One proposal for preserving rain forests is to promote the adoption of new agricultural technologies, such as improved plant varieties and use of chemical herbicides, which would increase productivity and slow deforestation by reducing demand for new cropland. Studies have shown that farmers in developing countries who have achieved certain levels of education, wealth, and security of land tenure are more likely to adopt such technologies. But these studies have focused on villages with limited land that are tied to a market economy rather than on the relatively isolated, self-sufficient communities with ample land characteristic of rain-forest regions. A recent study of the Tawahka people of the Honduran rain forest found that farmers with some formal education were more likely to adopt improved plant varieties but less likely to use chemical herbicides and that those who spoke Spanish (the language of the market economy) were more likely to adopt both technologies. Non-land wealth was also associated with more adoption of both technologies, but availability of uncultivated land reduced the incentive to employ the productivity-enhancing technologies. Researchers also measured land-tenure security: in Tawahka society, kinship ties are a more important indicator of this than are legal property rights, so researchers measured it by a household’s duration of residence in its village. They found that longer residence correlated with more adoption of improved plant varieties but less adoption of chemical herbicides. 1 1. The primary purpose of the passage is to (A) evaluate the likelihood that a particular proposal, if implemented, would ultimately succeed in achieving its intended result (B) question the assumption that certain technological innovations are the most effective means of realizing a particular environmental objective (C) discuss the progress of efforts to encourage a particular traditional society to adopt certain modern agricultural methods (D) present the results of new research suggesting that previous findings concerning one set of conditions may not be generalizable to another set of conditions (E) weigh the relative importance of three factors in determining whether a particular strategy will be successful 2 2. According to the passage, the proposal mentioned in line 1 is aimed at preserving rain forests by encouraging farmers in rain-forest regions to do each of the following EXCEPT (A) adopt new agricultural technologies (B) grow improved plant varieties (C) decrease their use of chemical herbicides (D) increase their productivity (E) reduce their need to clear new land for cultivation 3 3. The passage suggests that in the study mentioned in line 27 the method for gathering information about security of land tenure reflects which of the following pairs of assumptions about Tawahka society? (A) The security of a household’s land tenure depends on the strength of that household’s kinship ties, and the duration of a household’s residence in its village is an indication of the strength of that household’s kinship ties. (B) The ample availability of land makes security of land tenure unimportant, and the lack of a need for secure land tenure has made the concept of legal property rights unnecessary. (C) The strength of a household’s kinship ties is a more reliable indicator of that household’s receptivity to new agricultural technologies than is its quantity of non land wealth, and the duration of a household’s residence in its village is a more reliable indicator of that household’s security of land tenure than is the strength of its kinship ties. (D) Security of land tenure based on kinship ties tends to make farmers more receptive to the use of improved plant varieties, and security of land tenure based on long duration of residence in a village tends to make farmers more receptive to the use of chemical herbicides. (E) A household is more likely to be receptive to the concept of land tenure based on legal property rights if it has easy access to uncultivated land, and a household is more likely to uphold the tradition of land tenure based on kinship ties if it possesses a significant degree of non-land wealth. 4 4. The findings of the study mentioned in the highlighted text, if valid for rain-forest regions in general, suggest that which of the following is an obstacle most likely to be faced by those wishing to promote rain-forest preservation by implementing the proposal mentioned in line 1? (A) Lack of legal property rights tends to discourage local farmers from investing the time and resources required to successfully implement new agricultural technologies. (B) The ability to evaluate the wider economic ramifications of adopting new agricultural technologies depends on a relatively high level of formal education. (C) Isolation from the market economy tends to restrict local farmers’ access to new agricultural technologies that could help them to increase their productivity. (D) Ready availability of uncultivated land tends to decrease local farmers’ incentive to adopt new agricultural technologies that would reduce their need to clear new land for cultivation. (E) Traditions of self-sufficiency and reliance on kinship ties tend to diminish local farmers’ receptivity to new agricultural technologies introduced by people from outside the local community

