SAT OwlQuestion bank / Text Structure and Purpose
Biologists have long known that some trees release chemical signals when insects attack their leaves, and nearby trees that detect these chemicals often begin producing defensive compounds before any insects arrive. Such observations have led some writers to describe forests as communities of trees that "warn" and "help" one another. Ecologist Martin Haugen cautions against this language. A tree releasing chemicals may simply be signaling to its own distant branches, he notes, and neighbors that detect the signal are eavesdropping rather than being deliberately warned.
Which choice best describes the function of the second sentence ("Such observations . . . one another") in the overall structure of the text?
It offers Haugen's own explanation for why trees release chemical signals.
It provides experimental evidence that trees communicate deliberately.
It summarizes a view that both the writers and Haugen accept.
It presents an interpretation of the findings that Haugen goes on to challenge.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D
The first sentence gives the findings. The second reports how some writers interpret them: trees "warn" and "help" each other. Haugen then "cautions against this language" and offers a different reading. So the second sentence presents an interpretation that Haugen challenges, choice D.
Choice B is tempting because the sentence follows a description of research, but it reports writers' interpretation, not new evidence, and Haugen disputes the idea of deliberate communication.
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