Question

adapted from our vanishing wildlife
by william t. hornaday
for educated, civilized man to exterminate a valuable
wild species of living things is a crime. it is a crime against
his own children, and posterity.
no man has a right, either moral or legal, to destroy or
squander an inheritance of his children that he holds for
them in trust. and man, the wasteful and greedy
spendthrift that he is, has not created even the humblest of
the species of birds, mammals, and fishes that adorn and
enrich this earth. with all his wisdom, man has not
invented and placed here so much as a ground squirrel, a
sparrow or a clam. it is true that he has juggled with the
wild horse and sheep, the goats and the swine, and
produced some hardy breeds that can withstand his
abuse without going down before it, but as for species, he
has not yet created and placed here even so much as a
prairie dog.
the wild things of this earth are not ours, to do with as
we please. they have been given to us in trust, and we
must account for them to the generations which will come
after us. some hardy breeds that can withstand his
abuse without going down before it, but as for species, he
has not yet created and placed here even so much as a
prairie dog.
the wild things of this earth are not ours, to do with as
we please. they have been given to us in trust, and we
must account for them to the generations which will come
after us.
which sentence from the text best demonstrates the author making an exaggerated claim?
a. fully ten percent of the human race consists of people who will lie, steal, throw rubbish in parks, and
destroy forests and wild life wherever and whenever they can do so without being stopped by a
policeman.
b. it is true that he has juggled with the wild horse and sheep, the goats and the swine, and produced
some hardy breeds that can withstand his abuse without going down before it, but as for species, he has
not yet created and placed here even so much as a prairie dog.
c. as a famous bird protector of england has just written to me, \the wisdom of the smart set are beyond
the reach of appeal or protest.\
d. today, the thing that stares me in the face every waking hour, like a grisly specter with bloody fang and
claw, is the extermination of species.

Explanation:

An exaggerated claim is an over - the - top statement. Option A claims that "Fully ten percent of the human race consists of people who will lie, steal, throw rubbish in parks, and destroy forests and wild life...". It is highly unlikely that such a precise percentage (ten percent) can be accurately determined for such a broad and negative set of behaviors across the entire human race. This is an over - exaggeration.
Option B is a more factual - sounding statement about human manipulation of domesticated animals and lack of creation of new species.
Option C is a quote from someone else and not an exaggerated claim in itself.
Option D is a statement about the observation of species extermination, which is a serious but not exaggerated claim.

Answer:

A. Fully ten percent of the human race consists of people who will lie, steal, throw rubbish in parks, and destroy forests and wild life wherever and whenever they can do so without being stopped by a policeman.