Nice! This is a good breakdown of how this long and winding paragraph really splits up into three key pieces: There's a proposal to improve productivity and reduce deforestation by promoting adoption of new tech. Studies have shown that a certain kind of farmer is more likely to adopt new tech, but these studies have a limited range of coverage. A recent study show that other kinds of farmers behave differently, in lots of ways, when it comes to adopting new tech. The structure of the paragraph sets up the author to identify a proposal, point out that studies supporting this proposal are limited, then present a recent study that reveals just how limited those previous studies are. That's why choice (D) is the best fit for question #1: I hope this helps!

Here's the full portion of the passage that you're analyzing: The author tells us the following: In the study, researchers measured land-tenure security. In Tawahka society, kinship ties are a more important indicator of land-tenure security than are legal property rights. Consequently, researchers measured land-tenure security by a household's duration of residents in its village. This seems like a straightforward presentation of facts, but here's what's NOT being explicitly stated by the author: Kinship ties determine or create land-tenure security in Tawahka society. We only know that these ties are a more important indicator than legal property rights . This is a comparison of the relative importance of kinship ties vs. legal property rights. The author has said nothing about the absolute importance of either, with regards to creating land-tenure security. A household's duration of residents in its village is directly related to kinship ties. Now, here's the full text of choice (A): Choice (A) identifies these implicit assumptions right on the nose: A household's land-tenure security depends on the strength of that household's kinship ties. The duration of a household's residence in its village indicates the strength of that household's kinship ties. The author has already given us all the dots to connect. (A) does nothing more than connect those dots; this choice is basically exposing what we've read between the lines of the passage. I hope this helps clarify how assumptions might feel perfectly obvious while remaining unstated by the author .

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Please help.
I have divided this passage in 3 parts, and I would like to know how these 3 para connected to each other.
or I should rephrase my question: why author mentioned these 3 para in this sequence?

1-One proposal for preserving rain forests is to promote the adoption of new agricultural technologies, such as improved plant varieties and use of chemical herbicides, which would increase productivity and slow deforestation by reducing demand for new cropland.

2-Studies have shown that farmers in developing countries who have achieved certain levels of education, wealth, and security of land tenure are more likely to adopt such technologies. But these studies have focused on villages with limited land that are tied to a market economy rather than on the relatively isolated, self-sufficient communities with ample land characteristic of rain-forest regions.

3-A recent study of the Tawahka people of the Honduran rain forest found that farmers with some formal education were more likely to adopt improved plant varieties but less likely to use chemical herbicides and that those who spoke Spanish (the language of the market economy) were more likely to adopt both technologies. Non-land wealth was also associated with more adoption of both technologies, but availability of uncultivated land reduced the incentive to employ the productivity-enhancing technologies. Researchers also measured land-tenure security: in Tawahka society, kinship ties are a more important indicator of this than are legal property rights, so researchers measured it by a household’s duration of residence in its village. They found that longer residence correlated with more adoption of improved plant varieties but less adoption of chemical herbicides.

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shard87

Nice! This is a good breakdown of how this long and winding paragraph really splits up into three key pieces:

There's a proposal to improve productivity and reduce deforestation by promoting adoption of new tech.
Studies have shown that a certain kind of farmer is more likely to adopt new tech, but these studies have a limited range of coverage.
A recent study show that other kinds of farmers behave differently, in lots of ways, when it comes to adopting new tech.

The structure of the paragraph sets up the author to identify a proposal, point out that studies supporting this proposal are limited, then present a recent study that reveals just how limited those previous studies are.

That's why choice (D) is the best fit for question #1:

Quote:

The primary purpose of the passage is to (D) present the results of new research suggesting that previous findings concerning one set of conditions may not be generalizable to another set of conditions

I hope this helps!

