GMAT OG 2019 One proposal for preserving rain

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GMAT OG 2019 One proposal for preserving rain

by BFR » Thu Jun 28, 2018 10:24 am
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
(5)"‚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
(10)"‚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
(15)"‚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
(20)"‚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
(25)"‚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
(30)"‚adoption of improved plant varieties but less adoption
of chemical herbicides.

Q411) The passage suggests that in the study mentioned in line 14 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 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.

Q412) 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

Q411: A
Q412: C

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by NandishSS » Mon Jul 23, 2018 7:26 pm
Please Post the OA as well

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by lucyjohn987 » Wed Aug 15, 2018 2:51 am
Thanks for sharing

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by ceilidh.erickson » Wed Nov 07, 2018 12:55 pm
BFR wrote:Q411) The passage suggests that in the study mentioned in line 14 the method for gathering information about security of land tenure reflects which of the following pairs of assumptions about Tawahka society?
Here is what we're told about land tenure:
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 other words, it's a fact that kinship ties are more important indicator of land-tenure security than are legal property ties. Indicators aren't necessarily always causal, but the researchers are clearly assuming that they are. And if this is followed with: "so, we measured duration of residence in a village," then the implication is that how long a household has been in a village is a strong indicator for how strong their kinship ties are.

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.
- yes, this is precisely what is implied.

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.
1) land-tenure security is clearly not unimportant, or why would we be measuring it?
2) No. We're told that legal property rights are a less important indicator, but that's not the same as "unnecessary." Besides, if the 1st part is untrue, the 2nd can't follow.

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.
1) We never compared kinship ties to receptivity to technology. Not inferable.
2) Duration of time in a village is used as a proxy for kinship ties, which correlates with land-tenure security. Those things aren't in opposition.

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.
1) We're told that these things are correlated, but that doesn't mean that we can assume that they're causal.
2) Same correlation/causation issue as above. Also, we're given that there's less adoption of herbicides, not more.

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.
1) We have no information about how people *feel* about legal property rights.
2) The passage does not state this.

The answer is A.
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education

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by ceilidh.erickson » Wed Nov 07, 2018 1:00 pm
BFR wrote: Q412) 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
With EXCEPT questions, we must find proof in the passage to eliminate 4 of the 5 answer choices.

A. adopt new agricultural technologies
line 2: "promote the adoption of new agricultural technologies"

B. grow improved plant varieties
line 3: "such as improved plant varieties"

C. decrease their use of chemical herbicides
No. Lines 2-4 say: "promote the adoption of new agricultural technologies, such as... use of chemical herbicides"

D. increase their productivity
lines 4-5: "which would increase"‚productivity"

E. reduce their need to clear new land for cultivation
lines 5-6: "slow deforestation by reducing demand for new cropland"

The only one not explicitly mentioned is C.
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education