Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), an aggressive and invasive

Question

The following passages concern a plant called purple loosestrife. Passage A is excerpted from a report issued by a prairie research council; passage B from a journal of sociology.

Passage A

Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), an
aggressive and invasive perennial of Eurasian origin,
arrived with settlers in eastern North America in the
early 1800s and has spread across the continent’s
  (5)   midlatitude wetlands. The impact of purple loosestrife
on native vegetation has been disastrous, with more
than 50 percent of the biomass of some wetland
communities displaced. Monospecific blocks of this
weed have maintained themselves for at least 20 years.
  (10)   Impacts on wildlife have not been well studied,
but serious reductions in waterfowl and aquatic
furbearer productivity have been observed. In
addition, several endangered species of vertebrates
are threatened with further degradation of their
  (15)   breeding habitats. Although purple loosestrife can
invade relatively undisturbed habitats, the spread and
dominance of this weed have been greatly accelerated
in disturbed habitats. While digging out the plants
can temporarily halt their spread, there has been little
  (20)   research on long-term purple loosestrife control.
Glyphosate has been used successfully, but no
measure of the impact of this herbicide on native
plant communities has been made.

With the spread of purple loosestrife growing
  (25)   exponentially, some form of integrated control is
needed. At present, coping with purple loosestrife
hinges on early detection of the weed’s arrival in
areas, which allows local eradication to be carried out
with minimum damage to the native plant community.

Passage B

(30)   The war on purple loosestrife is apparently
conducted on behalf of nature, an attempt to liberate
the biotic community from the tyrannical influence of
a life-destroying invasive weed. Indeed, purple
loosestrife control is portrayed by its practitioners as
  (35)   an environmental initiative intended to save nature
rather than control it. Accordingly, the purple
loosestrife literature, scientific and otherwise,
dutifully discusses the impacts of the weed on
endangered species—and on threatened biodiversity
  (40)   more generally. Purple loosestrife is a pollution,
according to the scientific community, and all of
nature suffers under its pervasive influence.

Regardless of the perceived and actual ecological
effects of the purple invader, it is apparent that
  (45)   popular pollution ideologies have been extended into
the wetlands of North America. Consequently, the
scientific effort to liberate nature from purple
loosestrife has failed to decouple itself from its
philosophical origin as an instrument to control nature
  (50)   to the satisfaction of human desires. Birds,
particularly game birds and waterfowl, provide the
bulk of the justification for loosestrife management.
However, no bird species other than the canvasback
has been identified in the literature as endangered by
  (55)   purple loosestrife. The impact of purple loosestrife on
furbearing mammals is discussed at great length,
though none of the species highlighted (muskrat,
mink) can be considered threatened in North America.
What is threatened by purple loosestrife is the
  (60)   economics of exploiting such preferred species and
the millions of dollars that will be lost to the
economies of the United States and Canada from
reduced hunting, trapping, and recreation revenues
due to a decline in the production of the wetland
  (65)   resource.    1 
 1. Both passages explicitly mention which one of the following?

(A) furbearing animals
(B) glyphosate
(C) the threat purple loosestrife poses to economies
(D) popular pollution ideologies
(E) literature on purple loosestrife control

2 
 2. Each of the passages contains information sufficient to answer which one of the following questions?

(A) Approximately how long ago did purple loosestrife arrive in North America?
(B) Is there much literature discussing the potential benefit that hunters might derive from purple loosestrife management?
(C) What is an issue regarding purple loosestrife management on which both hunters and farmers agree?
(D) Is the canvasback threatened with extinction due to the spread of purple loosestrife?
(E) What is a type of terrain that is affected in at least some parts of North America by the presence of purple loosestrife?

3 
 3. It can be inferred that the authors would be most likely to disagree about which one of the following?

(A) Purple loosestrife spreads more quickly in disturbed habitats than in undisturbed habitats.
(B) The threat posed by purple loosestrife to local aquatic furbearer populations is serious.
(C) Most people who advocate that eradication measures be taken to control purple loosestrife are not genuine in their concern for the environment.
(D) The size of the biomass that has been displaced by purple loosestrife is larger than is generally thought.
(E) Measures should be taken to prevent other non-native plant species from invading North America.

4 
 4. Which one of the following most accurately describes the attitude expressed by the author of passage B toward the overall argument represented by passage A?

(A) enthusiastic agreement
(B) cautious agreement
(C) pure neutrality
(D) general ambivalence
(E) pointed skepticism

5 
 5. It can be inferred that both authors would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements regarding purple loosestrife?

(A) As it increases in North America, some wildlife populations tend to decrease.
(B) Its establishment in North America has had a disastrous effect on native North American wetland vegetation in certain regions.
(C) It is very difficult to control effectively with herbicides.
(D) Its introduction into North America was a great ecological blunder.
(E) When it is eliminated from a given area, it tends to return to that area fairly quickly.

6 
 6. Which one of the following is true about the relationship between the two passages?

(A) Passage A presents evidence that directly counters claims made in passage B.
(B) Passage B assumes what passage A explicitly argues for.
(C) Passage B displays an awareness of the arguments touched on in passage A, but not vice versa.
(D) Passage B advocates a policy that passage A rejects.
(E) Passage A downplays the seriousness of claims made in passage B.