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One proposal for preserving rain forests is to promote the adoption of new agricultural technologies, such as improved plant varieties and use of chemical herbicides, which would increase productivity and slow deforestation by reducing demand for new cropland. Studies have shown that farmers in developing countries who have achieved certain levels of education, wealth, and security of land tenure are more likely to adopt such technologies. But these studies have focused on villages with limited land that are tied to a market economy rather than on the relatively isolated, self‐sufficient communities with ample land characteristic of rain-forest regions. A recent study of the Tawahka people of the Honduran rain forest found that farmers with some formal education were more likely to adopt improved plant varieties but less likely to use chemical herbicides and that those who spoke Spanish (the language of the market economy) were more likely to adopt both technologies. Nonland wealth was also associated with more adoption of both technologies, but availability of uncultivated land reduced the incentive to employ the productivity‐enhancing technologies. Researchers also measured land-tenure security: in Tawahka society, kinship ties are a more important indicator of this than are legal property rights, so researchers measured it by a household’s duration of residence in its village. They found that longer residence correlated with more adoption of improved plant varieties but less adoption
of chemical herbicides.

1. The passage suggests that in the study mentioned for gathering information about security of land tenure reflects which of the following pairs of assumptions about Tawahka society?

A. The security of a household's land tenure depends on the strength of that household's kinship ties, and the duration of a household's residence in its village is an indication of the strength of that household's kinship ties.

B. The ample availability of land makes security of land tenure unimportant, and the lack of a need for secure land tenure has made the concept of legal property rights unnecessary.

C. The strength of a household's kinship ties is a more reliable indicator of that household's receptivity to new agricultural technologies than is its quantity of nonland wealth, and the duration of a household's residence in its village is a more reliable indicator of that household's security of land tenure than is the strength of its kinship ties.

D. Security of land tenure based on kinship ties tends to make farmers more receptive to the use of improved plant varieties, and security of land tenure based on long duration of residence in a village tends to make farmers more receptive to the use of chemical herbicides.

E. A household is more likely to be receptive to the concept of land tenure based on legal property rights if it has easy access to uncultivated land, and a household is more likely to uphold the tradition of land tenure based on kinship ties if it possesses a significant degree of nonland wealth.

2. According to the passage, the proposal mentioned is aimed at preserving rain forests by encouraging farmers in rain-forest regions to do each of the following EXCEPT

A. adopt new agricultural technologies

B. grow improved plant varieties

C. decrease their use of chemical herbicides

D. increase their productivity

E. reduce their need to clear new land for cultivation

Note these questions are based on the same passage found in GMAT Prep but with different questions: https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-prep-rc ... 19458.html
OG 2019 ID's:
RC00455-03 for OG 2019 411
RC00455-05 for OG 2019 412

----------
Got 1/2 correct. Can anyone explain why Q1 is A?

For Q2: avvbh
2. According to the passage, the proposal mentioned is aimed at preserving rain forests by encouraging farmers in rain-forest regions to do each of the following EXCEPT

A. adopt new agricultural technologies=> Studies have shown that farmers in developing countries who have achieved certain levels of education, wealth, and security of land tenure are more likely to adopt such technologies
B. grow improved plant varieties=> such as improved plant varieties
C. decrease their use of chemical herbicides=> Correct
D. increase their productivity=> use of chemical herbicides, which would increase productivity
E. reduce their need to clear new land for cultivation=> reducing demand for new cropland.

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Hi workout, Bunuel,

Same passage is discussed at "https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-prep-rc-one-proposal-for-preserving-rain-forests-219458.html" with 2 more questions, Could you please close discussion here treating this as duplicate.

Gift me kudos if it helped you to find duplicate.

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Can someone please explain to me how A in 3 is an "assumption" based on the passage?
The passage states "in T society kinship ties are more important indicator of this than any legal property rights". How is this an assumption? This is a fact stated in the passage? What am I missing here?

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pzgupta

Here's the full portion of the passage that you're analyzing:

Quote:

The author tells us the following:

In the study, researchers measured land-tenure security.
In Tawahka society, kinship ties are a more important indicator of land-tenure security than are legal property rights.
Consequently, researchers measured land-tenure security by a household's duration of residents in its village.

