"Useless Creatures" by Richard Conniff Finally, there is the unavoidable problem that most wildlife species — honey badgers, blobfish, red-tailed hawks, monarch butterflies, hellbenders — are always going to be “useless,” or occasionally annoying, from a human perspective. And even when they do turn out, by some quirk, to be useful, that’s typically incidental to what makes them interesting. Cuttlefish do not fascinate because their skin may suggest new forms of military camouflage, but because of the fantastic light shows that sometimes play across their flanks. Spider web silk doesn’t intrigue because somebody can turn it into bandages, but because of the astonishing things spiders can do with it — stringing a line across a stream and running trotlines down the surface to catch water striders, for instance, or (in the case of the species named mastophora dizzydeani) flinging a ball of silk on a thread like a spitball to snag moths out of the air. Reprinted by permission of author Richard Conniff Question Use the passage to answer the question. Which choice best describes a problem with the reasoning the author uses in the passage? (1 point) Responses The author makes assumptions about how people will view the abilities of animals. The author makes assumptions about how people will view the abilities of animals. The author focuses on practical uses of animals instead of why they fascinate people. The author focuses on practical uses of animals instead of why they fascinate people. The author places a number of diverse animals into a single category. The author places a number of diverse animals into a single category. The author includes exaggerated descriptions of the things animals can do.
1 answer
The choice that best describes a problem with the reasoning the author uses in the passage is:
The author makes assumptions about how people will view the abilities of animals.
This selection highlights that the author presumes a common perspective among humans regarding the usefulness and interest of various animal species.
