UPSC Prelims 2013·CSAT·Reading Comprehension·Passage Comprehension

Read the following passage and answer the two items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only. Passage Ecological - research over the last quarter of the century has established the deleterious effects of habitat fragmentation due to mining, highways and such other intrusions on forests. When a large block of forests gets fragmented into smaller bits, the edges of all these bits come into contact with human activities resulting in the degradation of the entire forests. Continuity of forested landscapes and corridors gets disrupted 'affecting several extinction-prone species of wildlife. Habitat fragmentation, is therefore considered as the most serious threat to biodiversity conservation. Ad hoc grants of forest lands to mining companies coupled with rampant, illegal mining is aggravating this threat. What is the central focus of this passage?

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Last updated 23 May 2026, 3:31 pm IST
  1. AIllegal mining in forests
  2. BExtinction of wildlife
  3. CConservation of nature
  4. DDisruption of habitatCorrect

Explanation

The central focus of the passage is habitat fragmentation and its deleterious effects. A) Illegal mining in forests: This is mentioned as an aggravating factor for habitat fragmentation, but it's not the main subject. The passage discusses fragmentation due to various intrusions, not just illegal mining. B) Extinction of wildlife: This is presented as a consequence of habitat fragmentation, not the central theme itself. The passage explains the cause (fragmentation) that leads to this effect. C) Conservation of nature: The passage discusses a threat to biodiversity conservation, but it doesn't broadly focus on conservation methods or principles. It highlights a specific problem hindering conservation efforts. D) Disruption of habitat: This directly refers to "habitat fragmentation," which is explicitly stated as the "most serious threat to biodiversity conservation" and is the core concept discussed throughout the passage. The entire passage elaborates on how habitats are disrupted and the resulting negative impacts.
Reading Comprehension: Read the following passage and answer the two items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the pass
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