This seems like a straightforward presentation of facts, but here's what's NOT being explicitly stated by the author:

Kinship ties determine or create land-tenure security in Tawahka society. We only know that these ties are a more important indicator than legal property rights. This is a comparison of the relative importance of kinship ties vs. legal property rights. The author has said nothing about the absolute importance of either, with regards to creating land-tenure security.
A household's duration of residents in its village is directly related to kinship ties.

Now, here's the full text of choice (A):

Quote:

(A) The security of a household’s land tenure depends on the strength of that household’s kinship ties, and the duration of a household’s residence in its village is an indication of the strength of that household’s kinship ties.

Choice (A) identifies these implicit assumptions right on the nose:

A household's land-tenure security depends on the strength of that household's kinship ties.
The duration of a household's residence in its village indicates the strength of that household's kinship ties.

The author has already given us all the dots to connect. (A) does nothing more than connect those dots; this choice is basically exposing what we've read between the lines of the passage.

I hope this helps clarify how assumptions might feel perfectly obvious while remaining unstated by the author.

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I would like an expert's explanations and approach to the answer of question 1 (assumption question)

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avvbh

Can you please explain how did we arrived at option C for Ques 2? Why option E is wrong ?

My approach to arrive at option C.

Things to keep in mind:-
1. We need to look for 4 wrong answer choices.
2. Try to avoid the extreme responses untill unless it has been quoted in passage.

Now, in option C we see that usage of chemical herbicide is clearly discouraged but when we will read the passage we will never find a hint that usage of chemical herbicide is not good or should be avoided.

Miles to go before I sleep

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Please help with questions 4.
I came to D and E but went with E.
the question says if valid for rain-forest regions in general.
the answer choice D is related to only the relatively isolated, self-sufficient communities with ample land characteristic of rain-forest regions.
Hence, I eliminated and went with E.
Could you please explain why E is wrong and D is correct?
thank you in advance!

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Ilhomjon98

Before we take a look at (D) and (E), we need to be clear that (D) does not relate only to "the relatively isolated, self-sufficient communities with ample land characteristic of rain-forest regions." The question TELLS us to consider the study, "if valid for rain-forest regions in general," so EVERY answer choice is related to the rainforest regions in general.

Ok, onto the question...

Question 4

First, let's take a look at some parts of the passage that would be helpful to answer this question. We're told that one of the results of the study was:

Non-land wealth was also associated with more adoption of both technologies, but availability of uncultivated land reduced the incentive to employ the productivity-enhancing technologies.

This tells us that:

Another result of the study was:

Researchers also measured land-tenure security: in Tawahka society, kinship ties are a more important indicator of this than are legal property rights, so researchers measured it by a household’s duration of residence in its village. They found that longer residence correlated with more adoption of improved plant varieties but less adoption of chemical herbicides.

This tells us that:

less

As we'll see, these two parts of the passage will help us choose between (D) and (E). In this question, we're asked which of the answer choices describes an obstacle most likely to be faced by those wishing to promote rain-forest preservation practices.

Let's look at (E) first:

Quote:

(E) Traditions of self-sufficiency and reliance on kinship ties tend to diminish local farmers’ receptivity to new agricultural technologies introduced by people from outside the local community

As mentioned above, the second result from the study suggests the higher the kinship ties in a community, the less willing a farmer will be to use chemical herbicides but the more willing they will be to adopt improved plant varieties.

Therefore, it is not true that reliance on kinship ties tends to diminish local farmers' receptivity to new agricultural technologies, as mentioned in (E). These farmers are just selective about which technologies they adopt.

This is why (E) is cannot be the correct answer.

(D) tells us:

Quote:

(D) Ready availability of uncultivated land tends to decrease local farmers’ incentive to adopt new agricultural technologies that would reduce their need to clear new land for cultivation.

