LSAT 135 | Section 3 | Reading Comprehension: Q26

RC Question 26 Explanation

DISCUSSION: Lines 45-46 don’t make sense on their own. Line 45 says “that this is because”.

What is “this”? You have to look to earlier lines to see what lines 45-46 refer to. This is a common reading comprehension trick.

You should read lines 35-45. They say that plots enriched with microorganisms grow better than unenriched plots. However, plots that were left out of production grow even better.

Now lines 45-46 make sense. Agriculture lets disease organisms spread in land. They slow down recovery, even if we introduce beneficial microorganisms.

Without disease microorganisms, the land would do better and recover faster.

___________

1. Mycorrhiza are only mentioned on line 47. The passage only introduced them as an example of a useful microorganism not present in agricultural land. The author didn’t say Mycorrhiza would decline without disease microorganisms. 
2. The passage only mentions thistles on lines 10, and 30-34. The author doesn’t say whether thistles depend on disease microorganisms.
3. CORRECT. See lines 40-46. Seeds sown on depleted land didn’t grow as well, because the land had disease microorganisms.
4. Tempting, but we don’t know. It’s possible that disease microorganisms don’t hurt beneficial microorganisms. It might have been agriculture that killed the beneficial microorganisms.
   Also, notice that this answer is very broad. It says ‘all types’ of beneficial microorganisms. We don’t have evidence about every single type of beneficial microorganism. 
5. We have no idea. The passage never says whether disease organisms are in competition. Maybe eliminating these disease organisms would make it harder for other disease organisms to enter the soil.