Read the passage given below and answer the question that follows: Some argue…
2024
Read the passage given below and answer the question that follows:
Some argue that globalization, the rise in technology, population growth, and the perceived diminution of nature's worth for human psychological, emotional and physical health has caused a disconnect between humanity and the rest of nature. As this disconnect continues and potentially grows, the prospects of achieving human well-being within the dominant economic development paradigm weakens. Vital alternative, sustainable, and integrated development paradigms are being developed that aim to re-address the balance between the human system and the Earth system.
What can you infer from the passage above?
- A.
All the modern technologies are leading human away from nature
- B.
Globalization is the primary cause of all disconnect
- C.
Both nature and humans can co-exist if necessary changes are embraced
- D.
Humans can exist even without the harmonious existence of nature.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept: An "inference" question asks you to pick the conclusion that the passage's own statements fully support — without adding an absolute, single-cause claim the passage never makes, and without contradicting what the passage explicitly says.
Application: The passage attributes the human-nature disconnect to several factors together (globalization, rising technology, population growth, and the diminished perceived worth of nature) — never to one factor alone. It then says "vital alternative, sustainable, and integrated development paradigms are being developed that aim to re-address the balance between the human system and the Earth system." This directly supports that coexistence between humans and nature remains possible, provided such corrective, balance-restoring changes are adopted.
Cross-check — why each other option fails against the passage's own wording:
"All modern technologies are leading human away from nature" overgeneralizes a single cause (technology) into an absolute claim ("all"), when the passage names technology as only one of several contributing factors.
"Globalization is the primary cause of all disconnect" elevates globalization to the sole/primary cause, but the passage lists it alongside other factors without ranking any one as primary.
"Humans can exist even without the harmonious existence of nature" claims stronger independence from nature than the passage supports — the passage's own concern is that as this disconnect grows, the prospects for human well-being weaken, and it treats correcting that balance as necessary, not optional.
Result: the passage supports that both nature and humans can co-exist once the necessary rebalancing changes are embraced — matching the option that says exactly this.