LSAT 148 | Section 2 | Reading Comprehension: Q12

RC Question 12 Explanation

DISCUSSION: On this type of question, the right answer will be directly supported by specific lines from the passage. If you’re stuck, don’t bounce between answers: one of them is 100% wrong, and looking at a wrong answer won’t give you information. Instead, look for support in the passage.

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1. This is a pretty extreme statement. It would mean that an agricultural foreman who managed 200 workers would earn less than a janitor in a failing factory in the North. It seems unlikely this would be true. In any case, the passage provides no support for this – the wage gap was merely a gap in average wages. There can always be some exceptions where someone earns a very high income in a low income area or profession.
2. The passage suggests this isn’t true. Paragraph four shows how early migration made later migration cheaper. That’s why migration accelerated.
3. CORRECT. Lines 6-19 directly support this.
4. The passage suggests this isn’t true. The boll weevil infestation reduced labor demand (lines 13-15). That tends to lower wages.
5. This isn’t supported. Lines 48-51 show that some migrants returned South. But, we don’t know that most did. And we don’t know why they returned home. They made have gone home mainly to visit family. This answer suggests their main purpose was helping other migrants, which isn’t supported by the passage.