if that change had never happened, which of those benefits would be missing? Eliminate choices that introduce new ideas not in the passage (like changing season length or making global claims) or that directly contradict what the text says about the effects of the change.
Hints
Locate the contrast in the passage
Find the sentence where the passage shifts from describing the single microphone to describing the network of stationary microphones. That contrast is key to the question.
Note the effects of the new system
After Chen installs the network, what new kinds of recordings or information does she get that she did not have before? Focus especially on the second half of the last sentence.
Use the “without the change” idea
Ask yourself: If she had never installed that expanded system and had kept only the original setup, which of those new abilities or pieces of information would she not have?
Step-by-step Explanation
Restate what the question is asking
The question asks you to predict what most likely would have happened if Chen had continued using only one microphone. That means you need to:
- Find what problem the single microphone had.
- See what new things the expanded system allowed her to do.
- Then imagine what would be missing if she never switched to the expanded system.
Find the limitations of the single microphone
Look at the beginning of the passage:
- Chen started “with a single underwater microphone”.
- “Many whales swam beyond the device’s limited range, causing gaps in her recordings.”
So with only one microphone:
- The range was limited.
- Her recordings had gaps and were incomplete.
See what changed when she installed the network
Now focus on what happened after she installed the network of microphones:
- “The expanded system captured longer, clearer recordings” – so the data quality improved.
- It “revealed subtle differences in melody that helped Chen identify which pods were singing at any given time.”
So the new system did something the single microphone could not: it allowed her to notice fine details in the songs that showed which pods were singing.
Apply the hypothetical and match to the answer choice
Now answer the “if” question: If Chen had continued using only one microphone, she would still have limited range and incomplete recordings, so she would not have gained the ability to notice those subtle, pod-specific differences in the songs.
The choice that matches this is:
- C) She would have remained unaware of certain patterns distinguishing whale pods.
This directly reflects that without the expanded system, she would not have detected the subtle differences in melody that allowed her to tell pods apart.