The myth persists that in 1492 the Western Hemisphere was an untamed wilderness and that it was European settlers who harnessed and transformed its ecosystems. ███ ███████████ █████ ████ ████████ ██ ███████████ ███ ████ ███████ ██ ███████ ███████ ████ ██████ ███ ███████ ██ ██████████ ██████ ███████████ ███ █████████ ████ ██ ███ ███████ ██ ████████████ ██████████ ███████ ██████████ ██ █████ ██ ████████ ███
Intro topic ·Misconception that Europeans were the first to tame wilderness
In fact, Native Americans altered the forest before Europeans.
Additional Support ·Nicaraguan pine forests today grow in areas that were burned
This probably also happened in the past. Pine forests were found only where there were Native American settlements. When the settlements left, the pine forests disappeared.
This Meaning in Context question asks for the meaning of the word “succession” in the last sentence of the passage. The phrase “this succession” refers to the previous sentence, which explains how homogenous pine forests returned to mixed hardwood forests once settlements were abandoned.
a
forest clearing followed ██ ██████████ ███████ ██ ███████
The “succession” mentioned in the last sentence refers to the process of homogenous pine forests returning to mixed hardwoods once settlements are abandoned; it doesn’t refer to the process of clearing forests through controlled burns.
11%
b
tropical rain forest ████████ ██ ████ ██████
Actually, “succession” refers to the transition from homogenous pine forests to mixed hardwood, not the transition from tropical rain forest to pine forest.
3%
c
European settlement followed ██ ███████████ ██ ████
The “succession” mentioned in the last sentence refers to the process of homogenous forests returning to mixed hardwoods once settlements are abandoned (and controlled burns no longer occur); it doesn’t refer to anything related European settlement.
10%
d
homogeneous pine forest ████████ ██ █████ █████████
The phrase “this succession” refers to the previous sentence, which explains how homogenous pine forests returned to mixed hardwood forests once settlements were abandoned.
73%
e
pine forests followed ██ ███████████ ███████████
Actually, “succession” refers to the transition from homogenous pine forests to mixed hardwood, not the transition from pine forests to established settlements.
3%
Difficulty
73% of people who answer get this correct
This is a moderately difficult question.
It is slightly harder than the average question in this passage.
CURVE
Score of students with a 50% chance of getting this right
25%136
149
75%162
Analysis
Meaning in context (of word, phrase, or idea)
Meaning in context (of word, phrase, or idea)
Stems that ask us to interpret the meaning of a word, phrase, or idea given the context in which it appears.
An umbrella tag marking questions that test our understanding of the passage's overall structure (e.g. Main point, Purpose of paragraph, Meaning in context, Describe organization).
Critique or debate passages contain multiple points of view on a particular subject. Sometimes the author takes sides and participates in the critique or debate, other times the author merely reports the debate.
