- Mon Aug 19, 2013 11:00 pm
#33603
Complete Question Explanation
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=13775)
The correct answer choice is (D)
The general nature of the question makes it difficult to arrive at a more precise prephrase. Instead, try the process of elimination: any answer choice that cannot be proven by the passage will be incorrect.
Answer choice (A): Although corporate farming depends heavily on debt and credit as a means of raising capital (lines 3-4), no comparison is made between corporate and small farms in this respect.
Answer choice (B): Small farms can allegedly charge less than supermarkets and still operate at a profit (lines 30-31), but that does not mean that farmers’ profits would rise if they charged the same. Such hypotheticals are impossible to prove with the information given.
Answer choice (C): No comparison is ever made between rural and urban consumers’ inclination to join a CMC. Just because CMCs would consist primarily of people from metropolitan areas does not mean that rural folk are less willing to join them. The reason why small farms must be located close to urban centers is to guarantee a client base large enough to ensure profitability, not necessarily one that is more inclined to join a CMC.
Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice. It is tricky, and many students tend to dismiss it all too quickly. Recall that one of Whatley’s recommendations involved growing at least ten different crops (line 14). Logically, then, if a CMC requests fewer than ten different crops, then at least one of Whatley’s recommendations will not be followed.
The ability to answer this question correctly underscores the importance of knowing passage structure, along with the need to make a few simple notations while reading. The answer choice describes a situation whereby one of Whatley’s recommendations are not being followed. As long as you know where these recommendations were discussed in the passage, you can easily return to that portion of the text and validate your choice. Better yet, observant test-takers would have notated each of the three main guidelines described in the second paragraph, and expect to be questioned on that list.
Answer choice (E): By selling directly to consumers, small farms with a CMC can eliminate distribution costs (lines 31-33). Such costs do not need to be accounted for, or paid for by customers.
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=13775)
The correct answer choice is (D)
The general nature of the question makes it difficult to arrive at a more precise prephrase. Instead, try the process of elimination: any answer choice that cannot be proven by the passage will be incorrect.
Answer choice (A): Although corporate farming depends heavily on debt and credit as a means of raising capital (lines 3-4), no comparison is made between corporate and small farms in this respect.
Answer choice (B): Small farms can allegedly charge less than supermarkets and still operate at a profit (lines 30-31), but that does not mean that farmers’ profits would rise if they charged the same. Such hypotheticals are impossible to prove with the information given.
Answer choice (C): No comparison is ever made between rural and urban consumers’ inclination to join a CMC. Just because CMCs would consist primarily of people from metropolitan areas does not mean that rural folk are less willing to join them. The reason why small farms must be located close to urban centers is to guarantee a client base large enough to ensure profitability, not necessarily one that is more inclined to join a CMC.
Answer choice (D): This is the correct answer choice. It is tricky, and many students tend to dismiss it all too quickly. Recall that one of Whatley’s recommendations involved growing at least ten different crops (line 14). Logically, then, if a CMC requests fewer than ten different crops, then at least one of Whatley’s recommendations will not be followed.
The ability to answer this question correctly underscores the importance of knowing passage structure, along with the need to make a few simple notations while reading. The answer choice describes a situation whereby one of Whatley’s recommendations are not being followed. As long as you know where these recommendations were discussed in the passage, you can easily return to that portion of the text and validate your choice. Better yet, observant test-takers would have notated each of the three main guidelines described in the second paragraph, and expect to be questioned on that list.
Answer choice (E): By selling directly to consumers, small farms with a CMC can eliminate distribution costs (lines 31-33). Such costs do not need to be accounted for, or paid for by customers.