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  3. MacArthur and Wilson suggested that the biodiversity of an island will vary in direct proportion to a function of the island’s s

MacArthur and Wilson suggested that the biodiversity of an island will vary in direct proportion to a function of the island’s s

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问题     MacArthur and Wilson suggested that the biodiversity of an island will vary in direct proportion to a function of the island’s size (i.e., larger islands can support a greater number of species) and in inverse proportion to a function of its distance from the mainland (i.e., many remote islands will tend to support fewer species). Reduced biodiversity in an island context is likely to require significant adaptation on the part of colonizing human populations. Evans argues that this limitation makes islands ideal laboratories for the study of human adaptations to the natural environment, whilst Renfrew and Wagstaff, in the introduction to their study of Melos, focus on this limitation in biodiversity as a “significant characteristic of the island ecosystem.” For human communities, however, this limitation may potentially be offset by other factors. The reduced biodiversity of an island ecosystem applies only to terrestrial resources: the resources of the sea will be as rich as on any other coastal area, and may be equally important to human communities. A small island such as Malta or Melos allows all communities direct access to the sea, providing an important nutritional “safety net,” as well as an element of dietary diversity, which may actually give island communities an advantage over their landlocked counterparts. Islands may also have specific nonbiological resources (such as obsidian on Melos), which may be used in exchange with communities on other islands and adjacent mainlands.
The primary purpose of the passage is to
选项 A、evaluate two contrasting approaches to island biodiversity
B、discuss the relevance of certain data pertaining to island biodiversity
C、call into question a particular understanding of island biodiversity
D、consider various reasons for reduced biodiversity on islands
E、contrast large and small islands in terms of overall biodiversity
答案C
解析 本题属于主旨题，本文是驳论文，全篇文章是作者在反驳第二三两句的观点，选项C正确。A项文中未提及two contrasting approaches。B项文中未提及certain data。D项本文只在第一句讨论了岛屿生物多样性的影响因素，属于细节。E项文中没做这种对比。
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