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Difficulty: MediumAnalogous Relationships

In ecological succession, pioneer species such as lichens are the first to colonize bare rock. Because lichens can survive without soil, they attach to the barren stone and secrete acidic compounds that slowly break down the mineral surface. Over decades, this chemical weathering, combined with the accumulation of decaying lichen organic matter, creates a thin layer of nutrient-rich soil. This newly formed soil allows mosses, grasses, and eventually woody shrubs and trees to establish roots. However, as these larger, taller plants thrive and form a dense canopy, they block out the sunlight. Deprived of the direct sun they require, the pioneer lichens are eventually shaded out and completely displaced by the very community they enabled.

Based on the passage, the relationship between the pioneer lichens and the larger plants is most analogous to which of the following scenarios?

  1. A
    A technology startup uses a temporary cloud server to test its product, but migrates to its own physical servers once the user base grows too large for the cloud system.
  2. B
    A gardener plants a tall hedge to block sunlight from a patch of weeds, which eventually wither and die due to the shade.
  3. An independent bookstore hosts free community events that foster a local passion for reading, which eventually attracts a major bookstore chain to the neighborhood, driving the independent bookstore out of business.Answer
  4. D
    A conservation group protects a rare species of fern from invasive weeds, allowing the fern population to recover and eventually dominate the forest floor.

Answer

The scenario where an independent bookstore fosters local reading habits, which attracts a major chain that drives the bookstore out of business.
The correct answer describes a scenario where a pioneering entity (the independent bookstore) alters its environment to make it attractive and viable for a larger entity (the major chain). Once the larger entity establishes itself, its growth directly results in the displacement of the pioneering entity. This matches the relationship in the passage, where the pioneer lichens modify barren rock to create soil, only to be shaded out and displaced when larger plants thrive.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the relationship in the passage.
The pioneer lichens (Entity A) break down rock to create soil (Environment), which enables larger plants (Entity B) to grow. Once established, Entity B blocks the sunlight, displacing Entity A.
This establishes the core logical structure: one entity facilitates the establishment of another entity, only to be displaced by the growth of that second entity.
2
Extract the abstract relational schema.
The schema is: Entity A modifies an environment to make it viable for Entity B, but Entity B's subsequent success and growth in that environment directly leads to the displacement or decline of Entity A.
This abstract schema allows us to evaluate the options based on their underlying logical structure rather than their surface topics.
3
Evaluate the options against the abstract schema.
The independent bookstore (Entity A) fosters a local passion for reading (Environment), which attracts a major chain (Entity B). The chain's presence drives the independent bookstore out of business (displacement). Other options represent different dynamics like deliberate control, cooperative survival, or planned transitions.
This identifies the only scenario that mirrors both the helper-successor relationship and the subsequent competitive displacement.

Key Concept

Identifying analogous relationships between situations described in a text and external scenarios with matching logical structures.
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Topics

Analogous Relationships

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