Most Farmers Attempting to Control Slugs and Snails GMAT Reading Comprehension

Reading Passage Question

Most farmers attempting to control slugs and snails turn to baited slug poison, or molluscicide, which usually consists of a bran pellet containing either methiocarb or metaldehyde. Both chemicals are neurotoxins that disrupt that part of the brain charged with making the mouth move in a coordinated fashion—the "central pattern generator"—as the slug feeds. Thus, both neurotoxins, while somewhat effective, interfere with the slugs' feeding behaviour and limit their ingestion of the poison, increasing the probability that some will stop feeding before receiving a lethal dose. Moreover, slugs are not the only consumers of these poisons: methiocarb may be toxic to a variety of species, including varieties of worms, carabid beetles, and fish.

Researchers are experimenting with an alternative compound based on aluminium, which may solve these problems, but this may well have a limited future as we learn more about the hazards of aluminium in the environment. For example, some researchers suggest that acid rain kills trees by mobilising aluminium in the soil, while others have noted that the human disease Alzheimer's is more prevalent in areas where levels of aluminium in the soil are high. With farmers losing as much as 20 percent of their crops to slugs and snails even after treatment with currently available molluscicides, there is considerable incentive for researchers to come up with better and environmentally safer solutions.

“Most farmers attempting to control slugs and snails turn to baited slug poison or molluscicide” is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension. This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 7 comprehension questions.

The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed to test candidates’ abilities in understanding, analysing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation 

1. In the passage, the author is primarily concerned with

(A) describing the limitations of molluscicides that affect feeding behaviour
(B) proposing alternatives to current methods of controlling slugs and snails
(C) emphasising the need for an alternative to currently available molluscicides
(D) explaining how molluscicides are used to control slugs and snails
(E) criticising the use of hazardous material for controlling slugs and snails

2. The author suggests that which of the following is true of the "alternative compound" mentioned in the highlighted text?

(A) It is more effective in destroying snails than in destroying slugs.
(B) It begins to affect slugs' feeding behaviour before they ingest a lethal dose.
(C) It affects more species of fish than does metaldehyde.
(D) It may not be environmentally safer than methiocarb.
(E) It may be less damaging to trees than metaldehyde.

3. The author cites which of the following as a disadvantage of methiocarb?

(A) It contains high levels of aluminium.
(B) It may react with acid rain to kill trees.
(C) It has been associated with Alzheimer's disease.
(D) It may be toxic to some species of fish.
(E) It may not be as effective in killing slugs as metaldehyde is.

4. The passage suggests that methiocarb and metaldehyde would be more effective as slug poisons if it were true that they

(A) disrupt the slug's digestive processes rather than its reproductive functions
(B) reduce the slug's ability to taste food
(C) begin to affect the feeding behaviour of a slug only after it has ingested a lethal dose
(D) reach the central pattern generator more quickly
(E) accumulate only in the central pattern generator rather than throughout the brain

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