Globalization and the Information Age: Postmodernism into the Twenty-First Century — Test
Question 3 • TPS EdX English Language Arts 11
Read the excerpt from "The Environmental Ethic." Mother Earth . . . is no more than the commonality of organisms and the physical environment they maintain with each passing moment, an environment that will destabilize and turn lethal if the organisms are disturbed too much. . . . To disregard the diversity of life is to risk catapulting ourselves into an alien environment. We will have become like the pilot whales that inexplicably beach themselves on New England shores. Which of the following choices best expresses the type of appeal Wilson uses in this passage?
Answer
A
The author uses logos to develop his argument by providing factual information about pilot whales in New England.
B
The author uses pathos to develop his argument by including emotionally charged language to evoke a response.
C
The author uses logos to develop his argument by gaining sympathy for the pilot whales in New England.
D
The author uses pathos to develop his argument by chastising the reader for the destruction of the environment.
Explanation
Wilson uses emotionally charged words such as “lethal” and “alien” to make the consequences of disturbing the environment feel frightening. The image of pilot whales beaching themselves also creates an unsettling emotional effect, so the passage primarily appeals to pathos. It does not provide factual information about the whales to build a logical argument, as choice A suggests.
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