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RC Passage
Direction for the questions 9 to 12: The passage below is accompanied by a set of four questions. Choose the best answer to each question.
Landing in Australia, the British colonists werenât much impressed with the small-bodied, slender-snooted marsupials called bandicoots. âTheir muzzle, which is much too long, gives them an air exceedingly stupid,â one naturalist noted in 1805. They nicknamed one type the âzebra ratâ because of its black-striped rump.
Silly-looking or not, though, the zebra ratâthe smallest bandicoot, more commonly known today as the western barred bandicootâexhibited a genius for survival in the harsh outback, where its ancestors had persisted for some 26 million years. Its births were triggered by rainfall in the bone-dry desert. It carried its breath-mint-size babies in a backward-facing pouch so mothers could forage for food and dig shallow, camouflaged shelters.
Still, these adaptations did not prepare the western barred bandicoot for the colonial-era transformation of its ecosystem, particularly the onslaught of imported British animals, from cattle and rabbits that damaged delicate desert vegetation to ravenous house cats that soon developed a taste for bandicoots. Several of the dozen-odd bandicoot species went extinct, and by the 1940s the western barred bandicoot, whose original range stretched across much of the continent, persisted only on two predator-free islands in Shark Bay, off Australiaâs western coast. âOur isolated fauna had simply not been exposed to these predators,â says Reece Pedler, an ecologist with the Wild Deserts conservation program.
Now Wild Deserts is using descendants of those few thousand island survivors, called Shark Bay bandicoots, in a new effort to seed a mainland bandicoot revival. Theyâve imported 20 bandicoots to a preserve on the edge of the Strzelecki Desert, in the remote interior of New South Wales. This sanctuary is a challenging place, desolate much of the year, with one of the worldâs most mercurial rainfall patternsârelentless droughts followed by sudden drenching floods.
The imported bandicoots occupy two fenced âexclosures,â cleared of invasive rabbits (courtesy of Pedlerâs sheepdog) and of feral cats (which slunk off once the rabbits disappeared). A third fenced area contains the programâs Wild Training Zone, where two other rare marsupials (bilbies, a larger type of bandicoot, and mulgaras, a somewhat fearsome fuzzball known for sucking the brains out of prey) currently share terrain with controlled numbers of cats, learning to evade them. Itâs unclear whether the Shark Bay bandicoots, which are perhaps even more predator-naive than their now-extinct mainland bandicoot kin, will be able to make that kind of breakthrough.
For now, though, a recent surge of rainfall has led to a bandicoot joey boom, raising the Wild Deserts population to about 100, with other sanctuaries adding to that number. There are also signs of rebirth in the landscape itself. With their constant digging, the bandicoots trap moisture and allow for seed germination so the cattledamaged desert can restore itself.
They have a new nicknameâa flattering one, this time. âWe call them ecosystem engineers,â Pedler says.
RC Line-wise Explanation
Paragraph 1
Original: Landing in Australia, the British colonists werenât much impressed with the small-bodied, slender-snooted marsupials called bandicoots.
Explanation: When the British arrived in Australia, they didnât think much of the bandicootsâsmall marsupials with narrow snouts.
Original: âTheir muzzle, which is much too long, gives them an air exceedingly stupid,â one naturalist noted in 1805.
Explanation: A naturalist in 1805 described their long snouts as making them look very foolish.
Original: They nicknamed one type the âzebra ratâ because of its black-striped rump.
Explanation: One species was mockingly called the âzebra ratâ because it had stripes on its rear.
Paragraph 2
Original: Silly-looking or not, though, the zebra ratâthe smallest bandicoot, more commonly known today as the western barred bandicootâexhibited a genius for survival in the harsh outback, where its ancestors had persisted for some 26 million years.
Explanation: Despite appearances, the western barred bandicoot (once called the zebra rat) was extremely well adapted to Australiaâs tough environment, surviving there for 26 million years.
Original: Its births were triggered by rainfall in the bone-dry desert.
Explanation: Rainfall in the dry desert would trigger the bandicoots to reproduce.
Original: It carried its breath-mint-size babies in a backward-facing pouch so mothers could forage for food and dig shallow, camouflaged shelters.
