Q.

Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:

THE EXTINCTION CRISIS

Its frightening but true: Our planet is now in the midst of its sixth mass extinction of plants
and animals the sixth wave of extinctions in the past half-billion years. Were currently
experiencing the worst spate of species die-offs since the loss of the dinosaurs 65 million
years ago. Although extinction is a natural phenomenon, it occurs at a natural background
rate of about one to five species per year. Scientists estimate were now losing species at
1,000 to 10,000 times the background rate, with literally dozens going extinct every day. It
could be a scary future indeed, with as many as 30 to 50 percent of all species possibly
heading toward extinction by mid-century.
Unlike past mass extinctions, caused by events like asteroid strikes, volcanic eruptions, and
natural climate shifts, the current crisis is almost entirely caused by us humans. In fact, 99
percent of currently threatened species are at risk from human activities, primarily those
driving habitat loss, introduction of exotic species, and global warming. Because the rate of
change in our biosphere is increasing, and because every species extinction potentially
leads to the extinction of others bound to that species in a complex ecological web,
numbers of extinctions are likely to snowball in the coming decades as ecosystems unravel.
Species diversity ensures ecosystem resilience, giving ecological communities the scope they
need to withstand stress. Thus while conservationists often justifiably focus their efforts on
species-rich ecosystems like rainforests and coral reefs which have a lot to lose a
comprehensive strategy for saving biodiversity must also include habitat types with fewer
species, like grasslands, tundra, and polar seas for which any loss could be irreversibly
devastating. And while much concern over extinction focuses on globally lost species, most
of biodiversitys benefits take place at a local level, and conserving local populations is the
only way to ensure genetic diversity critical for a species long-term survival.
In the past 500 years, we know of approximately 1,000 species that have gone extinct, from
the woodland bison of West Virginia and Arizonas Merriams elk to the Rocky Mountain
grasshopper, passenger pigeon and Puerto Ricos Culebra parrot but this doesnt account
for thousands of species that disappeared before scientists had a chance to describe them.
Nobody really knows how many species are in danger of becoming extinct. Noted
conservation scientist David Wilcove estimates that there are 14,000 to 35,000 endangered
species in the United States, which is 7 to 18 percent of U.S. flora and fauna. The IUCN has
assessed roughly 3 percent of described species and identified 16,928 species worldwide as
being threatened with extinction, or roughly 38 percent of those assessed. In its latest fouryear endangered species assessment, the IUCN reports that the world wont meet a goal of
reversing the extinction trend toward species depletion by 2010. Whats clear is that many
thousands of species are at risk of disappearing forever in the coming decades.
Questions:
1. What is the main idea of the report?
2. In your opinion, what is the purpose of writing this report?
3. Justify how extinction of species is a threat to human life.
4. According to you what does the mass extinction signify in the passage?