7 
 7. Which one of the following, if true, would cast doubt on the argument in passage B but bolster the argument in passage A?

(A) Localized population reduction is often a precursor to widespread endangerment of a species.
(B) Purple loosestrife was barely noticed in North America before the advent of suburban sprawl in the 1950s.
(C) The amount by which overall hunting, trapping, and recreation revenues would be reduced as a result of the extinction of one or more species threatened by purple loosestrife represents a significant portion of those revenues.
(D) Some environmentalists who advocate taking measures to eradicate purple loosestrife view such measures as a means of controlling nature.
(E) Purple loosestrife has never become a problem in its native habitat, even though no effort has been made to eradicate it there.

desertEagle · Answer

1. Both passages explicitly mention which one of the following?

(A) furbearing animals
(B) glyphosate
(C) the threat purple loosestrife poses to economies
(D) popular pollution ideologies
(E) literature on purple loosestrife control

A
Impacts on wildlife have not been well studied,
but serious reductions in waterfowl and aquatic
 furbearer productivity  have been observed.

B
The impact of purple loosestrife on
 furbearing mammals  is discussed at great length,
though none of the species highlighted (muskrat,
mink) can be considered threatened in North America.

Ans A

desertEagle · Answer

2. Each of the passages contains information sufficient to answer which one of the following questions?

(A) Approximately how long ago did purple loosestrife arrive in North America?
(B) Is there much literature discussing the potential benefit that hunters might derive from purple loosestrife management?
(C) What is an issue regarding purple loosestrife management on which both hunters and farmers agree?
(D) Is the canvasback threatened with extinction due to the spread of purple loosestrife?
(E) What is a type of terrain that is affected in at least some parts of North America by the presence of purple loosestrife?

Passage A

Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), an
aggressive and invasive perennial of Eurasian origin,
arrived with settlers in eastern North America in the
early 1800s and  has spread across the continent’s
(5) midlatitude wetlands .

Passage B 
Regardless of the perceived and actual ecological
effects of the purple invader, it is apparent that
(45) popular pollution ideologies  have been extended into
the wetlands of North America .

What is threatened by purple loosestrife is the
(60) economics of exploiting such preferred species and
the millions of dollars that will be lost to the
economies of the United States and Canada from
reduced hunting, trapping, and recreation revenues
due to a  decline in the production of the wetland
(65) resource .

Ans E

Viorik · Answer

3. It can be inferred that the authors would be most likely to disagree about which one of the following?

(A) Purple loosestrife spreads more quickly in disturbed habitats than in undisturbed habitats.
(B) The threat posed by purple loosestrife to local aquatic furbearer populations is serious.
(C) Most people who advocate that eradication measures be taken to control purple loosestrife are not genuine in their concern for the environment.
(D) The size of the biomass that has been displaced by purple loosestrife is larger than is generally thought.
(E) Measures should be taken to prevent other non-native plant species from invading North America.

Passage A: "The impact of purple loosestrife... serious reductions in waterfowl and aquatic furbearer productivity have been observed."
Passage B: "The impact of purple loosestrife on furbearing mammals is discussed at great length, though none of the species highlighted (muskrat, mink) can be considered threatened in North America. What is threatened by purple loosestrife is the economics..."

The answer is B

Viorik · Answer

4. Which one of the following most accurately describes the attitude expressed by the author of passage B toward the overall argument represented by passage A?

(A) enthusiastic agreement
(B) cautious agreement
(C) pure neutrality
(D) general ambivalence
(E) pointed skepticism

Passage B: "...the scientific effort to liberate nature from purple loosestrife has failed to decouple itself from its philosophical origin as an instrument to control nature to the satisfaction of human desires."
Passage A: "With the spread of purple loosestrife growing exponentially, some form of integrated control is needed..."

datta0712 · Answer

4. Which one of the following most accurately describes the attitude expressed by the author of passage B toward the overall argument represented by passage A?

(A) enthusiastic agreement
(B) cautious agreement
(C) pure neutrality
(D) general ambivalence
(E) pointed skepticism

The author of passage B indicates his opinion of the argument represented in passage A in lines 30–42. Noting Keywords like  apparently  (line 30) and  the sarcastic dutifully  (line 38), you can characterize the tone here as acerbic and her attitude toward the kinds of ecologists represented in passage A as doubtful.

So, clearly E

datta0712 · Answer

5. It can be inferred that both authors would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements regarding purple loosestrife?

(A) As it increases in North America, some wildlife populations tend to decrease.
(B) Its establishment in North America has had a disastrous effect on native North American wetland vegetation in certain regions.
(C) It is very difficult to control effectively with herbicides.
(D) Its introduction into North America was a great ecological blunder.
(E) When it is eliminated from a given area, it tends to return to that area fairly quickly.

(A)  is the only acceptable answer. Passage A’s author thinks the reduction in wildlife populations has been serious (line 11) but passage B’s author would admit to some decreases—at the very least, the canvasback (lines 53–54)

Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), an aggressive and invasive

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Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), an aggressive and invasive

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