Read the following excerpt from E. O. Wilson’s “The Environmental Ethic.”Species are disappearing at an accelerating rate through human action, primarily habitat destruction but also pollution and the introduction of exotic species into residual natural environments. I have said that a fifth or more of the species of plants and animals could vanish or be doomed to early extinction by the year 2020 unless better efforts are made to save them. . . . As the last forests are felled [destroyed] in forest strongholds like the Philippines and Ecuador, the decline of species will accelerate even more. In the world as a whole, extinction rates are already hundreds or thousands of times higher than before the coming of man. They cannot be balanced by new evolution in any period of time that has meaning for the human race.Why should we care? What difference does it make if some species are extinguished, if even half of all the species on earth disappear? Let me count the ways. New sources of scientific information will be lost. Vast potential biological wealth will be destroyed. Still undeveloped medicines, crops, pharmaceuticals, timber, fibers, pulp, soil-restoring vegetation, petroleum substitutes, and other products and amenities will never come to light. Based on the excerpt, which statement best summarizes the author’s beliefs about the disappearing species?
Read the passage.When King Kamehameha II sat down to eat at the women’s table at a feast in 1819, he ended kapu, the system of taboos that dominated Hawaiian religion and culture. He did this at the behest of Queen Ka’ahumanu and his mother, who knew that this action would lead to the end of the strict rules. As a result, Queen Ka’ahumanu gained greater political power, which she used to make changes on behalf of the people of the kingdom.Read Khonnor’s paraphrase of the passage.In 1819, King Kamehameha II ended kapu, the system of taboos that was important to Hawaiian religion and culture. Incredibly, he did this by eating at the women’s table at a feast. Queen Ka’ahumanu and his mother, two wise and amazing women, asked him to do this. They understood that this action would end the strict rules. Afterward, Queen Ka’ahumanu gained greater political power and used it to help the people of the kingdom.
Read the passage.Water used to maintain lawns is a terrible misuse of resources. Natural landscaping that can survive on the average rainfall in the area creates an interesting landscape that does not drain municipal water sources. The US Environmental Protection Agency maintains a list of resources to help people design a landscape with plants native to their area. There is a list for each state, and some of the lists even break down the best plants for particular regions of the state.
Read the excerpt from "Shout: A Poetry Memoir.”Back to the intersection, worried, then down the third street, the wrong third way. Stopped. Back to the intersection the fourth spoke of the wheel another mistake. Last kid in sight, country mouse, five years old, spinning at the center of a compass that had lost her true northearthbound, "directionally challenged," "practice," "cemetary girl," and "driven" from SHOUT by Laurie Halse Anderson, copyright © 2019 by Laurie Halse Anderson. Used by permission of Viking Children's Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
Read the passage.In 1870, Clara Barton was in Europe on vacation when the Franco-Prussian War began. Unable to resist the opportunity to aid soldiers in need, she sprang into action and became involved with the International Red Cross.Read Cyrus’s paraphrase of the passage.Clara Barton was on vacation in Europe when the Franco-Prussian War began in 1870. She was unable to resist helping soldiers in need, so she sprang into action and got involved with the International Red Cross.
Did you find these answers helpful?