Explanation: The mothers had a rear-facing pouch for their tiny babies, allowing them to move easily and build hidden shelters.
Paragraph 3
Original: Still, these adaptations did not prepare the western barred bandicoot for the colonial-era transformation of its ecosystem, particularly the onslaught of imported British animals, from cattle and rabbits that damaged delicate desert vegetation to ravenous house cats that soon developed a taste for bandicoots.
Explanation: Despite their adaptations, bandicoots couldnât cope with changes brought by British colonization, especially invasive animals like cattle, rabbits, and cats that harmed their habitat or hunted them.
Original: Several of the dozen-odd bandicoot species went extinct, and by the 1940s the western barred bandicoot, whose original range stretched across much of the continent, persisted only on two predator-free islands in Shark Bay, off Australiaâs western coast.
Explanation: Many bandicoot species died out, and by the 1940s, the western barred bandicoot only survived on two islands without predators in Shark Bay.
Paragraph 4
Original: âOur isolated fauna had simply not been exposed to these predators,â says Reece Pedler, an ecologist with the Wild Deserts conservation program.
Explanation: Ecologist Reece Pedler explains that Australiaâs wildlife was unprepared for these new predators because they had never encountered them before.
Paragraph 5
Original: Now Wild Deserts is using descendants of those few thousand island survivors, called Shark Bay bandicoots, in a new effort to seed a mainland bandicoot revival.
Explanation: The Wild Deserts team is now trying to reintroduce bandicoots on the mainland using the surviving ones from Shark Bay.
Original: Theyâve imported 20 bandicoots to a preserve on the edge of the Strzelecki Desert, in the remote interior of New South Wales.
Explanation: They moved 20 bandicoots to a protected area near the Strzelecki Desert in New South Wales.
Original: This sanctuary is a challenging place, desolate much of the year, with one of the worldâs most mercurial rainfall patternsârelentless droughts followed by sudden drenching floods.
Explanation: The sanctuary is tough to live in, with unpredictable rain patternsâextreme droughts and heavy floods.
Paragraph 6
Original: The imported bandicoots occupy two fenced âexclosures,â cleared of invasive rabbits (courtesy of Pedlerâs sheepdog) and of feral cats (which slunk off once the rabbits disappeared).
Explanation: The bandicoots live in two fenced zones that have been cleared of rabbits and cats. Interestingly, the cats left when the rabbits were removed.
Original: A third fenced area contains the programâs Wild Training Zone, where two other rare marsupials (bilbies, a larger type of bandicoot, and mulgaras, a somewhat fearsome fuzzball known for sucking the brains out of prey) currently share terrain with controlled numbers of cats, learning to evade them.
Explanation: Another fenced zone is used to teach other rare marsupials (bilbies and mulgaras) how to avoid predators like cats by exposing them in a controlled setting.
Original: Itâs unclear whether the Shark Bay bandicoots, which are perhaps even more predator-naive than their now-extinct mainland bandicoot kin, will be able to make that kind of breakthrough.
Explanation: Itâs uncertain if the Shark Bay bandicootsâlikely even less experienced with predators than past speciesâcan learn to survive like the others.
Paragraph 7
Original: For now, though, a recent surge of rainfall has led to a bandicoot joey boom, raising the Wild Deserts population to about 100, with other sanctuaries adding to that number.
Explanation: Thanks to recent rains, many baby bandicoots have been born, raising the population in Wild Deserts to around 100, with more elsewhere.
Original: There are also signs of rebirth in the landscape itself.
Explanation: The land is also starting to recover.
Original: With their constant digging, the bandicoots trap moisture and allow for seed germination so the cattle-damaged desert can restore itself.
Explanation: The bandicootsâ digging helps retain water and encourages plants to grow, helping the damaged desert heal.
Paragraph 8
Original: They have a new nicknameâa flattering one, this time. âWe call them ecosystem engineers,â Pedler says.
Explanation: Now they are positively called âecosystem engineersâ because of their role in helping restore the environment.
RC Paragraph Explanation
Paragraph 1 Summary
Early British colonists mocked the bandicootâs appearance, calling one kind the âzebra ratâ for its striped backside.
