A major chemical spill occurred five years ago at Baker’s Beach, the world’s sole nesting ground for Merrick sea turtles, and prevented nearly all the eggs laid that year from hatching. Yet the number of adult female Merricks returning to lay their eggs at Baker’s Beach has actually increased somewhat since five years ago. Clearly, environmentalists’ prediction that the world’s Merrick population would decline as a result of the spill has proven unfounded.
Which of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the argument offered in refutation of the environmentalists’ prediction?
A. The chemical spill five years ago occurred at a time when there were neither Merrick sea turtles nor Merrick sea turtle eggs on Baker’s Beach.
B. Female Merrick sea turtles begin returning to Baker’s Beach to lay their eggs when they are ten years old.
C. Under normal conditions, only a small proportion of hatchling female Merrick sea turtles survive in the ocean until adulthood and return to lay their eggs at Baker’s Beach.
D. Environmental pressures unrelated to the chemical spill have caused a significant decline in the population of one of the several species of sea birds that prey on Merrick sea turtle eggs.
E. After the chemical spill, an environmental group rejected a proposal to increase the Merrick sea turtle population by transferring eggs from Baker’s Beach to nearby beaches that had not been affected by the spill.
这道题为什么选b？ 作者: fengdavid 时间: 2012-3-1 21:11
argument提到说今年来Baker’s Beach产卵的adult female Merricks有增加，没受去年所有卵因为污染没能孵化的影响，所以得出environmentalists’ prediction that the world’s Merrick population would decline as a result of the spill has proven unfounded。
B选项说明Female Merrick要到10岁才会来产卵，所以即便去年的卵都没孵化，其影响要等10年后才能体现，因此undermines the argument作者: justinleeme 时间: 2012-3-12 20:07
才看到，谢谢nn指点，当时没理解题意~~~