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GRE Verbal Reasoning QUESTION #8146
Question 1
Wills argues that certain malarial parasites are especially (i)_______ because they have entered humans more recently than other species and therefore have had (ii)_______ time to evolve toward (iii)_______. Yet there is no reliable evidence that the most harmful Plasmodium species has in fact been in humans for a shorter time than less harmful species.
  • malignant .. insufficient .. benignity✔️
  • populous .. ample .. virulence
  • threatened .. adequate .. variability
  • malignant .. ample .. benignity
Correct Answer Explanation
The logic chain: recently entered humans → less time to evolve toward becoming harmless. Blank (i): malignant (harmful/dangerous) — these are the especially dangerous parasites. Blank (ii): recently entered = insufficient time to adapt. Blank (iii): the direction of evolution would be toward benignity (harmlessness/mildness) — older parasites evolve to coexist peacefully with hosts. 'Virulence' would mean evolving toward greater harm, which is the opposite of what long co-evolution produces.