Paragraph 2 Summary
Despite their odd look, western barred bandicoots were highly adapted to desert life, using smart reproductive and sheltering behaviors to survive for millions of years.
Paragraph 3 Summary
However, they could not withstand the ecosystem disruptions caused by colonial animals, which led to the extinction of many bandicoot species, leaving the western barred bandicoot isolated on two predator-free islands.
Paragraph 4 Summary
Ecologist Reece Pedler explains that Australia's wildlife had no prior experience with such predators, which made them especially vulnerable.
Paragraph 5 Summary
Conservationists are now attempting to reintroduce Shark Bay bandicoots to the mainland in a harsh but protected desert environment in New South Wales.
Paragraph 6 Summary
The project includes predator-free zones and a training area for other marsupials to learn to evade cats. Itâs unclear if the predator-naive bandicoots can adapt similarly.
Paragraph 7 Summary
Recent rains have boosted the bandicoot population and their digging is helping regenerate the desert ecosystem.
Paragraph 8 Summary
Because of their positive environmental impact, bandicoots are now affectionately called âecosystem engineers.â
RC Quick Table Summary
| Paragraph Number | Main Idea |
|---|---|
| Paragraph 1 | Colonists mocked the appearance of bandicoots, nicknaming them âzebra rats.â |
| Paragraph 2 | Western barred bandicoots were well adapted to harsh desert life. |
| Paragraph 3 | Colonial animals led to the decline and isolation of bandicoots. |
| Paragraph 4 | Australiaâs animals were defenseless against new predators. |
| Paragraph 5 | Bandicoots are being reintroduced to a desert preserve. |
| Paragraph 6 | Conservation zones include predator-free areas and training for other marsupials. |
| Paragraph 7 | Rain has boosted the population and helped restore the environment. |
| Paragraph 8 | Bandicoots are now praised as âecosystem engineers.â |
RC Questions
Ques 9. According to the text, the western barred bandicoots now have a flattering name because they have
Option Analysis:
Option A: This accurately reflects the reason for the new nickname. Their digging habits contribute to restoring the arid desert, making them environmental agents of change. Option B: While the bandicoots are central to conservation efforts, the passage specifically ties the nickname to their ecological role, not to population revival. Option C: A population boom is mentioned, but the nickname is not attributed to this growth. It's their impact on the ecosystem that earned them the label. Option D:The passage does not suggest that the bandicoots caused the rainfall surge. The rain helped trigger more births, but it was not initiated by the bandicoots.
Ques 10. Which one of the following options does NOT represent the characteristics of the western barred bandicoot?
Option Analysis:
Option A:The passage mentions the long muzzle and digging behaviorâboth are characteristic of bandicoots. Option B: The sentence incorrectly attributes camouflage behavior to the animal, when it is only the shelters that are camouflaged. Option C: The passage explains that they were nicknamed âzebra ratâ due to their appearance and confirms their pouch and snout characteristics. Option D:This sentence accurately reflects physical traits: striped back, slender nose, and pouch.
Ques 11. The text uses the word âexclosuresâ because Wild Deserts has adopted a measure of
Option Analysis:
Option A:While restoration is a goal, the function of the exclosures is exclusionânot restoration itself. Option B: The bilbies are not excludedâthey are part of the experiment. Only cats and rabbits are removed, making this factually incorrect. Option C:his suggests the exclosures are about creating predator-free islands, but the text clearly states that one fenced zone still contains predators for training purposes. Option D:This directly captures the purpose of the exclosures: to exclude invasive species such as cats and rabbits.
Ques 12. Which one of the following statements provides a gist of this passage?
Option Analysis:
Option A: This falsely claims extinction. The species survived on two islands, so this is factually inaccurate. Option B: The colonistsâ dismissive attitude is mentioned, but the real cause of decline is ecological change and invasive speciesânot cultural indifference. Option C: This is too vague and generalizes beyond the western barred bandicoot, missing the focus and nuance of the passage. Option D:a near-extinct species facing threats from invasive animals and being revived through careful conservation of island survivors.
