Perhaps they are the human equivalent of an endangered species. They

Perhaps they are the human equivalent of an endangered species. They certainly are the victims of the same encroachment on their land that causes the extinction of many animal species. The last few communities of nomadic people in Asia, Africa, and South America have no effective means of defending their traditions and livelihood. Loggers are perhaps the cause of greatest conflict. They illegally enter the lands of these nomadic people, destroy their forests and woods, and hunt their animals. Ranchers may follow, to burn great tracts to clear it for their domesticated animals. Once the land is deprived of trees and plants and the seasonal rains begin, the depleted soil is washed down into the rivers and permanent environmental damage can follow. The loggers and ranchers move on further into the virgin habitat, displacing more nomadic people.

These are ancient habitats. They have existed for millions of years. But in less than 50 years they, along with the traditional way of hunting and gathering practiced by the peoples of these lands, have all but been lost. Worldwide, only a few thousand people are estimated to still live a truly nomadic life. Most have been forced to abandon their traditional lifestyle practiced for millennia and have had to settle down in villages to a life of hunting combined with subsistence farming.

1. Which of the following statements is offered to support the main theme of the passage?

A. Loggers and ranchers are destroying the habitat of the world’s few remaining nomadic people.
B. Worldwide, only a few thousand people remain who lead a nomadic life.
C. They are the victims of the same encroachment on their lands that causes the extinction of many animal species.
D. Nomadic people take on loggers and ranchers to defend their threatened way of life.
E. Perhaps they are the human equivalent of an endangered species.

2. The author does which of the following to make his point?

A. corrects a misconception
B. relies on authority
C. uses an analogy
D. gives examples
E. pulls at our heart strings

3. The tone of the passage is:

A. fatalistic
B. skeptical
C. cynical
D. defeatist
E. buoyant