Manul cats are small, shy felines. They live mostly alone in out-of-the-way parts of Asia, such as on Mount Everest....
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Manul cats are small, shy felines. They live mostly alone in out-of-the-way parts of Asia, such as on Mount Everest. These cats have been difficult to research because their habitats are so _______ large populations of humans.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
full of
drawn to
responsible for
distant from
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Manul cats are small, shy felines." |
|
| "They live mostly alone in out-of-the-way parts of Asia, such as on Mount Everest." |
|
| "These cats have been difficult to research because their habitats are so _____ large populations of humans." |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Manul cats are difficult to research because they live in remote areas that have a specific relationship to human populations.
Argument Flow: The passage introduces manul cats as small and shy, then describes their remote habitat preferences, and finally explains that their research difficulty stems from how their habitats relate to human population centers.
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 passage tells us that manul cats live in "out-of-the-way parts of Asia" and that they are "difficult to research" because of how their habitats relate to "large populations of humans."
- Since they live in out-of-the-way places, and this makes research difficult, their habitats must be separated from or far away from human populations.
- Researchers would have trouble accessing these remote locations.
full of
"Full of"
✗ Incorrect
- Would mean the habitats contain many humans
- This contradicts the passage saying cats live in "out-of-the-way parts"
- If habitats were full of humans, research would be easier, not more difficult
drawn to
"Drawn to"
✗ Incorrect
- Suggests the habitats attract human populations
- This doesn't explain why research would be difficult and contradicts the "out-of-the-way" description
responsible for
"Responsible for"
✗ Incorrect
- Doesn't make logical sense in this context
- Habitats can't be responsible for creating human populations and doesn't explain the research difficulty
distant from
"Distant from"
✓ Correct
- Perfectly matches the "out-of-the-way" description and explains why research is difficult - remote locations are hard to access
- Creates logical cause-and-effect: distant habitats lead to difficult research