The first result from the study listed above tells us the "availability of uncultivated land reduced the incentive to employ the productivity-enhancing technologies." This is very similar to the claim made in (D) and this gives us the justification to keep (D) as our final answer.

I hope that helps!

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What is the suggested time to read the passage and attempt the questions. I took 8 mins 50 secs but answered all Qs correctly. Is the timing too slow?

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dadele

What is the suggested time to read the passage and attempt the questions. I took 8 mins 50 secs but answered all Qs correctly. Is the timing too slow?

Hi dadele,
The average time to read a passage and attempt all the questions depends on the difficulty level of the passage and the number of questions present, mostly differs from 6-8 mins.

8 mins and 50 sec for the above passage is fine, since you got all the answers correct. An improvement that I would suggest is that if a passage is of 600-700 level and 4 questions as this one, try to curb the extra 50 secs if possible and try to finish it in a lesser time without compromising accuracy.

But your first priority should be accuracy. Once you achieve that, you can try attempting the passage in the average time.

Hope this Helps.
Thanks.

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Can any expert explain this passage? There are many terms that need definition/outside knowledge. It seems so. For example, land tenure; Non-land wealth; availability of uncultivated land [(why is it written like this? Is writing, "unavailability of cultivated land" same thing?]; land-tenure security; longer residence (what's the meaning of longer residence? Gramatically correct to write like this?)

------------------

One proposal for preserving rain forests is to promote the adoption of new agricultural technologies, such as improved plant varieties and use of chemical herbicides, which would increase productivity and slow deforestation by reducing demand for new cropland. Studies have shown that farmers in developing countries who have achieved certain levels of education, wealth, and security of land tenure are more likely to adopt such technologies. But these studies have focused on villages with limited land that are tied to a market economy rather than on the relatively isolated, self-sufficient communities with ample land characteristic of rain-forest regions. A recent study of the Tawahka people of the Honduran rain forest found that farmers with some formal education were more likely to adopt improved plant varieties but less likely to use chemical herbicides and that those who spoke Spanish (the language of the market economy) were more likely to adopt both technologies. Non-land wealth was also associated with more adoption of both technologies, but availability of uncultivated land reduced the incentive to employ the productivity-enhancing technologies. Researchers also measured land-tenure security: in Tawahka society, kinship ties are a more important indicator of this than are legal property rights, so researchers measured it by a household’s duration of residence in its village. They found that longer residence correlated with more adoption of improved plant varieties but less adoption of chemical herbicides.

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Can somebody explain what nonland wealth refers to here?

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Can somebody explain what nonland wealth refers to here?

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Nonktp

I would like an expert's explanations and approach to the answer of question 1 (assumption question)

Hello, Nonktp. I would be happy to offer to offer some insights into my approach on this question. Before I jump into a passage, I typically scan the first question so that I can go into reading the passage with some sort of frame in mind, apart from main idea/authorial presence concerns. The question:

BFR

The passage suggests that in the study mentioned for gathering information about security of land tenure reflects which of the following pairs of assumptions about Tawahka society?

First off, a suggest or inference question does not give you license to "read between the lines," as my students sometimes tell me. Although that interpretation may be accurate with other reading tasks, on the GMAT™, inference means one of two things:

1) What does the passage state, possibly in a slightly different manner (i.e. using synonyms for a few words)?

2) What does the passage state, perhaps forcing you to cobble together information from one sentence or paragraph and information from another, when the two bits are not combined as such in the passage?

Yeah, that is it. The closer you stick to the passage, the more questions you will answer correctly. Stick to the keywords of the question stem, and match them to their counterparts in the passage, a simple yet highly effective strategy. Here, our keywords are security of land tenure and Tawahka society. Thus, we have to make sure our answer is accurate on both fronts. We cannot project any information from one key phrase onto the other. With that out of the way, on to our responses.

BFR

A. The security of a household's land tenure depends on the strength of that household's kinship ties, and the duration of a household's residence in its village is an indication of the strength of that household's kinship ties.

