OG 13 CR : Q 65

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OG 13 CR : Q 65

by spetznaz » Fri May 23, 2014 5:41 am

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Which of the following most logically completes the passage?

Pecan growers get a high price for their crop when pecans are comparatively scarce, but the price drops sharply when pecans are abundant. Thus, in high-yield years, growers often hold back part of their crop in refrigerated warehouses for one or two years, hoping for higher prices in the future. This year's pecan crop was the smallest in five years. It is nonetheless quite possible that a portion of this year's crop will be held back, since

(A) each of the last two years produced record-breaking pecan yields
(B) the quality of this year's pecan crop is no worse than the quality of the pecan crops of the previous five years
(C) pecan prices have not been subject to sharp fluctuations in recent years
(D) for some pecan growers, this year's crop was no smaller than last year's
(E) the practice of holding back part of one year's crop had not yet become widespread the last time the pecan crop was as small as it was this year

OA A. My doubt is , why not C ? As per the question , producers hoard when production is high to drive up the costs and sell at higher prices when produce is poor.

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by GMATGuruNY » Fri May 23, 2014 6:47 am

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From the passage:
Prices drop when pecans are ABUNDANT.
Thus, in high-yield years, growers often HOLD BACK part of their crop, hoping for higher prices in the future.
This year's crop was the smallest in five years.
It is nonetheless quite possible that a portion of this year's crop will be held back, since _________________.
Answer choice A: each of the last two years produced RECORD-BREAKING YIELDS.
In other words, despite the small yield this year, pecans are still ABUNDANT.
Thus, in order to prevent a drop in price, growers are likely to HOLD BACK part of their crop.

The correct answer is A.

C: pecan prices have not been subject to sharp fluctuations in recent years
Recent prices are irrelevant.
The passage states that pecan growers get a high price for their crop when pecans are comparatively scarce and that this year's crop was the smallest in five years.
Implication:
The price this year will be high -- regardless of the price in recent years.
Thus, C offers no reason for growers to hold back their crop.
Eliminate C.
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by [email protected] » Fri May 23, 2014 10:10 am

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Hi spetznaz,

Mitch's explanation is spot-on, so I won't rehash it here. I will point one detail in this prompt that might have made it a little easier to deal with.

The information that "....this year's pecan crop was the smallest in five years..." does NOT necessarily mean that it was a small crop; it does mean that it's smallest relative to the other 4 crops that came before it. The distinction between "scarce" and "small" is significant - they don't necessarily mean the same thing. This whole prompt hinges on the idea of holding back part of the prompt when there is an abundance of pecans; the word "since" implies that we need an answer that matches the idea that there IS an abundance of pecans.

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