Reading comp PrepTest 154 · Section 3 · Question 5

Incorrect. (Lines 12; Lines 15-16) In discussing the background of the area, the Author notes that GZ was able to get luxury goods from trading emporia on the coast, which would be outside of the zimbabwes on the plateau.

Incorrect. (Line 15) The Author notes that GZ exported gold—it'd be weird to trade gold for gold!

Correct. Question Type:
Must Be True

Strategy Overview:
Find the section in the passage on trade and anticipate a specific answer

Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
This is a bit of a tough one, as it's unlikely that you left a note about trade. So let's talk about what to do in that case (and then we'll circle back and show you how you could have and probably should have noted something).

Where is the passage likely to talk about trade? Paragraph 1 talked about GZ's background, so it's possible there's a discussion of trade there. Paragraph 2 talked about the cattle economy and agriculture—possible, but unlikely there's a discussion of trade there. Paragraph 3 talked about gold mining, but it was about how the royals got the rest of the people to take on the risks. So, again, possible but unlikely.

Heading to Paragraph 1, we can see trade mentioned in two places. First, it says that the inhabitants of GZ traded for luxury goods with ""trading emporia on Africa's east coast"" (Line 12). The Scholars also note that they would export gold on the ""coastal markets"" (Lines 15-16). Even though the Author disagrees with the Scholars, she disagrees over what was key to GZ's success—she doesn't dispute their facts, including this note about their exporting of gold. So trade was happening with the east coast of Africa. Let's find an answer stating that.

Now, how could we have noted that this is where trade was discussed? It was a key part of the opposing point—the Scholars discussed exporting gold—and so we should have been sure that we captured it in our understanding of that viewpoint.

Answer Explanation:
(Lines 12; Liens 15-16) The Author notes as part of background that GZ was able to get luxury goods from trading emporia on Africa's east coast. The Scholars also discuss exporting gold in coastal markets, and the Author agrees with this fact even if she disagrees with its importance in explaining GZ's prominence. This answer is therefore correct.

Key Takeaway:
We tend to sum up long sections of background as ""Background,"" which can be less than useful when approaching a question such as this one. However, remember—you shouldn't try to memorize every detail in the passage. If there's a question about a detail that you don't remember, and it seems to fit in a background section, you can always head back and check for it. The LSAT RC section is an open-book test—and if you were taking one in real life, you'd definitely head back to your book to check all your answers!

Incorrect. Outside of everything we already noted about there being trade with other regions and GZ engaging in gold exporting, this answer doesn't make sense. If you already have cattle, why would you trade with people who have more cattle?!? (We kid . . . a bit.)

Incorrect. (Line 34-35) The passage notes that the GZ people relied ""heavily on beef for food,"" so there's no indication that they traded for grain.