The Menominee and Anishinaabe peoples have been growing wild rice—known as manoomin in the Ojibwe language—in the Great Lakes region...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
The Menominee and Anishinaabe peoples have been growing wild rice—known as manoomin in the Ojibwe language—in the Great Lakes region of North America for centuries, but climatic changes are causing lakes to get deeper, thereby threatening wild rice. These plants are extremely _______ to water depth during the 'floating leaf' stage of development, and if the water is too deep, the buoyancy of the young wild-rice plants can literally uproot them from the lake bottom, destroying them.
Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?
immune
sensitive
limited
receptive
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'The Menominee and Anishinaabe peoples have been growing wild rice—known as manoomin in the Ojibwe language—in the Great Lakes region of North America for centuries,' |
|
| 'but climatic changes are causing lakes to get deeper, thereby threatening wild rice.' |
|
| 'These plants are extremely ______ to water depth during the 'floating leaf' stage of development,' |
|
| 'and if the water is too deep, the buoyancy of the young wild-rice plants can literally uproot them from the lake bottom, destroying them.' |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Climate change is threatening traditional wild rice cultivation because the plants are highly affected by water depth changes.
Argument Flow: The passage establishes long history of successful wild rice cultivation, introduces climate change as disruptive force making lakes deeper, and explains how depth change specifically harms plants through their vulnerability to water level variations.
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
- From our analysis, deeper water literally destroys these plants by uprooting them
- This means the plants must be strongly affected by or responsive to changes in water depth
- The word we need should describe how plants react to water depth variations in a way that explains why deeper water can destroy them
immune
immune
✗ Incorrect
- 'Immune' means not affected by something
- This is opposite of what we need since if plants were immune to water depth, deeper water would not harm them
sensitive
sensitive
✓ Correct
- 'Sensitive' means easily affected by or responsive to changes
- This perfectly explains why deeper water can destroy the plants since they are easily affected by water depth changes
limited
limited
✗ Incorrect
- 'Limited' means restricted or confined
- Does not make logical sense in this context about how plants respond to water depth
receptive
receptive
✗ Incorrect
- 'Receptive' means willing to accept or open to something
- Does not fit context of plants being harmed by water depth