Like just about anyone else, I hate long-winded answer choices. They present numerous opportunities to get sidetracked. But here, I cannot find anything to argue against. Why? Because the passage states in the penultimate sentence,

Researchers also measured land-tenure security: in Tawahka society, kinship ties are a more important indicator of this than are legal property rights, so researchers measured it by a household’s duration of residence in its village.

In Tawahka Society, it is clear that kinship ties matter, in terms of land-tenure security. Furthermore, researchers measured [land-tenure security] by how long a household had established residence in its village. The answer choice and the line from the passage match, almost verbatim. What more could you want in an answer?

BFR

B. The ample availability of land makes security of land tenure unimportant, and the lack of a need for secure land tenure has made the concept of legal property rights unnecessary.

Note the strong, judgmental language. Quite often, such answer choices take an idea too far, and this one is no different. The passage does not indicate that land-tenure security is unimportant. If it did, then what would be the point in the researchers studying land-tenure security? Rather, the passage tells us that another factor, namely kinship ties via duration of residence, is a more important indicator of land-tenure security than are legal property rights. More important does not suggest that the alternative is unimportant.

BFR

C. The strength of a household's kinship ties is a more reliable indicator of that household's receptivity to new agricultural technologies than is its quantity of nonland wealth, and the duration of a household's residence in its village is a more reliable indicator of that household's security of land tenure than is the strength of its kinship ties.

I will be honest and admit that I did not even untangle the first part before eliminating this answer choice based on the second part. The latter portion here is twisting words, and no such comparison between duration of residence and kinship ties is made in the passage. Again, the researchers used duration of residence and kinship ties in tandem to measure land-tenure security in Tawahka society. I like to say that if you can argue definitively against anything in an answer choice, as long as you are keeping an eye on the passage, then that is enough to see off that answer. I will leave the former part for another time, perhaps. (The clock would have been ticking if I had not already eliminated the answer and moved on.)

BFR

D. Security of land tenure based on kinship ties tends to make farmers more receptive to the use of improved plant varieties, and security of land tenure based on long duration of residence in a village tends to make farmers more receptive to the use of chemical herbicides.

The last line of the passage presents information that flies in the face of this statement:

[The researchers] found that longer residence correlated with more adoption of improved plant varieties but less adoption of chemical herbicides.

If that does not seal the deal, then I am not sure how much more proof you need.

BFR

E. A household is more likely to be receptive to the concept of land tenure based on legal property rights if it has easy access to uncultivated land, and a household is more likely to uphold the tradition of land tenure based on kinship ties if it possesses a significant degree of nonland wealth.

These conditionals, which you can interpret as saying only if, are getting in the way here, not to mention that this is all pure speculation. The passage presents ways in which the Tawahka society operates, regarding the security of land tenure, by not placing an emphasis on legal property rights. This answer kind of reminds me of the different cases in formal logic in which a statement if p then q can be reinterpreted, sometimes with clearly incorrect conclusions, into the inverse (if not p then not q), converse (if q then p), and contrapositive (if not q then not p). We do not need to waste our time sorting out what could be true when the passage tells us what is already going on.

I hope that helps answer your question. Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

Hello AndrewN - What is Nonland wealth?

AndrewN

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20 Oct 2020, 15:39

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AliciaSierra

Hello AndrewN - What is Nonland wealth?

Good question, AliciaSierra, and a friendly hello. (I think this may be the first time we have crossed paths. If not, then pardon me.) This is a case in which we can define the non by examining what is meant by land wealth. The passage discusses a recent study of the Tawahka people of the Honduran rain forest in the context of a relatively isolated, self-sufficient [community] with ample land. This stands in contrast to other studies that have focused on villages with limited land that are tied to a market economy. Together, then, we can conclude that land wealth would refer to property rights or wealth in land owned, even if those rights are defined differently in Tawahka society. And this means that nonland wealth refers to other types of wealth, such as the currency of the market economy (i.e. money). You might think that formal education is a part of nonland wealth, but it is mentioned instead as an attribute of people who engage in the market economy, as well as some Tawahka farmers, not as a type of wealth itself. We really do not have anything else to lean on in the passage.

