Multiple choice

Shark fin soup is a very expensive and popular delicacy in Chinese cuisine. It is prepared from the fins of sharks that are trapped, drugged to remove the fins and then returned to the ocean. These sharks are often eaten up by other sharks, thus greatly depleting their numbers. It follows that this practice will inevitably lead to the extinction of sharks.

Which of the following most weakens the above argument?

  1. Shark fin soup is usually the most expensive dish on the menu and is becoming cost prohibitive.

  2. Most governments are considering proposals to ban the trapping of sharks.

  3. Restaurants that offer shark fin soup on their menu are severely penalized.

  4. Several countries now have fish farms, both man-made and natural, where sharks are allowed to breed and multiply.

  5. More and more people are becoming aware of the ecological damage resulting from the extinction of sharks.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

4: Correct; (4) presents a situation that allows sharks to multiply even in their natural habitat and thus weakens and negates the conclusion that the sharks will become extinct.

Keep practicing — related questions