The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, signed in 1987 by more than
150 nations, has attained its short-term goals: it has decreased the rate of increase in amounts of
most ozone-depleting chemicals reaching the atmosphere and has even reduced the atmospheric
levels of some of them. The projection that the ozone layer will substantially recover from ozone
depletion by 2050 is based on the assumption that the protocol's regulations will be strictly
followed. Yet there is considerable evidence of violations, particularly in the form of the release of
ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's), which are commonly used in the refrigeration,
heating, and air conditioning industries. These violation reflect industry attitudes; for example, in
the United States, 48 percents of respondents in a recent survey of subscribers to Air Conditioning,
Heating, and Refrigeration News, and industry trade journal, said that they did not believe that
CFC's damage the ozone layer. Moreover, some in the industry apparently do not want to pay for
CFC substitutes, which can run five times the cost of CFC's. Consequently, a black market in
imported illicit CFC's has grown. Estimates of the contraband CFC trade range from 10,000 to
22,000 tons a year, with most of the CFC's originating in India and China, whose agreements
under the Protocol still allow them to produce CFC's. In fact, the United States Customs Service
reports that CFC-12 is a contraband problem second only to illicit drugs.
According to the passage, which of the following best describes most ozone-depleting chemicals in 1996 as compared to those in 1987?
* The levels of such chemcials in the atmosphere had decreased.
* The number of such chemcials that reached the atmosphere had declined.
* The amounts of such chemcials released had increased but the amounts that reached the atmosphere had decreased.
* The rate of increase in amounts of such chemicals reaching the atmosphere had decreased.
* The rate at which such chemicals were being reduced in the atmoshphere had slowed.
The author of the passage compares the smuggling of CFC's to the illicit drug trade most likely for which of the following reasons?
* To qualify a previous claim
* To emphasize the extent of a problem
* To provide an explanation for an earlier assertion
* To suggest that the illicit CFC trade, likely the illicit drug trade, will continue to increase
* To suggest that the consequences of a relatively little-knows problem are as serious as those of a well-known one
The passage suggests which of the following about the illicit trade in CFC's?
* It would cease if manufacturers in India and China stopped producing CFC's.
* Most people who participate in such trade do not believe that CFC's deplete the ozone layer.
* It will probably surpass illicit drugs as the largest contraband problem faced by the United States Custom Services.
* It is fostered by people who do not want to pay the price of CFC substitutes.
* It has grown primarily because of the expansion of the refrigenration, heating, and air-conditioning industries in foreign countries.
[spoiler]Nice short & crisp passage: OA:DBD Time:4:08[/spoiler]
Montreal Protocol on Substances
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Q1 D is the correct answer. This question asks you to identify a claim that is made in the passage about ozone-depleting chemicals. The best answer is D. The passage, written in 1996, states that the rate of increase in amounts of most ozone-depleting chemicals reaching the atmosphere had been reduced since 1987. Choice A can be eliminated because the passage states that the atmospheric levels of some ozone-depleting chemicals has been reduced, not that the levels of most had been reduced. Choice B is incorrect because the actual number of different chemicals reaching the atmosphere is not provided in the passage, nor is it claimed that the number had declined. Choice C is not correct because the passage does not claim that there was an increase in the amounts of ozone-depleting chemicals released between 1987 and 1996. Choice E is incorrect because there is no indication in the passage that the rate of reduction of atmospheric chemicals had slowed between 1987 and 1996.
Q2 The author mentions the huge volumes of CFCs to emphasize the volume of the illicit CFC trade. Hence B is the correct answer.
Q3 The correct answer is D. This question asks what the passage implies about the illicit trade in CFC's. The best answer is D. The passage states that some industry members appear not to want to pay the price of CFC substitutes, and that consequently a black market in cheaper CFC's has emerged. This implies that the black market is fostered at least in part by those industry members who are unwilling to pay the higher price of CFC substitutes. Choice A can be eliminated because the passage states that only that most contraband CFC's originate in India and China. This does not imply that the illicit trade in CFC's could not continue without manufacturers in those countries. Choice B is not correct because the passage does not provide information about the beliefs of participants in the illicit CFC trade. Choice C is incorrect because the passage states only that the United States Customs Service considers the illicit CFC trade to be a problem second only to the illicit drug trade; there is no suggestion in the passage that the illicit CFC trade is expected to develop into a larger problem than the illicit drug trade. Choice E is incorrect because the passage attributes the growth of the illicit trade in CFC's to the high cost of CFC substitutes, not to an expansion of refrigeration, heating, and air-conditioning industries in foreign countries.
Q2 The author mentions the huge volumes of CFCs to emphasize the volume of the illicit CFC trade. Hence B is the correct answer.
Q3 The correct answer is D. This question asks what the passage implies about the illicit trade in CFC's. The best answer is D. The passage states that some industry members appear not to want to pay the price of CFC substitutes, and that consequently a black market in cheaper CFC's has emerged. This implies that the black market is fostered at least in part by those industry members who are unwilling to pay the higher price of CFC substitutes. Choice A can be eliminated because the passage states that only that most contraband CFC's originate in India and China. This does not imply that the illicit trade in CFC's could not continue without manufacturers in those countries. Choice B is not correct because the passage does not provide information about the beliefs of participants in the illicit CFC trade. Choice C is incorrect because the passage states only that the United States Customs Service considers the illicit CFC trade to be a problem second only to the illicit drug trade; there is no suggestion in the passage that the illicit CFC trade is expected to develop into a larger problem than the illicit drug trade. Choice E is incorrect because the passage attributes the growth of the illicit trade in CFC's to the high cost of CFC substitutes, not to an expansion of refrigeration, heating, and air-conditioning industries in foreign countries.