Single correct option
The passage below is followed by four summaries. Choose the one that best captures the essence of the passage.
The conservation of coral reefs has traditionally focused on protecting existing reef structures from direct threats such as overfishing, pollution, and physical damage from anchors and trawling. As ocean temperatures rise, however, a growing number of marine biologists argue that this defensive approach is no longer sufficient on its own. They advocate a complementary strategy of selective breeding and assisted gene flow, identifying coral colonies that have demonstrated unusual heat tolerance and propagating their genetic lines to reefs at risk, in effect accelerating a process of adaptation that would otherwise unfold, if at all, far too slowly to keep pace with warming seas.
The conservation of coral reefs has traditionally focused on protecting existing reef structures from direct threats such as overfishing, pollution, and physical damage from anchors and trawling. As ocean temperatures rise, however, a growing number of marine biologists argue that this defensive approach is no longer sufficient on its own. They advocate a complementary strategy of selective breeding and assisted gene flow, identifying coral colonies that have demonstrated unusual heat tolerance and propagating their genetic lines to reefs at risk, in effect accelerating a process of adaptation that would otherwise unfold, if at all, far too slowly to keep pace with warming seas.
- A. Overfishing and pollution are no longer significant threats to coral reefs anywhere in the world.
- B. Traditional reef protection against direct threats is now considered obsolete and has been entirely abandoned by marine biologists.
- C. Given that rising temperatures threaten reefs faster than natural adaptation can address, many marine biologists now advocate supplementing traditional protective conservation with selective breeding and gene flow from heat-tolerant coral to speed up adaptation.
- D. Selective breeding of coral has already fully solved the problem of reef loss caused by climate change.
Show answer and solution
Answer: (C) Given that rising temperatures threaten reefs faster than natural adaptation can address, many marine biologists now advocate supplementing traditional protective conservation with selective breeding and gene flow from heat-tolerant coral to speed up adaptation.
The passage says traditional protection is 'no longer sufficient on its own' (not obsolete or abandoned) and describes a 'complementary strategy' of selective breeding to accelerate adaptation given warming's pace. Option 2 captures the complementary, not replacement, relationship and the reasoning behind it. Option 0 misreads the passage, which never says these threats vanished. Option 1 wrongly claims abandonment where the passage says 'complementary'. Option 3 overstates the outcome as already 'fully solved', which the passage does not claim.
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