Species are disappearing at an accelerating rate through human action, primarily habitat destruction but also pollution and the introduction of exotic species into residual natural environments. I have said that a fifth or
more of the species of plants and animals could vanish or be doomed to early extinction by the year 2020
unless better efforts are made to save themAs the last forests are felled in forest strongholds like the
Philippines and Ecuador, the decline of species will accelerate even more. In the world as a whole, extinction
rates are already hundreds or thousands of times higher than before the coming of man. They cannot be
balanced by new evolution in any period of time that has meaning for the human race.
What message does the author convey in this excerpt?
O Humans need to take action to end further destruction of the natural environment.
O In the coming years, humans will put forth stronger efforts to save plants and animals.
O The extinction of plant and animal species is problematic in the Philippines and Ecuador.
O In recent years, the extinction rate for many animal species has significantly increased.

Javier is writing a literary analysis of the secret garden. read this introduction to his essay. frances burnett’s “the secret garden” explores the challenges of a sickly, self-centered little girl named mary lennox. after mary’s parents die of cholera, she moves from india to england to live at her uncle’s estate in yorkshire. while living at the old estate, mary discovers an abandoned garden that belonged to her deceased aunt. tending to the neglected garden brings mary joy, and her health improves. through mary’s transformation, burnett presents nature as a symbol of rebirth and healing. which piece of textual evidence should javier use to support the claim made in the introduction? a. “‘it’s in the garden no one can go into,’ she said to herself. ‘it’s the garden without a door. he lives in there. how i wish i could see what it is like! ’” b. “in india she had always felt hot and too languid to care much about anything. the fact was that the fresh wind from the moor had begun to blow the cobwebs out of her young brain and to waken her up a little.” c. “mary felt lonelier than ever when she knew she was no longer in the house. she went out into the garden as quickly as possible, and the first thing she did was to run round and round the fountain flower garden ten times.” d. “‘it isn’t a quite dead garden,’ she cried out softly to herself. ‘even if the roses are dead, there are other things alive.’”