I hope that helps. Thank you for thinking to ask me.

- Andrew

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Though this passage is a short one (But dense one

), i found this passage difficult considering that its in 600 level. Got 2 answers wrong and spent 9 minutes out of which last 3 minutes was in Q4 which i ended up selecting wrong choice

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1. The passage suggests that in the study mentioned for gathering information about security of land tenure reflects which of the following pairs of assumptions about Tawahka society?

A. The security of a household's land tenure depends on the strength of that household's kinship ties, and the duration of a household's residence in its village is an indication of the strength of that household's kinship ties.
Correct. This is in the second last sentence of the passage

B. The ample availability of land makes security of land tenure unimportant, and the lack of a need for secure land tenure has made the concept of legal property rights unnecessary. X
-no, there was never any mention of land tenure being unimportant or legal property rights unnecessary
-we only know from the passage that legal property rights are not as important an indicator of land-tenure security as kinship ties

C. The strength of a household's kinship ties is a more reliable indicator of that household's receptivity to new agricultural technologies than is its quantity of nonland wealth, and the duration of a household's residence in its village is a more reliable indicator of that household's security of land tenure than is the strength of its kinship ties.
-no, this choice has it all confused: the duration of a household’s residence measures the strength of kinship ties

D. Security of land tenure based on kinship ties tends to make farmers more receptive to the use of improved plant varieties, and security of land tenure based on long duration of residence in a village tends to make farmers more receptive to the use of chemical herbicides.
-security of land tenure based on kinship ties was measured by duration of residence
-there was no security of land tenure based on duration in a vacuum

E. A household is more likely to be receptive to the concept of land tenure based on legal property rights if it has easy access to uncultivated land, and a household is more likely to uphold the tradition of land tenure based on kinship ties if it possesses a significant degree of nonland wealth.
-no; this choice is just a mish-mash of ideas that existed separately in the paragraph

2. According to the passage, the proposal mentioned is aimed at preserving rain forests by encouraging farmers in rain-forest regions to do each of the following EXCEPT

A. adopt new agricultural technologies X

B. grow improved plant varieties X

C. decrease their use of chemical herbicides Correct

D. increase their productivity X

E. reduce their need to clear new land for cultivation X

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Updated on: 06 Jun 2022, 05:55

Originally posted by woohoo921 on 05 Jun 2022, 19:52.
Last edited by woohoo921 on 06 Jun 2022, 05:55, edited 2 times in total.

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AndrewN

I have a few questions below:
1. I have the Official Guide 2020 version and noticed that I have only two of the questions that appear on the form (the first being "the passage suggests that in the study..." and the second question being "according to the passage, the proposal mentioned in line 1.."). Is this because the other questions are retired by GMAC? What does it mean when a question is retired (e.g. the GMAC finds fault in it)?

2. For question 467 (the passage suggests that in the study mentioned in line 14 the method for gathering information about the security of land tenure: the Official Guide says "the researchers measured land-tenure security by indirectly measuring the strength of kinship ties". To clarify "indirectly" refers to the researchers using "duration" as an indicator, correctly? Not to overthink this, but what would be a "direct" way to measure kinship ties? Also, where does the word "strength" come in? I do not see "strength" mentioned in the passage... is that where we are drawing the inference by looking at works such as "longer residence"?

3. For question 468 (according to the passage, the proposal mentioned in line 1), I was a bit confused in that each of these items seems to be listed as a separate entity when they all fall under using agriculture technologies or would be a direct result of using agriculture technologies ---> plant varieties or chemical herbs are examples of agriculture technologies--> these then increase productivity and reduce the need to clear new land. I have not quite seen something like this on the GMAT before.

Many thanks in advance

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