Question

Difficulty: EasyAuthor's Tone, Attitude, and Writing Style

Read the passage below carefully:

"The transition toward community-managed seed banks represents a critical intervention in biodiversity conservation and climate resilience for smallholder agriculture. While industrial high-yielding seed varieties initially boosted cereal output, their reliance on intensive chemical inputs and patented genetic strains has heightened vulnerability to climate shocks and ecological degradation. Community seed banks, by contrast, preserve locally adapted traditional landraces that exhibit natural resilience to droughts and pest outbreaks. However, romanticizing these local institutions without addressing their operational constraints—such as limited storage infrastructure, lack of formal seed certification protocols, and seasonal seed shortages—is counterproductive. A viable agricultural strategy must neither dismiss traditional seed systems as obsolete nor uncritically champion them as self-sufficient substitutes for public agricultural extension services. Instead, policy must integrate community seed stewardship into state-funded research and distribution networks, ensuring institutional support while maintaining farmer autonomy."

Which of the following best characterizes the author's tone and attitude toward community seed banks?

  1. Balanced and pragmatically evaluativeAnswer
  2. B
    Uncompromisingly hostile and dismissive
  3. C
    Uncritically laudatory and idealistic
  4. D
    Strictly neutral and purely descriptive

Answer

The author's tone is best described as balanced and pragmatically evaluative.
The passage demonstrates a balanced and pragmatically evaluative attitude because the author explicitly praises the climate resilience benefits of community seed banks while systematically listing their practical limitations (such as storage and certification issues) to advocate for integrated policy solutions.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify key stance indicators in the text.
The text highlights the positive aspects of community seed banks (resilience to drought/pests) as well as explicit cautions against romanticizing them due to real operational constraints.
Determining author attitude requires weighing both positive praise and qualifying critiques.
2
Analyze the policy recommendation offered by the author.
The author proposes a practical synthesis: integrating community seed stewardship into state networks while addressing structural gaps.
The solution proposed reflects a pragmatic policy perspective rather than extreme bias or passive neutrality.

Key Concept

Author's Tone and Attitude Identification
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