LR Drill Set 4, Question 4
The continued survival of endangered animal species requires(55 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(8 more words not shown)
- AMost of the(18 more words not shown)
- BSome habitats of(8 more words not shown)
- COnce a threatened(13 more words not shown)
- DPharmaceutical drugs can(12 more words not shown)
- EAt least some(18 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
A valuable drug could give someone a reason to protect a forest. But does making the drug actually depend on keeping that forest intact?
The argument starts with two requirements: endangered animals need their habitats, and preserving those habitats requires an economic benefit tied to preservation. We might debate that second claim in real life. Here, let's accept the premise and examine whether the proposed drug development supplies the kind of benefit it describes.
Imagine a forest contains a compound a drug company wants. I can see why the company might favor keeping the forest around if that is how it continues getting the compound. But we still need the connection. Merely finding something valuable in a forest doesn't by itself explain why the forest will be preserved.
There's another practical question: can the company influence what happens to the land? A timber company might prefer to cut the trees down, even if a drug company wants them to remain. The companies' interests need not line up.
What we’re looking for
We're asked for an assumption the argument needs. My main expectation is a connection between the new drugs and preserving the habitat. The question about who can influence the land is also worth keeping in mind, but we should test what the answers actually require rather than insist on one exact wording.
Working the answers
- A
Finding most of the products elsewhere wouldn't supply the missing reason to preserve rain forests. It could reduce the incentive to protect them if companies could obtain the same materials in other places. In any event, the argument doesn't need other sources to exist. Its proposed benefit could work even if those products were found only in rain forests.
- B
Some endangered animals could live in deserts or other habitats. That doesn't undermine the possibility of helping many species in rain forests, and the argument doesn't depend on species living elsewhere. The proposal need not protect every endangered animal to be an enormous aid to many of them.
- C
Keeping a habitat intact doesn't have to guarantee the survival of every species in it. Some could still die out for other reasons. The argument claims that drug development can be a major aid, which is much less than a guarantee that every resident species survives. C demands more than the conclusion needs.
- DCorrect
This identifies a basic requirement within the connection we were looking for: obtaining the drugs must sometimes be compatible with leaving the habitat intact. Suppose every way of developing drugs from these products destroyed their habitats. Then the drug development itself would remove the habitat the animals need.
D doesn't guarantee that companies will protect forests or settle who controls the land. It removes a direct obstacle to the proposal working at all. That's enough for a required assumption; it need not make the entire plan succeed by itself.
- E
Some companies could refuse to invest heavily while other companies pursue the drugs. Or every company could be willing to invest. The proposal doesn't depend on some companies refusing. The relevant concern is whether drug development can help preserve habitat, not whether a particular portion of the industry avoids significant investment.
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