Question

"UselessCreatures"
by Richard Conniff
This article contains no useful information.Zero. Nada. Nothing. If usefulness is yourcriterion for reading, thank you very much foryour time and goodbye, we have nothing moreto say. The truth is that I am bored to tears byusefulness. I am bored, more precisely, ofpretending usefulness is the thing that reallymatters.
I mostly write about wildlife. So here is how ittypically happens for me: A study comes outindicating that species x, y and z are inimminent danger of extinction, or that somemajor bioregion of the planet is being suckeddown into the abyss. And it’s my job to convincepeople that they should care, even as they areracing to catch the 7:10 train, or wondering ifthey’ll be able to pay this month’s (or lastmonth’s) rent.
My usual strategy is to trot out a list of wayseven the most obscure species can proveunexpectedly, yes, useful. The first effectivetreatment that turned H.I.V. from a deathsentence into a manageable condition?Inspired by the biochemistry of a nondescriptCaribbean sponge. The ACE inhibitors that arecurrently among our most effective treatmentsfor cardiovascular disease (and which havelately been proposed as a treatment for Ebola)?Developedbystudyingthevenomofthefer-de-
A)
Use the passage to answer the question.
In the last paragraph, the author argues thattrying to convince people to care aboutanimals because animals are useful can getsilly. How does the author show that thisargument is valid?
(1 point)
He lists several strange real-life
examples.
He lists credible sources.
He includes a funny personal
observation.
He includes examples of animals with
humorous names.

Answer 1

He lists several strange real-life examples.