Question 92·Medium·Inferences
For decades, naturalists have claimed that the return of the wood thrush is the surest early sign of spring in the northern forests, a view supported by field notes that often open their spring entries with the first reports of the bird’s song. However, a recent analysis of 1,200 time-stamped audio recordings from automated forest monitors shows that, in most years, chorus frogs begin calling two to three weeks before wood thrush songs are first detected, thereby casting doubt on the idea that ____
Which choice most logically completes the text?
For "complete the text" inference questions, first summarize each sentence in simple terms and identify how they relate (support, contrast, cause/effect). When you see phrases like "casting doubt on the idea that," go back and find the exact claim earlier in the passage, then restate it in your own words before checking the choices. Eliminate options that introduce new topics, change the focus (for example, shifting from the claim itself to the tools used), or make broader claims than the passage supports. Choose the option that most directly and precisely restates the specific idea the new information challenges.
Hints
Connect the two sentences
Focus on how the second sentence (about the recordings and frogs calling earlier) relates to the first sentence (about naturalists' long-held view). What is the relationship between them?
Interpret "casting doubt on the idea that"
When the text says something "casts doubt on the idea that" something is true, it means the new information challenges or weakens a specific claim made earlier. Identify exactly what claim is being challenged.
Paraphrase before looking at choices
Before reading the answer options, say in your own words: what have naturalists been claiming about wood thrushes and spring? Then look for the choice that matches that claim, not one that introduces a new idea.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the "idea" refers to
Locate the phrase "thereby casting doubt on the idea that ____". The blank must complete what specific idea is being doubted.
Look back to the first sentence: it tells us what naturalists have claimed for decades. That long-standing claim is the "idea" the new evidence challenges.
Restate the original claim in your own words
The first sentence says naturalists have claimed that "the return of the wood thrush is the surest early sign of spring in the northern forests," supported by field notes that begin spring with first reports of its song.
Put that into simpler words: naturalists think that seeing or hearing wood thrushes is the best, earliest dependable sign that spring has started in those forests.
Understand how the new evidence relates to that claim
The second sentence describes a study of 1,200 time-stamped audio recordings. It finds that chorus frogs begin calling two to three weeks before wood thrush songs are first detected.
If frogs call earlier than wood thrushes, that evidence suggests wood thrushes might not be the earliest good sign of spring. So the evidence directly contradicts the original claim about wood thrushes being the earliest sure sign.
Match the answer choice that restates the doubted idea
Now check each option and ask: Which one is the exact claim the new evidence weakens?
- The idea being doubted must be about wood thrushes as the earliest reliably observable sign of spring.
- Only choice A) wood thrushes are the earliest reliably observable sign of spring in those forests. restates that claim, so A is the correct answer.