Paraphrasing Problem

[darkRae]

Yesterday we were given 6 paragraphs in English, and we were instructed to "paraphrase" the paragraph. Paraphrasing is to change the structure of a paragraph (or more) into another structure which is easier to understand. For that reason, for us to understand the paragraph itself becomes important.

Here is a paragraph that confuses me, and I seek help from someone who is expert in English or someone with English as his/her first language .

A bird thought extinct was sighted in Mexico. Though about 1000 Cozumel Island off the Yucatan Peninsula, non had been seen in nearly a decade. The introduction of boa constrictors to the island in 1971 may have contributed to the decline. Biologists searching for the bird during a recent expedition spotted just one Conzumel thrasher. The species is now among Mexico's most endangered

I have problem understanding the paragraph itself, plus me and my teacher had a different interpretation of that paragraph.

A. Someone saw a bird in Mexico. That bird was thought to be extinct, because although it was believed that 1000 of them live in the Yucatan Peninsula, none of them was seen in the last ten years. The arrival of boa snakes in 1971 may caused the decreasing of the number of the birds. In a recent expedition, Biologists spotted just one Conzumel thrasher. The species is now one of the most endangered species in Mexico.

B. Someone saw a bird in Mexico. That bird was thought to be extinct, because although it was believed that 1000 of them live in the Yucatan Peninsula, none of them was seen in the last ten years. In 1971, boa snakes were introduced to the world and their location was revealed, causing many people to hunt the snakes and their number decreases. In a recent expedition, Biologists spotted just one Conzumel thrasher, and had a dilemma of whether to reveal it to the world like how they did to the boa snakes and risk that only bird to be hunted and killed. The species is now one of the most endangered species in Mexico.

A is mine, B is my teacher's (as I understood it).

I still think A is a better one. Which one do you think is the correct one? And how to explain it?
Thanks in advance .

 

[Nenad]

I would say A is better.

My reason:

Paraphrasing - Paraphrase (pronounced /ˈpærəfreɪz/) is restatement of a text or passages, using other words.

The text under B. Has information that the original text does not have:

The first text never mentions people hunting boa snakes.
The first text never mentions a dilemma amongst the biologists.

I would consider text B to be an extension of the original text, text A is the original text, restated, or a paraphrase ^^

 

[MasterOfABCs]

Paragraph A is correct.

Your teacher has, for no apparent reason, inserted information.

The resulting paragraph B contains more information than the original.

So, you're right. And, your teach is A FOOL!

 

[darkRae]

Thank you for the replies.

Well, yeah, I still think A is better. I could not understand how the "decline" refers to the "Boa's decline" anyway.

 

[UndeadDragon]

Just a few minor changes to paragraph A:

A. Someone saw a bird in Mexico. That bird was thought to be extinct, although it was believed that 1000 of them live in the Yucatan Peninsula, none of them were seen in the last ten years. The arrival of boa snakes in 1971 may have caused the decreasing number of the birds. In a recent expedition, Biologists spotted just one Conzumel thrasher. The species is now one of the most endangered species in Mexico.

Just so it makes a bit more sense.

EDIT: B also states that people killed snakes, which resulted in a decline of the snakes, however, the actual paragraph was talking about the decline in the number of birds

 

[darkRae]

Thanks for all your help.

The problem is over now. We had talk through it, and we agreed that A is the correct one.