Reading comp PrepTest 156 · Section 1 · Question 3

Passage

 Because most agricultural practices in North America produce row after row of only a few, genetically identical, varieties of crops, Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic:
Science/Social Science

Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • Problem/Solution and Old Approach/New Approach
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Problem: North American agri practices are eroding the genetic base of crops, making them less durable (pests/disease)
    • Solution/New Approach: Look into indigenous farmers (practices, heirloom varieties of crops)
    • Old Approach: Focus on agricultural methods brought to North America from elsewhere


Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Study/Examples of better practices by indigenous farmers
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Study: Indigenous farmers used genetics to make varieties
    • Example: Hybridization — Lots of varieties of (list of crops) that resisted disease/pests
    • Example: Make crops for local environments, less dependent on irrigation


Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Process of maintenance; new wrinkle on problem
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Process: Regional exchange networks for seeds; oral tradition for methods
    • Problem: World market economy leading to these practices and varieties being lost, so need to protect ASAP


Main Point:

Because mass farming practices have harmed crop durability, it's important to turn to indigenous farmers' practices to protect the genetic base of crops, especially as the world market is starting to cause these practices to be lost.

Key Lines (P(aragraph)#, S(entence)#)?

P1, S1 - The problem
P1, S2 - One solution
P1, S3 - The Old and New Approaches
P2, S2 - An example is introduced
P2, S4 - Another example
P3, S1 - Processes by which the solution has worked
P3, S2 - A new wrinkle to the problem
Meta-Structure?



Problem/Solution: The opening sentence here introduces what is clearly a problem: the increasing susceptibility of food crops to pests and disease due to current agricultural processes. From this, we should expect the author to bring up a solution, or a variety of solutions. The author does so explicitly in the second sentence — looking to the "store of agricultural knowledge" held by indigenous farmers and the heirloom crops they work with. While the author calls this only a "possible" solution, the rest of the passage describes why this knowledge and these crop varieties can solve the problem, which suggests the author has at least some faith in the solution. In a Problem/Solution passage where the author supports a particular solution, the solution is the main point, reflected in our summary above.

Old Approach/New Approach: In Paragraph 1, Sentence 3, the author brings up Old and New Approaches used by crop geneticists to preserve the genetic base of crops. The Old Approach focused on studying "solely" agricultural methods brought to North America from elsewhere. These approaches aren't mentioned again. The New Approach is to study the methods and varieties of crops produced by indigenous farmers, which is the solution/main point. So this Meta-Structure informs the main point, but it isn't the central Meta-Structure that defines the passage. Expect a question or two on this Meta-Structure, but we shouldn't eliminate main point answer choices simply because they don't reference the old approach.

Last Thoughts?

This is a fairly straightforward passage as far as information, structure, and Meta-Structures are concerned, so let's head to the questions!

Question prompt

Based on the passage, Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: D

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Question Type

Science

Answer choices

  1. A
    sets of farming techniques Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    (P3, S4) The "knowledge systems" in question are said to be "indigenous" ones, so they can't be ones developed by crop-genetics researchers. That's the group the author argues that created the problem this passage describes, not the group with the solutions to the problem.
  2. B
    the passing of heirloom Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Heirloom seeds are a tangible item, so it would be weird for "knowledge systems" to refer to them.
  3. C
    techniques of hybridization brought Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    (P2, S2) The passage says that indigenous farmers had been "long aware" of hybridization, so the "indigenous" knowledge systems likely don't refer to hybridization techniques brought to North America from elsewhere.
  4. D
    methods for breeding and Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D matches the stem

    Question Type:
    Meaning in Context

    Strategy Overview:
    Review the purpose of the paragraph, including the expression in question, then use that and the immediate context to define its meaning

    Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
    This question asks about a phrase from the final sentence of the passage, so we should start by defining the role of that final paragraph, reviewing our notes if necessary. The final paragraph talked about the processes used by indigenous farmers to maintain their knowledge and heirloom crop varieties, and it brought up a new wrinkle with the problem. That wrinkle?

    Looking at the final sentence, we see that the author connects that wrinkle to the need for "immediate steps" to be taken to "preserve indigenous knowledge systems" and integrate them with programs to conserve crop diversity. So this final sentence is meant to highlight how urgently we need to adopt the proposed solution to address that new wrinkle to the problem.

    Since that's the case, the final sentence has to be about the central solution proposed in the passage. Thus, the "knowledge systems" must refer to indigenous farmers' processes to create a diverse genetic base for their heirloom crops. Let's find an answer reflecting that meaning.

    Answer Choice Explanation:
    (P1, S2) The "indigenous knowledge systems" that this question asks about are the ones that have been used to preserve the genetic base of heirloom crops. These knowledge systems make up the central solution from the passage, and this answer reflects that solution, so this is the correct answer.

    Key Takeaway:
    Note how a focus on the Meta-Structure we identified was key to efficiently tackling this question! By noting that the "knowledge structures" referred to the solution from the passage, we were able to focus on answers that reflected that.

  5. E
    fail-safe techniques for successful Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    A "fail-safe" technique would be one that is implemented when another system fails, so this answer isn't outlandish. However, the use of indigenous techniques wasn't meant as a fail-safe for the indigenous farmers. This system was maintained because indigenous farmers thought it was the best farming practice — not because they thought it could be used in case those other systems/crops failed!

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 3%
  2. B 15%
  3. C 5%
  4. D Credited 76%
  5. E 1%

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