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Passage 10

The tsetse fly, belonging to any of approximately twenty species

composing the genus Glossina, is indigenous to Africa and is foundprimarily in forests and savannahs south of the Tropic of Cancer.

Dependent on vertebrate blood for nourishment, the tsetse fly is

equipped with a long proboscis which is sharp enough to penetrate most

animal skins and powerful enough to enable the tsetse to drink quantities

of blood up to three times its own body weight.

At the same time that the tsetse drains blood, it can also transmit a

variety of dangerous diseases. A bite fr om a tsetse fly can in duce Africansleeping sickness in human beings and nagana, a similar ailment, in

domestic livestock. The agent of these diseases is the trypanosome, a

unicellular, flagellated parasite which feeds primarily on the blood ofvertebrates and is generally transmitted by an intermediary leech or

insect host, such as the tsetse fly. In humans the trypanosome causes

damage to the brain and spinal cord, leading to extreme lethargy and,ultimately, death; in l ivestock, trypanosomes destroy red blood cells,

causing fat al anaemia.

The immune system is ill-equipped to counter trypanosomes. As the

immune system attempts to counter disease, antibodies are produced to

attack microbes whose antigens, surface proteins, are foreign to the

body. However, the trypanosome is capable of disguising itself by altering

its genetic code, thereby changing its antigen coating in resistance to

each new antibody that evolves. This quick change has confoundedpathologists and m ade the developm ent of effective vaccines elusive.

A controversy has been sparked between proponents of the

elimination of the tsetse fly and African environmentalists. Those infavour of eradication feel that in addition to reducing disease, the

removal of the tsetse fly will open immense tracts of land to cattle

breeding. This, however, is precisely what the opposition fears.

Environmentalists and conservationists dread the day when cattle and

livestock, permitted to roam and graze freely, will uncontrollably devour

plush African grasslands, converting them into barren desert. They argue

that the tsetse fly m ust remain for t he sake of the land.

With efforts to eradicate the tsetse fly largely unsuccessful, control

may offer the only available option for the interests of both health and

environment. Since the protozoan cannot be conquered through

antibodies or vaccines, scientists have begun efforts to prevent the

transmission of the trypanosome parasite by eliminating the tsetse.

Attempts to eradicate the tsetse fly, however, have met with little

success. Rhodesia used to combat tsetse by extensive brush cleaning,

game shooting, and chemical attack, yet the fly persisted. Aerial pesticide

tr eatm ents have produced inconclusive results.

The reproductive cycle of the tsetse fly is such that a larva pupates

underground for several weeks before it emerges as an adult fly. This

makes repetitive chemical sweeping at intermittent periods an

inconvenient necessity. All of these methods, however, share the

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weakness of dependence on harmful chemicals, such as DDT, which

threaten both the health of the humans who handle them and the

environm ent in w hich their t oxic residues am ass.

1. All of the following stat ement s correctly describe the relationship between

the tsetse fly, t he trypanosome, and vertebrates EXCEPT:

A. vertebrate blood provides the nourishment for the transport of

trypanosomes.

B. the bite of a tsetse fly can kill vertebrates since it often injects a

deadly chemical.C. both the tsetse fly and the trypanosome utilize vertebrate blood for

nourishment.

D. vertebrates may die after trypanosome contamination via a tsetse

proboscis.

E. the tse tse fly transfers the trypanosomeinto the vertebrates bodies

2. In t he passage, the author does NOT identify which of the following as a

characteristic of t he t setse fly?

A. dependence upon ver tebrat e blood

B. ability to transmit a fatal parasite to livestock and humans

C. ability to alt er its genetic codeD. ability t o influence the African cattle population

E. it s larva pupates for several weeks beneath the gr ound

3. According to African environm entalists, which of the following accuratelydescribes th e effect th e tsetse fly has on the African grasslands?

A. If the tsetse fly population continues to exist, the African grasslands

will turn into barren wasteland.

B. If the tsetse fly population continues to exist, the African grasslands

will not be able to provide sufficient food supply for African cattle andlivestock.

C. Destruction of the tsetse fly population will lead to the conversion of

grasslands int o desert.

D. Destruction of the tsetse fly population will cause overgrowth of the

African grasslands.

E. Tse tse fly has no impact on grasslands, it only im pacts vert ebrates

4. What is the primary purpose of the fourth paragraph in the passage

A. to decsribe the harm ful effects of the tse tse fly

B. to argue t hat t he proliferation of t se tse flies can lead to large scale

deforestat ion of African grasslands

C. to discuss a beneficial impact of tse tse flies

D. to stat e that efforts to eradicate the t se tse flies have generally proved

to be ineffective

E. to discuss the reproductive cycle of a tse tse fly