Free GRE Practice Question

Question 1 of 1
ID: GRE-RC-035
Section: GRE Verbal Reasoning - Reading Comprehension
Difficulty level: Medium

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[1] Females of the fig beetle lay their eggs exclusively in fallen, overripe figs. [2] In a recent survey, larvae developing in figs that already carried colonies of a particular yeast reached maturity nearly twice as fast as larvae in figs lacking it. [3] The same yeast is abundant on the bodies of adult female beetles but scarce in the surrounding soil and foliage. [4] Because a fig visited by an egg-laying female almost always bears the yeast soon afterward, researchers concluded that the females deliberately inoculate each fig with the yeast in order to hasten their offspring's development.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the researchers' conclusion?

ALarvae reared in the controlled laboratory on figs sterilized of all yeast developed distinctly more slowly than larvae reared on yeast-bearing figs.

BThe yeast rubs off onto any surface a female touches, and females routinely crawl over many figs in which they lay no eggs.

CIn some fig groves the yeast can reach and colonize a fallen fig on windborne spores well before any adult beetle has visited it.

DAdult fig beetles obtain a substantial part of their own daily nutrition directly from the living yeast colonies they carry about.

EFemale fig beetles bearing larger yeast populations on their bodies tend to lay more eggs over the course of their lives.

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