▶ Your Answer :
The reading passage covers three major
points concerning several plans to stop the spread of the deadly fungus that
causes white-nose syndrome (WNS) to bats. The listening, however, clearly
states why these plans are impractical.
The first point made by the author is that
increasing the acidity in bat cave would stop the spread. But, the speaker
challenges this by mentioning that the strategy is not workable because fungus
is not affected by the changes in the acid level and can grow in such
condition. Also, it is impossible to sustain the acid level in the cave. Hence,
raising acidity may not be an effective plan to remove the fungus.
Another point made by the writer is that
using fungicides will be effective to stop the spread. On the contrary, the
lecturer asserts that this is impractical to the fact that the chemical in the
antifungal treatments will destroy the eco-system of the caves so disadvantages
of using such chemicals would outweighs the advantages. Thus, using antifungal
treatments might not be a persuasive strategy to decimate the fungus.
Lastly, the reading claims that shifting
the bat species to artificial habitats during the hibernating season would
prevent the bats from being infected. The professor debunks this by saying that
since there are millions of bats outside, the tactic is unrealistic. not only
because there is no way to transport the number of bats in the caves but also
the bats will be infected anyway after they go back to original habitats.
Therefore, moving habitats is probably not a viable plan. |