In response to the increasing environmental damage wrought by poachers

Question

In response to the increasing environmental damage wrought by poachers, authorities placed a ban on ivory in the 1980s. Although the ban resulted in an initial decrease in the sale and trade of illegal ivory and a concurrent increase in the elephant population, more pressing needs caused most Western nations to withdraw funding for poaching prevention programs. Without significant financial support, poorer countries were unable to effectively combat poachers. The resulting explosion in the ivory trade has seen prices increase to nearly 10 times the $45 per pound price at the beginning of the decade.

Unfortunately, the countries with the worst poaching problems have also tended to be the ones least able to combat the problem due to unstable political systems, corruption, lack of comprehensive enforcement programs, or some combination of all these factors. One primary hindrance to better enforcement of the ivory ban came from an inability to definitively identify the country of origin of illegal ivory. Countries used this uncertainty to avoid responsibility for curbing illegal poaching in their territories by attempting to blame other countries for the oversights in enforcement. Now, though, zoologists have perfected a new DNA identification system. First, scientists gathered genetic data from the population of African elephants, an arduous effort that ultimately resulted in a detailed DNA-based map of the distribution of African elephants. Then, the researchers developed a method to extract DNA evidence from ivory, allowing them to match the ivory with elephant populations on the map. Zoologists hope this new method will pinpoint the exact origin of poached ivory and force countries to accept their responsibility in enforcing the ban.   1 
 1. The passage suggests which of the following about the ivory ban?

A. It has been mostly unsuccessful in reducing the trade of illegal ivory.
B. It will be successful now that the DNA-based map has been developed.
C. Western countries will increase their funding of the program now that countries are forced to take responsibility for the poaching occurring within their borders.
D. Western monetary support was a major factor in its success.
E. It will continue to be ineffective unless the problems of political corruption are solved.

2 
 2. The response of the countries with the worst poaching problems to the situation was most analogous to

A. a criminal who argues that it is not he but one of his accomplices who is guilty of a crime
B. a tax evader who uses deceptive accounting practices to hide her income from auditors
C. a white collar criminal who believes that his actions are not a crime because no one has been hurt
D. an embezzler who steals from her company by pilfering small amounts of money over a long period of time
E. a con artist who convinces his victim that it is in the victim’s best interest to help him

3 
 3. The passage suggests which of the following about the DNA-based map created by zoologists?

A. The map is able to pinpoint the exact elephant from which poached ivory was obtained.
B. Its assemblage involved a great deal of work on the part of the researchers.
C. Its creation will force countries to accept responsibility for the ivory poached from within their borders.
D. It allows zoologists to keep track of the migration patterns of African elephants.
E. It must be updated constantly to account for changes in elephant populations.

4 
 4. The passage is chiefly concerned with

A. exposing the weaknesses of the ivory ban
B. criticizing countries for failing to accept responsibility for the proliferation of poachers
C. pleading with Western countries to reinstitute financing for the ivory ban
D. advocating a course of action for countries with poaching problems
E. detailing a way to overcome a problem that has lessened the effectiveness of the ivory ban

Source:   McGraw Hills GMAT 2013    (118) 
Difficulty Level:   650

tarunanandani · Accepted Answer

In response to the increasing environmental damage wrought by poachers, authorities placed a ban on ivory in the 1980s. Although  the ban resulted in an initial decrease in the sale and trade of illegal ivory  and a concurrent increase in the elephant population, more pressing needs caused most Western nations to withdraw funding for poaching prevention programs.  Without significant financial support, poorer countries were unable to effectively combat poachers . The resulting explosion in the ivory trade has seen prices increase to nearly 10 times the $45 per pound price at the beginning of the decade.

Unfortunately, the countries with the worst poaching problems have also tended to be the ones least able to combat the problem due to unstable political systems, corruption, lack of comprehensive enforcement programs, or some combination of all these factors. One primary hindrance to better enforcement of the ivory ban came from an inability to definitively identify the country of origin of illegal ivory.  Countries used this uncertainty to avoid responsibility for curbing illegal poaching in their territories by attempting to blame other countries for the oversights in enforcement . Now, though, zoologists have perfected a new DNA identification system. First, scientists gathered genetic data from the population of African elephants,  an arduous effort that ultimately resulted in a detailed DNA-based map  of the distribution of African elephants. Then, the researchers developed a method to extract DNA evidence from ivory, allowing them to match the ivory with elephant populations on the map. Zoologists hope this new method will pinpoint the exact origin of poached ivory and force countries to  accept their responsibility in enforcing the ban .

