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해커스 토플 무료 모의고사 프로그램에서 라이팅 정규책 (3rd ver) test1 부분입니다
Prairie dogs are small members of the squirrel family that live in the open grasslands of the western United States. They are not actually dogs, but were given that name because of the barking sounds they make. As the population of prairie dogs declines, many conservationists claim that they should be protected. However, they should actually be exterminated because they are harmful in several ways. First, prairie dogs dig and live in holes called burrows that damage the land. When they dig their holes, the soil in the surrounding area becomes less stable, making erosion more likely to occur when it rains. As the land erodes, fertile topsoil is lost and it becomes difficult for plants to grow. This is a significant hardship for farmers in regions that have been infested by prairie dogs. Next, prairie dogs infect people with a fatal disease. Since prairie dogs have a particularly low resistance to bubonic plague, a large number of them carry this disease. Moreover, they have been observed to bite people when they feel threatened, and if a person is bitten by an infected animal, he or she could become seriously ill. In fact, if a person exposed to this disease does not receive treatment within 24 hours, death is unavoidable. Last, prairie dogs have a negative effect on the food supply for livestock. Ranchers typically feed their cattle by allowing them to graze in open grasslands. However, prairie dogs are known to consume up to 90 percent of the vegetation in some places. The result is that ranchers are forced to purchase food to meet the nutritional needs of their livestock, greatly reducing their profits.
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