ParaSummary Question 6 - CAT 2023
The passage given below is followed by four alternate summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage.
Gradually, life for the island’s birds is improving. Antarctic prions and white-headed petrels, which also nest in burrows, had managed to cling on in some sites while pests were on the island. Their numbers are now increasing. “It’s fantastic and so exciting,” Shaw says. As birds return to breed, they also poo. This adds nutrients to the soil, which in turn helps the plants to grow back stronger. Tall plants then help burrowing birds hide from predatory skuas. “It’s this wonderful feedback loop,” Shaw says. Today, the “pretty paddock” that Houghton first experienced has been transformed. “The tussock is over your head, and you’re dodging all these penguin tunnels,” she says. The orchids and tiny herb that had been protected by fencing have started turning up all over the place.
A. There is an increasing number of predatory birds and plants on the island despite the presence of pests which is a positive development.
B. In the absence of pests, life on the island is now protected, and there has been a revival of a variety of birds and plants.
C. Flowering plants, herbs and birds are now being protected on this wonderful Antarctic island.
D. There is a huge positive transformation of the ecosystem of the island when brought under environmental protection.
Step-by-Step Explanation
- Explanation: The passage outlines an ecological feedback loop that triggered a revival: the implicit removal of pests allowed birds to return, bird droppings fertilized the soil, plants grew taller, and the island's landscape transformed with birds and native plants returning. Option B neatly packages this entire narrative arc.
- Why other options fail: A misidentifies the return of predatory birds as a problem occurring "despite pests," ignoring that the pests are gone. C states that things are "being protected on this wonderful Antarctic island"—but the passage explicitly says plants had been fenced, and are now spreading freely naturally. D incorrectly uses the term "environmental protection," which implies regulatory policy intervention, rather than natural ecological recovery following pest eradication.