Domesticated thousands of years ago by Indigenous people in South America, cacao, the plant from which chocolate is made, deviates...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Domesticated thousands of years ago by Indigenous people in South America, cacao, the plant from which chocolate is made, deviates structurally from the wild plant it is descended from. Maize (corn), another crop domesticated by Indigenous Americans, shows so little resemblance to any wild plant that genetic research was necessary to _______ teosinte grass as its ancestor.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Domesticated thousands of years ago by Indigenous people in South America, cacao, the plant from which chocolate is made, deviates structurally from the wild plant it is descended from. |
|
| Maize (corn), another crop domesticated by Indigenous Americans, shows so little resemblance to any wild plant that genetic research was necessary to |
|
| teosinte grass as its ancestor. |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Domesticated crops can change so dramatically from their wild ancestors that scientific research becomes necessary to identify their origins.
Argument Flow: The passage starts with cacao as an example of how domestication changes plants structurally. It then escalates to maize, which changed so drastically that scientists needed genetic research to establish its ancestral connection to teosinte grass.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The context shows that maize looks so different from wild plants that genetic research became necessary
- The research led to identifying teosinte grass as maize's ancestor
- The missing word needs to describe what genetic research was necessary to DO regarding teosinte grass as the ancestor
- The word should indicate that research was needed to establish, verify, or determine that teosinte grass was indeed the ancestor
✗ Incorrect
- Acquire suggests obtaining or gaining possession of something
- Doesn't make sense - you can't acquire something as an ancestor
- The research didn't need to obtain teosinte grass but rather establish its relationship to maize
✗ Incorrect
- Develop means to create, grow, or evolve something
- Scientists didn't develop teosinte grass as an ancestor - the relationship already existed
- Students might think develop fits because research led to developing knowledge, but the sentence structure requires an action done TO teosinte grass
✗ Incorrect
- Attract means to draw toward or cause interest
- Makes no logical sense in this context - research can't attract something as an ancestor
- Completely unrelated to the scientific process of establishing ancestral relationships
✓ Correct
- Confirm means to establish the truth or verify something
- Perfect logical fit - genetic research was necessary to confirm/verify that teosinte grass was maize's ancestor
- Matches our prethinking about establishing or verifying the ancestral connection