PrepTest 111, Section 3, Question 16
Zoos have served both as educational resources and(56 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(9 more words not shown)
- AZoos have played(10 more words not shown)
- BSome specimens of(8 more words not shown)
- CNo zoos exploit(8 more words not shown)
- DNearly all of(9 more words not shown)
- EThe main purpose(8 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Zoos can help the same kinds of populations they once harmed.
Taking animals out of the wild can be a problem when few remain there. Imagine removing several pandas from a small population, compared with removing several deer from a much larger one. The effect depends on the population we're taking them from. Here, we're told that stocking the earliest zoos did endanger some species.
But now most new zoo animals come from captive breeding. That leaves open the possibility that some still come from elsewhere; it doesn't tell us that any particular zoo is still taking animals from the wild. And breeding can work in the other direction: animals born in captivity can make it possible to rebuild an endangered population in the wild.
What we’re looking for
So my takeaway is mixed. Zoos have harmed wild populations and can also help them. For the most strongly supported answer, we don't need a sweeping verdict on whether zoos are good or bad. A smaller claim supported by these facts will do.
Working the answers
- A
Zoos have been educational resources, but that doesn't make them essential to educating people about endangered species. People might learn about those species in other ways. A takes a useful role and turns it into an indispensable one without support.
- BCorrect
The breeding programs maintain animals and make efforts to reestablish endangered species in the wild possible. That supports the modest claim that some animals belonging to endangered species are born and bred in zoos. B doesn't claim every zoo breeds endangered animals or that every effort to restore a wild population succeeds.
- C
The passage doesn't establish that no zoo exploits animals or threatens a species today. Most new animals come from captive breeding, but that's not a guarantee about every zoo or every animal. We also shouldn't jump to the opposite conclusion and insist some zoo must currently be causing harm. The problem with C is that its blanket assurance isn't supported.
- D
Watch both the amount and the group being counted. 'Most' could mean 60 percent, which isn't nearly all. More importantly, the passage describes new animals entering zoos, while D describes all animals currently in zoos. Animals brought in years ago are part of that second group. Even a high percentage among new arrivals wouldn't establish the same percentage among the entire current population.
- E
We know zoos have served two purposes, but we aren't told which purpose was primary or whether that ranking changed. Breeding programs and efforts to restore wild populations don't establish that education has replaced entertainment as the main purpose.
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