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24 Jul 2019, 17:36
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Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!
Difficulty:
15%
(low)
Question Stats:
79% (01:26) correct
21%
(01:46)
wrong
based on 151
sessions
History
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Despite sky-high expectations, the global market for kale has remained stagnant for the last five years. However, although retail prices and the amount of kale produced have likewise varied little during the same period, kale farmers have increased their profits by 15 percent over the last two years.
Any of the following statements, if true about the last two years, helps to explain the rise in profits EXCEPT:
A. Many restaurants that serve kale salads decided they would switch to serving kale soups instead, but the amount of kale they purchased stayed the same.
B. Kale farmers adopted a new machine that more efficiently harvests the crop, allowing them to save money on labor costs.
C. The price of a brand of tractor particularly popular among kale farmers dropped precipitously.
D. The kale industry successfully lobbied the federal government for major agricultural subsidies.
E. Soil conditions in kale-growing regions have been especially good, allowing kale farmers to save money on expensive crop fertilizer.
Source: Ready4GMAT
Any of the following statements, if true about the last two years, helps to explain the rise in profits EXCEPT:
A. Many restaurants that serve kale salads decided they would switch to serving kale soups instead, but the amount of kale they purchased stayed the same.
B. Kale farmers adopted a new machine that more efficiently harvests the crop, allowing them to save money on labor costs.
C. The price of a brand of tractor particularly popular among kale farmers dropped precipitously.
D. The kale industry successfully lobbied the federal government for major agricultural subsidies.
E. Soil conditions in kale-growing regions have been especially good, allowing kale farmers to save money on expensive crop fertilizer.
Show SpoilerOfficial Explanation
It's pretty unusual for this type of question to appear as an EXCEPT question, but it's good to know that it can happen, and still good practice for the more usual kind. Since it's an EXCEPT question, we'll definitely have to evaluate each answer choice in turn. It's a good idea to start by reminding ourselves that profit equals income minus costs (profit = income - costs), so profit can increase if income goes up or if costs fall.
For choice (A) it's unclear how serving kale salad rather than kale soup could affect profits, since it says that the restaurants purchased the same amount. This seems like our answer (the choice that doesn't help explain the rise in profits), but we'll check out our other options.
Choices (B), (C), and (E) describe how costs could have gone down, while (D) would have meant that income went up. All of these, then, help explain the rise in profits.
The correct answer is Choice (A).
For choice (A) it's unclear how serving kale salad rather than kale soup could affect profits, since it says that the restaurants purchased the same amount. This seems like our answer (the choice that doesn't help explain the rise in profits), but we'll check out our other options.
Choices (B), (C), and (E) describe how costs could have gone down, while (D) would have meant that income went up. All of these, then, help explain the rise in profits.
The correct answer is Choice (A).
26 Jul 2019, 02:25
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Quote:
Despite sky-high expectations, the global market for kale has remained stagnant for the last five years. However, although retail prices and the amount of kale produced have likewise varied little during the same period, kale farmers have increased their profits by 15 percent over the last two years.
Any of the following statements, if true about the last two years, helps to explain the rise in profits EXCEPT:
A. Many restaurants that serve kale salads decided they would switch to serving kale soups instead, but the amount of kale they purchased stayed the same.
B. Kale farmers adopted a new machine that more efficiently harvests the crop, allowing them to save money on labor costs.
C. The price of a brand of tractor particularly popular among kale farmers dropped precipitously.
D. The kale industry successfully lobbied the federal government for major agricultural subsidies.
E. Soil conditions in kale-growing regions have been especially good, allowing kale farmers to save money on expensive crop fertilizer.
Any of the following statements, if true about the last two years, helps to explain the rise in profits EXCEPT:
A. Many restaurants that serve kale salads decided they would switch to serving kale soups instead, but the amount of kale they purchased stayed the same.
B. Kale farmers adopted a new machine that more efficiently harvests the crop, allowing them to save money on labor costs.
C. The price of a brand of tractor particularly popular among kale farmers dropped precipitously.
D. The kale industry successfully lobbied the federal government for major agricultural subsidies.
E. Soil conditions in kale-growing regions have been especially good, allowing kale farmers to save money on expensive crop fertilizer.
The right answer here is A. The first step with any CR question is to identify the type, which in this case is a 'Paradox (Except)' question. This means that we have a conclusion that appears to not make sense (kale farmers have increased their profits by 15 percent over the last two years) and four of the options help to make sense of this conclusion. One does not, and this is the answer.
We know that quantity sold and kale produced have mostly remained the same, as has the selling price. Hence, the only factor that could really affect profits is cost. Four of the options should address this in some way.
A - Doesn't talk about cost, doesn't talk about any meaningful situation changing. Hence, doesn't resolve the paradox. CORRECT
B - Drop in labour costs would lead to increasing profits. OUT
C - Drop in capital costs would lead to increasing profits. OUT
D - Costs have been offset by subsidies, leading to increasing profits. OUT
E - Drop in capital costs would lead to increasing profits. OUT
- Matoo
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