Loading question...
You are in free guest mode. Timed Practice Revision List Attempt History Progress Tracking Create a free account to unlock these tools
Back to Questions
Prev Next
CELPIP Practice Reading: Reading for Viewpoints ID: #63246 Medium Wild Pigs on the Move

Read the following editorial from a website.

Wild pigs are no longer somebody else’s problem. They are tearing up canola fields in our province, and a single sick animal could carry African swine fever into a pork industry that ships around the world. The province now wants to move from small trapping pilots to a full eradication program. We support that goal, but how the pigs are killed, who pays for the cleanup and how neighbours are told matter as much as speed.

Amara Lennox, an economist who studies animal disease, argues that every delay costs more. She told the agriculture committee that crop damage claims have risen every year the province has waited. Established herds, she added, roughly double every two years. She wants whole family groups trapped at once, with helicopter shooting where herds are confirmed, and she says the province should borrow methods already tested in Australia and Texas instead of designing everything from zero. Thaddeus Nielsen, who speaks for an animal-welfare society, warns that shooting from helicopters in a hurry leaves more animals wounded and puts nearby cattle and horses at risk. He can accept trapping of mapped herds, but not night hunts without independent observers. “Rush this, and the province will be defending a cruelty scandal instead of a farm economy,” he said.

Anjali Charbonneau, the provincial wildlife manager, says the dispute is about readiness rather than values. She supports quick action, but first she wants a full budget, rules for disposing of carcasses and the power to halt the program halfway if it goes wrong. She notes that rural municipalities are already paying for cleanup when pilot projects run over. Barnaby Godin, who raises cattle near the river, wants written notice before any team comes onto private land and a phone line where farmers can report damage to fences or crops. He also asks that the province publish how often animals are wounded, so that neighbours can judge whether the work is humane.

We accept Lennox’s warning that time is on the pigs’ side, and we would not slow the program for the sake of slowing it. But Charbonneau’s conditions are what make speed safe, and Nielsen’s observers are what make it believable to us. Our advice is plain: the province should approve the full program this fall, settle the budget and carcass rules before the first helicopter flies, put observers on every hunt and give landowners like Godin notice and a line to call. Fast and careful are not opposites here; the province must be both.

Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.

This editorial is mainly about 1.
.

Who most clearly warns that hurried shooting could hurt farm animals nearby? 2.
.

Amara Lennox’s position would most likely be supported by 3.
.

What outcome does Anjali Charbonneau’s condition call for? 4.
.

The editorial’s main purpose is to 5.
.

The following is a comment by a visitor to the website page. Complete the comment by choosing the best option to fill in each blank.

Last spring a group of wild pigs rooted up half an acre of our oats in two nights, so I have no patience for delay. Still, the economist’s idea that the province should 6.
 is the smartest thing in your editorial. The wildlife manager’s reminder that 7.
 is something every ratepayer out here should hear. A cattle farmer asking for 8.
 sounds reasonable to me, and most of my neighbours would agree. His other request, 9.
, would save a lot of arguments at council meetings. I had not realized the pigs were already 10.
, which makes me want the program running this fall.

With a free account: Retry and compare every attempt.
Be the first! No community answers here yet — submit yours and help others learn.
Saving...