Question

rare trees for sale by jeremy caplan to preserve a threatened, ancient species, botanists are marketing its offspring. to save an endangered tree, put it up for sale. and whatever you do, don’t tell anyone where it is. that’s how an australian consortium is protecting the wollemi pine tree, a rare species that dates back to the era of dinosaurs. fewer than 100 full - grown trees remain, and by selling plants grown from their cuttings, wollemi pine international hopes to raise funds for preservation and stop the poachers who could destroy the species forever. the excitement over the wollemi started in 1994 when a hiker named david noble stumbled upon the previously unknown tree while exploring wollemi national park, a wilderness area that covers more than a million acres outside sydney. experts at sydney’s royal botanic gardens pronounced the finding a new genus and decided to keep the trees’ location secret, since poachers would use its scarcity and thus commercial value. after figuring out how to grow healthy, versatile plants from small cuttings, preservationists started marketing baby trees to reduce the potential for black - market sales. the consortium has already sold 50,000 in australia. starting this u.s. the plants will ship to gardeners in the u.s. through the national geographic society for $99 apiece. which sentence from the text reveals where the central idea emerges? a “fewer than 100 full - grown trees remain, and by selling plants grown from their cuttings, wollemi pine international hopes to raise funds for preservation and stop the poachers who could destroy the species forever.” b “the plants will ship to gardeners in the u.s. through the national geographic society for $99 apiece.” c “turner is testing 3,000 new varieties of bedding plants this year to help plant lovers identify the best of what’s new, and he considers the wollemi among the most unusual.” d “the current marketing effort targets the more than 83% of american households that do some gardening and contribute to a $35 billion industry that sells thousands of species a year.”

Explanation:

To determine which sentence reveals where the central idea emerges, we analyze the central idea of the text: botanists are selling offspring of a threatened ancient tree (Wollemi pine) to preserve it and stop poachers.

• Option A: Matches the central idea as it talks about selling cuttings to raise funds for preservation and stop poachers, which is the core purpose.
• Option B: Only about shipping and price, not the central idea of preservation.
• Option C: Talks about Turner testing plants, with Wollemi as an aside, not central.
• Option D: Focuses on marketing to gardeners, not the preservation goal.

Answer:

A. "Fewer than 100 full - grown trees remain, and by selling plants grown from their cuttings, Wollemi Pine International hopes to raise funds for preservation and stop the poachers who could destroy the species forever."