What is the writer's main argument in the passage?

Foxes have lived in our cities for nearly a century, yet we still argue about whether they belong. To some residents, the fox is a thief of bin bags and a screamer in the night. To others, it is the last wild thing left in streets otherwise given over to concrete. Scientists, meanwhile, point out that urban foxes are neither villains nor victims: they are opportunists, perfectly adapted to feed on whatever our habits leave behind. If we dislike the mess, the evidence suggests, we should look first at our own rubbish, not at the animal that tidies it. Wildlife, after all, does not adapt to us out of kindness; it adapts because we leave the door open.

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: D. That careless human habits, rather than foxes, are the real cause

  1. Step 1: The writer says 'we should look first at our own rubbish'.
  2. Step 2: So the argument is that human behaviour is to blame, not the fox.
Answer
That careless human habits, rather than foxes, are the real cause.
Why not the others: That foxes should be removed from every city to protect the residents: the writer defends the foxes against blame. That scientists cannot agree on whether foxes are good or bad: the scientists are presented as agreeing: foxes are opportunists. That foxes were first seen in cities only in the last few years: the passage says foxes have lived in cities for nearly a century.

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