1. The passage suggests which of the following about the ivory ban?

A. It has been mostly unsuccessful in reducing the trade of illegal ivory. -- Incorrect , passage says that the ban was successful, reference text highlighted in green color.
B. It will be successful now that the DNA-based map has been developed. -- Incorrect , not supported, the author doesn't talk about the success of the ban after DNA-based map. The passage only presents the hope of Zoologists but never affirms that the ban will be successful.
C. Western countries will increase their funding of the program now that countries are forced to take responsibility for the poaching occurring within their borders. -- Incorrect , not supported. Same as B.
D. Western monetary support was a major factor in its success. -- Correct , reference text highlighted in green color.
E. It will continue to be ineffective unless the problems of political corruption are solved. -- Incorrect , not supported.

2. The response of the countries with the worst poaching problems to the situation was most analogous to

A. a criminal who argues that it is not he but one of his accomplices who is guilty of a crime -- Correct , reference text is highlighted in blue color. 
B. a tax evader who uses deceptive accounting practices to hide her income from auditors -- Incorrect , the tax evader doesn't blame someone else so this option is not analogous.
C. a white collar criminal who believes that his actions are not a crime because no one has been hurt -- Incorrect , same as B.
D. an embezzler who steals from her company by pilfering small amounts of money over a long period of time -- Incorrect , same as B.
E. a con artist who convinces his victim that it is in the victim’s best interest to help him -- Incorrect , same as B.

3. The passage suggests which of the following about the DNA-based map created by zoologists?

A. The map is able to pinpoint the exact elephant from which poached ivory was obtained. -- Incorrect , 'the new method will pinpoint the exact origin of poached ivory...' and not the exact elephant.
B. Its assemblage involved a great deal of work on the part of the researchers. -- Correct , reference text is highlighted in red color.
C. Its creation will force countries to accept responsibility for the ivory poached from within their borders. -- Incorrect , tricky one! As per the passage the Zoologists hope that the new method will force the countries to accept responsibility but whether it will happen for sure can't be inferred from the passage.
D. It allows zoologists to keep track of the migration patterns of African elephants. -- Incorrect , nothing mentioned about tracking in the passage.
E. It must be updated constantly to account for changes in elephant populations. -- Incorrect , not mentioned.

4. The passage is chiefly concerned with

A. exposing the weaknesses of the ivory ban -- Incorrect , only a part of passage discusses the problem in enforcing the ban.
B. criticizing countries for failing to accept responsibility for the proliferation of poachers -- Incorrect , not the main idea, only a small detail.
C. pleading with Western countries to re-institute financing for the ivory ban -- Incorrect , pleading has not been mentioned in the passage.
D. advocating a course of action for countries with poaching problems -- Incorrect , tempting one! the author doesn't advocate the solution it merely describes it, choice E is better.
E. detailing a way to overcome a problem that has lessened the effectiveness of the ivory ban -- Correct , the first para describes a problem (ban enforcement) and the second para provides a way (DNA-based map) to solve the problem.

Cinematiccuisine · Answer

@tarunanandani- Thank you for providing answers.

for question 4: i selected choice D. You were correct in calling it as a 'tempting one'. I overlooked the sentence from para -->Zoologists  hope  this new method will pinpoint the exact origin of poached ivory.

the author is hoping hence he or she is definitely NOT advocating.

same is the case with question 3 --> i selected C but later on realized my mistake.

tarunanandani · Answer

Cinematiccuisine ,
I too selected choice C for the question 3 when I first attempted it. That is the beauty of details questions in RC; one has to be very careful with the small details, words such as 'hope' can easily be missed. So, we have to keep practicing to avoid such mistakes on the D-day.
Happy learning!

ShankSouljaBoi · Answer

in 4confused between A and E. Please help

Cinematiccuisine · Answer

ShankSouljaBoi - let me try. Let's understand the flow of the passage. Para 1: --------------- Author suggests that Poachers are illegally selling Ivory. This is causing 1) Environmental damages 2) Decrease in population of Elephants (poachers killing elephants) A ban is introduced that partially addresses these 2 problems, however, core problem still needs to be addressed --> Countries (esp. poorer) do not have sufficient funding to combat poachers. Just to explain this further --> Tusks (teeth of an Elephant) are made from material called Ivory. It's very much "a in-demand substance". Due to scarcity of it, poachers kill elephants and sell the tusk/ivory at very huge price (para 1 also calls out for increase in the price). Again, you don't need to know this while solving para. I didn't know, but i could figure out that poachers are illegally trying to sell something at higher price.

