LSAT 128 | Section 4 | Reading Comprehension: Q2

RC Question 2 Explanation

QUESTION TEXT: Which one of the following is given in the passage as …

DISCUSSION: For a question like this, you should quickly locate and confirm the relevant information from the passage.

Ideally, you’ll recall that the cause of the price decline was addressed towards the end of paragraph 1. This is why it’s important to keep a mental roadmap of the passage.

The answer is found in the second to last sentence of paragraph 1 (“But for the past 20 years …”). Here, the passage explicitly states that competition from synthetic materials caused the price decline. You likely already remembered this, but may want to double-check quickly to confirm. For harder questions, you may not immediately recall the answer, but knowing where to look allows you to answer efficiently.

___________

1. This is an effect of the price decline, not the cause (addressed in the middle of paragraph 1).
2. CORRECT. Yes. This is what the passage tells us in paragraph 1.
3. While paragraph 1 says Australia is the only country that produces more wool than NZ, it never says Australian competition is responsible for price decline.
4. Same as C. The argument mentions productivity gains in cotton farming, but never suggests cotton growers are taking land from wool farmers or affecting wool prices.
5. This is discussed in paragraph 3, but never claimed to be the cause of the price decline.