Hi GaYoon! 

 

First of all, awww, thank you SO much for the kindhearted message; that was very sweet of you. 

 

Secondly, you are SO welcome! 

 

Thirdly, not only are you not in Seoul, but I am also not even in Korea. Still, we are able to connect like this while in opposite sides of the world—isn't technology cool?? 

 

Fourthly, GREAT question! Here's the explanation...

 

The correct answer is (d): zoo chimpanzees in France and other mid-latitude countries tend to synthesize less vitamin D than they are inherently capable of synthesizing.

 

(1) Let's break this answer choice down so that there is no misunderstanding in the answer choice. 

• "synthesize vitamin D" means to make vitamin D in their bodies.
• "tend to synthesize less vitamin D" means they usually make less vitamin D.

 

• "than they are inherently capable of synthesizing" means than their bodies naturally could make under ideal conditions (like the bright sunlight in their tropical home countries)

 

(2) Let's see how this answer relates to the study in the passage (remember, the correct answer must ALWAYS be supported by the context (what is said in the passage)

 

• Chimpanzees originally come from tropical countries with plenty of strong sunlight (lots of UVB and consistent UVB), so their bodies are naturally able to produce a lot of vitamin D.
• When chimpanzees are moved to zoos in mid-latitude countries (like France or Sweden), the sunlight there is weaker and less consistent (less UVB and inconsistent UVB).
• The study showed that chimpanzees' vitamin D levels is related to how much sunlight there is (for example, vitamin D goes UP when there is more sun (UVB goes up); also, vitamin D goes DOWN when there is less sun (UVB goes down) AND.... 
• the passage says that "there is no evidence of plateauing (stopping) as UVB reaches its highest local levels (goes up and up and up). This means that their bodies haven't reached their maximum vitamin D levels yet, even at the strongest sunlight available locally. 
• Therefore, this implies that these chimpanzees are clearly making less vitamin D than they naturally could if they had access to stronger sunlight.

 

(3) Let's look at why (A) is wrong. 

 

(A) cannot be the correct answer because it directly contradicts what the passage says (and the correct answer will never do this) 

 

 

Choice (A) says:

• "adaptations to seasonal variations in UVB irradiance may be emerging in zoo chimpanzees..."
• This means chimpanzees might be starting to naturally adjust (adapt) to the changing sunlight levels throughout the year.

However, the passage clearly states at the beginning:

 

• "wild chimpanzees lack adaptations to seasonal variations in ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiance from sunlight."
• In other words, chimpanzees naturally do not have any adaptation to changes in sunlight.

If you simplify the information and focus on the subjet of the answer choice and first part of the sentence in the passage (the underlined parts), you'll be able to better see this...

 

• Adaptations...may be happening 

• Chimps CANNOT adapt...

 

The study never suggests chimpanzees are developing new adaptations. It only shows their vitamin D levels increase whenever sunlight increases, without ever reaching a limit.

 

Tip: Simplify the information (in answer choices and the passage). It's easy to get confused because we can get lost in all the words. What I like to do is to make things as easy as possible for myself to understand what a sentence in the passage or an answer choice says by simplifying it. I like to ask myself, what does this (answer choice/sentence) IMPLY? In other words, what does it ASSUME? And I'll try to say it in my own words (I'll use some of the words in the passage/answer choice too, of course)...but when I try to put it in my OWN words, I am using MY brain to make sense of what I read. 

 

So, if (A) says, "adaptations to seasonal variations in UVB irradiance may be emerging in zoo chimpanzees in France and other mid-latitude countries," (there are SO many words that it's easy to get lost, right?) 

 

I'll simply ask myself, what does THIS imply?...and I'll try my best to use my own words...

 

This implies that..."chimps MAY BE ABLE to adapt"...but wait a second, I read that chimp CANNOT adapt in the passage, which implies that chimps will NEVER be able to adapt...okay, this MUST be wrong because it says the opposite of what the passage says. 

 

I hope this helps!

 

Keep moving forward, GaYoon!

 

You got this! Fighting! 

 

Jin