Questions: The author is a biologist and college professor. He is considered one of the world's experts on snakes. from Tracks and Shadows 1 Rainforests are dimly lit and exceptionally diverse-claustrophobically dark and fecund -so no wonder tropical biologists end up puzzling over existential questions. At La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica, giant trees with buttressed trunks tower overhead, obscuring the sky, and every glimpse holds the vibrant greens and somber browns of plants and their decaying remnants. After a torrential shower the air reverberates with the buzzes, whines, and clicks of insects, Mantled howler monkeys sound off in the distance. All around us leaf litter reeks from the chemical adventures of microbes, and over the course of hours my puny primate nose wrinkles toward some collared peccaries, then heaps of rotting fruit and a pile of cat droppings. Rounding a trail curve I'm baffled by a shimmering lavender stripe, dozens of yards long and a half-inch tall; then I drop to my knees and contemplate thousands of leaf-cutter ants, each carrying a single delicate flower petal. And from time to time, slogging along the muddy paths, I imagine being overgrown by mosses and fungi, or devoured by spike-headed katydids the size of small mice. 2 Setting aside matters of life and death for the moment, what do ecologists mean by "exceptionally diverse," and why might anyone care? A comparison among some familiar places illustrates how numbers of species increase toward the Equator, culminating in unparalleled tropical richness. California rainforests create variety in plant and animal species. 5. La Selva Biological Station is an exceptional location for studying plant and animal species in rainforests. Part B How does the author mainly develop the correct central ideas from Part A? 1. The author lists the geological and climate characteristics of rainforests worldwide. 2. The author compares personal experiences in rainforests to scientific investigations. 3. The author describes the diversity of species in rainforests and explains the causes of diversity. 4. The author argues there are few ways to appreciate rainforests and gives examples of those ways.

The author is a biologist and college professor. He is considered one of the world's experts on snakes. from Tracks and Shadows 1 Rainforests are dimly lit and exceptionally diverse-claustrophobically dark and fecund -so no wonder tropical biologists end up puzzling over existential questions. At La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica, giant trees with buttressed trunks tower overhead, obscuring the sky, and every glimpse holds the vibrant greens and somber browns of plants and their decaying remnants. After a torrential shower the air reverberates with the buzzes, whines, and clicks of insects, Mantled howler monkeys sound off in the distance. All around us leaf litter reeks from the chemical adventures of microbes, and over the course of hours my puny primate nose wrinkles toward some collared peccaries, then heaps of rotting fruit and a pile of cat droppings. Rounding a trail curve I'm baffled by a shimmering lavender stripe, dozens of yards long and a half-inch tall; then I drop to my knees and contemplate thousands of leaf-cutter ants, each carrying a single delicate flower petal. And from time to time, slogging along the muddy paths, I imagine being overgrown by mosses and fungi, or devoured by spike-headed katydids the size of small mice. 2 Setting aside matters of life and death for the moment, what do ecologists mean by "exceptionally diverse," and why might anyone care? A comparison among some familiar places illustrates how numbers of species increase toward the Equator, culminating in unparalleled tropical richness. California rainforests create variety in plant and animal species. 5. La Selva Biological Station is an exceptional location for studying plant and animal species in rainforests. Part B How does the author mainly develop the correct central ideas from Part A? 1. The author lists the geological and climate characteristics of rainforests worldwide. 2. The author compares personal experiences in rainforests to scientific investigations. 3. The author describes the diversity of species in rainforests and explains the causes of diversity. 4. The author argues there are few ways to appreciate rainforests and gives examples of those ways.
Transcript text: The author is a biologist and college professor. He is considered one of the world's experts on snakes. from Tracks and Shadows 1 Rainforests are dimly lit and exceptionally diverse-claustrophobically dark and fecund ${ }^{\prime}$-so no wonder tropical biologists end up puzzling over existential questions. At La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica, giant trees with buttressed trunks tower overhead, obscuring the sky, and every glimpse holds the vibrant greens and somber browns of plants and their decaying remnants. After a torrential shower the air reverberates with the buzzes, whines, and elicks of insects, Mantled howler monkeys sound off in the distance. All around us leaf litter reeks from the chemical adventures of microbes, and over the course of hours my puny primate nose wrinkles toward some collared peccaries, ${ }^{2}$ then heaps of rotting fruit and a pile of cat droppings. Rounding a trait curve I'm baffled by a shimmering lavender stripe, dozens of yards long and a half-inch tall; then I drop to my knees and contemplate thousands of leaf-cutter ants, each carrying a single delicate flower petal. And from time to time, slogging along the muddy paths, I imagine being overgrown by mosses and fungi, or devoured by spike-headed katydids ${ }^{3}$ the size of small mice. 2 Setting aside matters of life and death for the moment, what do ecologists mean by "exceptionally diverse," and why might anyone care? A comparison among some famillar places illustrates how numbers of species increase toward the Equator, culminating in unparalleled tropical richness. California ramtorests create vartety in piantiantuanmal species. 5. La Selva Biological Station is an exceptional location for studying plant and animal species in rainforests. Part B How does the author mainly develop the correct central ideas from Part $A$ ? 1. The author lists the geological and climate characteristics of rainforests worldwide. 2. The author compares personal experiences in rainforests to scientific investigations. 3. The author desgribes the diversity of species in rainforests and 2 plains the causes of diversity. 4. The author argues there are few ways to appreciate rainforests and gives examples of those ways.
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Solution

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The answer is the third one (3): The author describes the diversity of species in rainforests and explains the causes of diversity.

Explanation for each option:

  1. The author lists the geological and climate characteristics of rainforests worldwide.

    • This option is incorrect because the passage does not focus on listing geological and climate characteristics. Instead, it provides a vivid description of the rainforest environment and its biodiversity.

  2. The author compares personal experiences in rainforests to scientific investigations.

    • This option is incorrect because the passage does not explicitly compare personal experiences to scientific investigations. It does include personal observations, but these are used to illustrate the diversity and complexity of the rainforest rather than to compare with scientific studies.

  3. The author describes the diversity of species in rainforests and explains the causes of diversity.

    • This option is correct because the passage highlights the exceptional diversity of species in rainforests, as seen through the author's observations at La Selva Biological Station. It also touches on the broader concept of increasing species diversity toward the Equator.

  4. The author argues there are few ways to appreciate rainforests and gives examples of those ways.

    • This option is incorrect because the passage does not argue that there are few ways to appreciate rainforests. Instead, it focuses on the richness and diversity of the rainforest ecosystem.

In summary, the author develops the central idea by describing the diversity of species in rainforests and explaining the causes of this diversity, particularly in the context of the tropical richness observed at La Selva Biological Station.

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