Question 149·Medium·Central Ideas and Details
Published in 1962, Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring is often cited as a turning point in environmental awareness. In clear, compelling language, Carson outlined the devastating effects that synthetic pesticides—especially DDT—could have on birds, insects, and even humans. Her warnings alarmed many readers and led to intense public debate. In the years that followed, lawmakers enacted stricter regulations on pesticide use, and DDT was eventually banned in the United States. Just as important, Silent Spring encouraged people to question the assumption that every new chemical innovation was automatically a boon to society.
According to the passage, what major impact did Silent Spring have?
For questions asking about a passage’s main impact or effect, first locate verbs and phrases that signal results, such as “led to,” “resulted in,” “in the years that followed,” or “as a consequence.” Briefly summarize those results in your own words, then compare that summary to each answer choice, eliminating any option that adds new information not in the text, exaggerates the scope (like “immediately,” “around the world,” or “all scientists”), or shifts topics. Choose the answer that most directly and completely matches the specific outcomes described in the passage.
Hints
Focus on cause and effect
Underline any phrases that show what Silent Spring “led to” or what happened “in the years that followed.” These will point you to its impact.
Look for actions taken after the book
Pay attention to what the passage says lawmakers and readers did after the book was published. How did their behavior or decisions change?
Check each answer against the text
For each choice, ask: Does the passage explicitly say this happened? Look for mentions of scientists’ choices, global effects, or photosynthesis and see if they appear in the passage.
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what the question is asking
The question asks: “According to the passage, what major impact did Silent Spring have?” This means you need to find the effects or results of the book, not just what it talked about. Look for sentences that describe what happened because the book was published.
Locate the part of the passage that describes the impact
In the passage, the key impact sentences are:
- “Her warnings alarmed many readers and led to intense public debate.”
- “In the years that followed, lawmakers enacted stricter regulations on pesticide use, and DDT was eventually banned in the United States.”
- “Just as important, Silent Spring encouraged people to question the assumption that every new chemical innovation was automatically a boon to society.”
These lines describe what the book caused to happen in society and government.
Summarize the impact in your own words
From those sentences, you can summarize the impact like this:
- Many readers became worried and started debating pesticide use.
- Lawmakers passed stricter rules about pesticides, and DDT was banned in the U.S.
- People began to question whether new chemicals were always good.
So the book led both the public and government officials to rethink and tighten how pesticides were used.
Match the summary to the best answer choice
Now compare your summary to each option:
- One choice mentions that the book pushed the public and government to reconsider and limit pesticides like DDT.
- The other choices talk about scientists abandoning research, pesticides stopping worldwide immediately, or describing photosynthesis—all things the passage never says.
The only answer that accurately reflects the passage’s description of the impact is:
A) It motivated the public and government officials to reevaluate and restrict the use of pesticides such as DDT.