--------------- Para 2: Author further explains that these poorer countries are unable to stop poaching because they don't know origin of country for poaching. and suggests a POTENTIAL solution as well. Just to explain this further --> It means: a) It is possible that elephants are being killed in Country1 and elephants's Tusk/Ivory is being sold in another country2 because it has more demand of Ivory. b) Question is --> Who should control poaching? Country 1 OR Country 2? c) Let's imagine that, Country2 is being blamed by international community for illegal trade happening on their land. If Country 2 is poorer and having unstable political environment, then obviously Country2's leaders will start pointing fingers. d) Country 2 can say that problem is with Country 1 as they are allowing poachers to kill elephants. So ultimately there can be a "blame game". e) In order to avoid this blame game --> Author suggests a potential solution --> a new DNA identification system. --------------- Summary: in a nutshell, Para 1 explains a problem while para 2 further expands the root cause of problem and suggests a potential solution. Let's look at the choices A and E. A. exposing the weaknesses of the ivory ban: This is just suggesting gist of para 1. however, we saw that author not only explains a problem but also provides a potential solution. Hence this is incorrect/partial summary of para. E. detailing a way to overcome a problem that has lessened the effectiveness of the ivory ban This perfectly aligns with the summary that we deduced. Again, as tarunanandani also explained, Option D is ruled out. There's already explanation provided above. I hope this clarifies. Do let me know if you need more help. --- Please give kudos

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Bumping up for further discussion.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

1. The passage suggests which of the following about the ivory ban?

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

This is an inference question. Look for the answer in the beginning of the passage, where the ivory ban is first introduced. The passage states  “Although the ban resulted in an initial decrease in the sale and trade of illegal ivory and a concurrent increase in the elephant population, more pressing needs caused most Western nations to withdraw funding for poaching prevention programs. Without significant financial support, poorer countries were unable to effectively combat poachers.”  Thus,  choice D  is best.

Choice A  goes too far because the passage states that the ban was successful at first.

Choice B  isn’t necessarily true, so it cannot be an inference.

Choice C  is not stated or implied; there is no prediction of what Western countries will do.

Choice E  goes beyond the scope of the passage—no mention of future outcomes is discussed.

Answer: D.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

2. The response of the countries with the worst poaching problems to the situation was most analogous to

Difficulty Level:   550

Explanation

This is an apply information question. The beginning of the second paragraph contains the relevant information. According to the author,  “Countries used this uncertainty to avoid responsibility for curbing illegal poaching in their territories by attempting to blame other countries for the oversights in enforcement.”  Now, find the answer that shows an attempt to shift blame. Only  choice A  matches.

Answer: A.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

3. The passage suggests which of the following about the DNA-based map created by zoologists?

Difficulty Level:   Hard

Explanation

This is an inference question. Read the lines about the DNA-based map in the second half of the final paragraph. It states  “First, scientists gathered genetic data from the population of African elephants, an arduous effort that ultimately resulted in a detailed DNA-based map of the distribution of African elephants.”  The author uses the word  “arduous”  to describe the effort, so choice B is a valid inference.

Choice A  goes too far because the map allows the researchers to track populations, but not individual elephants.

Choice C  is not necessarily true.

Choice D  and  E  might be true but are not supported by information in the passage.

Answer: B.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

4. The passage is chiefly concerned with

Difficulty Level:   650

Explanation

This is a main idea question. The first part of the passage explains why the ivory ban has become less effective, while the second part shows that there is a potential solution to the problems with the ban.  Choice E  states this.

Choice A  only discusses half of the passage, so it doesn’t go far enough.

The primary point is not to criticize countries, so  choice B  is incorrect.

Funding issues are not the main purpose, making  choice C  also incorrect.

Choice D  has the wrong tone because the author is simply describing the plan, not  “advocating”  it.

Answer: E.

VerbalBot · Answer

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In response to the increasing environmental damage wrought by poachers

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In response to the increasing environmental damage wrought by poachers

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