When it was published in 1962, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring called

Question

When it was published in 1962, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring called attention to the use of pesticides and pollution of the environment. Carson’s book is credited with facilitating a 1972 ban on agricultural use of the pesticide DDT in the United States and with launching the environmental movement in the western United States. Her study revealed the negative effects of pesticides on birds, in particular, and accused the chemical industry of misinforming the public about the effects of pesticides on humans and the environment. DDT had originally been used to control mosquitoes and the spread of malaria, and by the time of Carson’s book, DDT was being produced in large quantities and sprayed indiscriminately as an agricultural insecticide. Carson proposed a more natural approach to pest control as an alternative to DDT, but chemical and agribusiness firms criticized her ideas as naïve and impractical.

Even before the book was published, it was strongly opposed by leading chemical manufacturers, who claimed that DDT was necessary to combat harmful disease-carrying insects. As it turned out, DDT was never banned for anti-malaria use, and Carson even granted in her book that chemical agents could have some benefits in the realm of pest control as long as they were used as sparingly as possible. In fact, Carson’s work was not advocating a ban on or a complete halt to the use of pesticides, but rather encouraging more responsible use of them in light of her findings that the chemicals could impact an entire ecosystem. Before writing Silent Spring, Carson was known for her writing on natural history, and she had not previously been considered a social critic. Carson was criticized for not being a scientist; nonetheless, her work had a tremendous impact. Given the state of public knowledge about chemical science at the time of the book’s release, Silent Spring did a great deal to educate its readers about the ways in which toxins could accumulate in the environment, and it prompted the public to call for a change.   1 
 D 
 1.Based on the passage’s discussion of Carson’s book, which of the following arguments did the book most likely NOT include?

A. An argument in support of using pesticides sparingly
B. An argument in support of natural alternatives to DDT
C. An argument encouraging responsible pesticide use
D. An argument in support of banning pesticide use
E. An argument aimed at promoting a desired change

2 
 A 
 2.According to the passage, an important outcome of Carson’s book was that

A. DDT was banned for agricultural purposes but not for malaria control
B. chemical companies lost revenue as a result of the book’s publication
C. birds were able to proliferate in areas where they were once endangered
D. the research was not well received within the scientific community
E. newer research has since disproved many of Carson’s findings

3 
 A 
 3. This passage is chiefly concerned with

A. explaining a book’s impact
B. evaluating a book’s research base
C. contrasting a book’s subject matter with previous findings
D. reporting the results of a newly released study
E. criticizing an author’s methods

RC Butler 2021  -  Practice Two RC Questions Everyday.   
Passage # 108 Date: 17-Mar-2021
 This question is a part of RC Butler 2021 .  Click here for Details

hemantbafna · Answer

1.Based on the passage’s discussion of Carson’s book, which of the following arguments did the book most likely NOT include?  
A. An argument in support of using pesticides sparingly- Included
B. An argument in support of natural alternatives to DDT-Included
C. An argument encouraging responsible pesticide use-Included
D. An argument in support of banning pesticide use-  Carson was not advocating complete ban of pesticide, she was of the opinion to use it responsibly. 
E. An argument aimed at promoting a desired change-Included

Answer-D

2.According to the passage, an important outcome of Carson’s book was that 
A. DDT was banned for agricultural purposes but not for malaria control-  Clearly stated in the passage DDT was not not banned for malaria control .
B. chemical companies lost revenue as a result of the book’s publication- Nothing about the revenue of chemical companies is given in the passage .
C. birds were able to proliferate in areas where they were once endangered- Not stated in the passage if birds able to proliferate in areas where they were once endangered  
D. the research was not well received within the scientific community-  Out of scope .
E. newer research has since disproved many of Carson’s findings-  Nothing is mentioned about new research

Answer A

3. This passage is chiefly concerned with 
A. explaining a book’s impact-  The author is only discussing the book's impact 
B. evaluating a book’s research base-  There is no comment on the book's research 
C. contrasting a book’s subject matter with previous findings-  Not mentioned 
D. reporting the results of a newly released study- Not mentioned 
E. criticizing an author’s methods-  Author of the passage was not criticising the book author's methods

Answer A

yashikaaggarwal · Answer

1.Based on the passage’s discussion of Carson’s book, which of the following arguments did the book most likely NOT include?

A. An argument in support of using pesticides sparingly (Carson book did support the use of pesticides in restricted manner till it don't harm environment excessively) (Correct)

B. An argument in support of natural alternatives to DDT (Carson book was published to provide natural alternatives to DDT) (Correct)

C. An argument encouraging responsible pesticide use (Yes, Carson encouraged people to use pesticide with responsible attitude) (Correct)
 
 D. An argument in support of banning pesticide use (No, Carson didn't support the complete ban of pesticides) (WRONG)

E. An argument aimed at promoting a desired change (Yes, Carson aimed to get a positive change in society) (Correct)

ANSWER is D

2.According to the passage, an important outcome of Carson’s book was that

A. DDT was banned for agricultural purposes but not for malaria control (Yes, the use of DDT was banned after Carson book was released) {Coreect}

B. chemical companies lost revenue as a result of the book’s publication (Not any such information is given) (Incorrect)

C. birds were able to proliferate in areas where they were once endangered (No such stats mentioned) (Incorrect)

D. the research was not well received within the scientific community (Even though Carson Book was criticized its not an important outcome of book release)(Incorrect)

E. newer research has since disproved many of Carson’s findings (No new research scholars are been considered in passage) (Incorrect)

Answer is A

3. This passage is chiefly concerned with

A. explaining a book’s impact (The passage revolves around Carson's book impact) (Correct)

B. evaluating a book’s research base (Nope, Carson research base is not the main highlight in here) (Incorrect)

C. contrasting a book’s subject matter with previous findings (No previous finding of Carson is related to the new book release because she used to write on natural history) (Incorrect)

D. reporting the results of a newly released study(The results are not been discussed, just books impact in society){Incorrect}

E. criticizing an author’s methods{No, passage main focus is on the impact of book on society not criticizing book to the fullest) (Incorrect)

Answer is A

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alexferreira999 · Answer

I don't really agree with the solution of question 2. 
Option A says: "DDT was banned for agricultural purposes but not for malaria control" and in the passage it is written that "DDT was not banned for malaria control." 
The fact that DDT was not banned for malaria control, doesn't mean that it was banned for agricultural purposes.
The statement in the passage is not sufficient to conclude A.
In fact, it is inclusively said that the passage does not support the ban of DDT pesticide.

Can anybody help me here? Am I thinking wrong?

Thank You,
Alexandre Ferreira.

bM22 · Answer

Hi  alexferreira999 ,

Part of option A that says that DDT was banned for agricultural purposes can is clearly stated in the lines: "Carson’s book is  credited with facilitating a 1972 ban on agricultural use  of the pesticide DDT in the United States", it was never banned for anti-malaria use.

Hope This Helps.
Thanks.

When it was published in 1962, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring called

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When it was published in 1962, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring called

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