Day 220 MCAT Practice Question

Passage 7

The preservation of animal and plant life, and of the general beauty of Nature, is

one of the foremost duties of the men and women of to-day. It is an imperative

duty, because it must be performed at once, for otherwise it will be too late. Every

possible means of preservation,—sentimental, educational and legislative,—must be

employed.

The present warning issues with no uncertain sound, because this great battle

for preservation and conservation cannot be won by gentle tones, nor by appeals

to the aesthetic instincts of those who have no sense of beauty, or enjoyment of

Nature. It is necessary to sound a loud alarm, to present the facts in very strong

language, backed up by irrefutable statistics and by photographs which tell no lies,

to establish the law and enforce it if needs be with a bludgeon.

This book is such an alarm call. Its forceful pages remind me of the sounding of

the great bells in the watch-towers of the cities of the Middle Ages which called

the citizens to arms to protect their homes, their liberties and their happiness. It is

undeniable that the welfare and happiness of our own and of all future generations

of Americans are at stake in this battle for the preservation of Nature against the

selfishness, the ignorance, or the cruelty of her destroyers.

We no longer destroy great works of art. They are treasured, and regarded as

of priceless value; but we have yet to attain the state of civilization where the

destruction of a glorious work of Nature, whether it be a cliff, a forest, or a species

of mammal or bird, is regarded with equal abhorrence. The whole earth is a poorer

place to live in when a colony of exquisite egrets or birds of paradise is destroyed in

order that the plumes may decorate the hat of some lady of fashion, and ultimately

find their way into the rubbish heap…

Travels through Europe, as well as over a large part of the North American continent,

have convinced me that nowhere is Nature being destroyed so rapidly as in the

United States. Except within our conservation areas, an earthly paradise is being

turned into an earthly hades; and it is not savages nor primitive men who are doing

this, but men and women who boast of their civilization. Air and water are polluted,

rivers and streams serve as sewers and dumping grounds, forests are swept away

and fishes are driven from the streams. Many birds are becoming extinct, and

certain mammals are on the verge of extermination. Vulgar advertisements hide the

landscape, and in all that disfigures the wonderful heritage of the beauty of Nature

to-day, we Americans are in the lead.

Fortunately the tide of destruction is ebbing, and the tide of conservation is coming

in. Americans are practical. Like all other northern peoples, they love money and

will sacrifice much for it, but they are also full of idealism, as well as of moral and

spiritual energy. The influence of the splendid body of Americans and Canadians

who have turned their best forces of mind and language into literature and into

political power for the conservation movement, is becoming stronger every day. Yet

we are far from the point where the momentum of conservation is strong enough to

arrest and roll back the tide of destruction; and this is especially true with regard to

our fast vanishing animal life.

The facts and figures set forth in this volume will astonish all those lovers of Nature

and friends of the animal world who are living in a false or imaginary sense of

security. The logic of these facts is inexorable. As regards our birds and mammals,

the failures of supposed protection in America—under a system of free shooting—

are so glaring that we are confident this exposure will lead to sweeping reforms.

The author of this work is no amateur in the field of wild-life protection. His ideas

concerning methods of reform are drawn from long and successful experience.

The states which are still behind in this movement may well give serious heed to

his summons, and pass the new laws that are so urgently demanded to save the

vanishing remnant.

The New York Zoological Society, which is cooperating with many other

organizations in this great movement, sends forth this work in the belief that there

is no one who is more ardently devoted to the great cause or rendering more

effective service in it than William T. Hornaday. We believe that this is a great book,

destined to exert a world-wide influence, to be translated into other languages, and

to arouse the defenders and lovers of our vanishing animal life before it is too late.

Hornaday, W. T. (2004). Our vanishing wild life: Its extermination and preservation.

Project Gutenberg. (Original work published 1913)

Of the various forms of environmental legislation that might be passed in

response to this passage, which of the following would the author be least likely

to support?

A) Legislation that prohibits environmental destruction despite the possible

economic benefits of using natural resources

B) Increased legal restrictions governing the practice of hunting for both sport

and food

C) Rules that would impose fines for disposing of trash in natural areas

D) Laws meant to increase the public’s respect of and admiration for the

beauty of nature