Reading Comprehension

Measuring more than five feet tall and ten feet long, the Javan rhinoceros is often called the rarest large mammal on earth. Though the habitat of the Javan rhino once extended across southern Asia, now there are fewer than one hundred of the animals in Indonesia and fewer than a dozen in Vietnam. The decline of the species may have progressed too far to be reversed. For centuries, farmers who wished to cultivate the rhino's habitat viewed the animals as crop-eating pests and shot them on sight; during the colonial period, hunters slaughtered thousands for their horns, as poachers still do today. The surviving Vietnamese herd has diminished to the point that it can no longer maintain the genetic variation necessary for long-term survival. The Indonesian herd cannot be used to supplement the Vietnamese population because, in the millions of years since Indonesia separated from the mainland, the two groups have evolved into separate sub-species. The Indonesian rhinos are protected on the Ujung Kulon peninsula, which is unsettled by humans, and still thought to have sufficient genetic diversity to survive. The lack of human disturbance, however, allows mature forests to replace the shrubby vegetation preferred by the animals. Human benevolence may prove little better for these rhinos than past human maltreatment.

Q. For what purpose does the author include the last sentence of the passage?


A) To demonstrate that the Indonesian herd has better odds of surviving than the Vietnamese herd.


B) To support the contention that the Javan rhino species may not be able to recover from its current state.

C) To establish that farmers and hunters are no longer killing Javan rhinos.


D) To reinforce the idea that the Indonesian herd of the Javan rhino species will not survive.


E) To illustrate that human benevolence can be just as detrimental to the survival of a species as can human maltreatment.


OA B

A- The last sentence suggests that the Indonesian herd is facing significant issues but does not provide any insight on the odds of the survival of the heard - Eliminate

C- The reference to hunters and farmers killing the rhinos is earlier in the passage and indicates there that the killing from those groups (less the poachers) had already ended - Eliminate

D- While the final sentence does imply that the Indonesian heard may not survive due to the change in their habitat due to a lack of human interference it does not specifically state that the change will result in the herd's extinction. Very tempting option but eliminate.

E- Okay another tempting answer. This is the implication of the last sentence but it doesn't explain why that implication is being made. Eliminate

B- The last sentence is designed to tie back to the main point of the passage - "The decline of the species may have progressed too far to be reversed" by suggesting that the Indonesian herd's chance of survival due to inaction from humans has been hurt as badly as the rhinos in Vietnam by interference from humans.

Not the best wording on my part but hopefully that helps.