PrepTest 101, Section 3, Question 11
Special kinds of cotton that grow fibers of(54 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(7 more words not shown)
- AIt is ecologically(8 more words not shown)
- BGreen and brown(12 more words not shown)
- CHand-spun cotton is(6 more words not shown)
- DShort-fibered regular cottons(6 more words not shown)
- EGarments made of(13 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Growing the color into the cotton could save a step. If the fibers are already green or brown, a processing plant doesn't have to dye them those colors or deal with the leftover dye. I can see the practical attraction.
But there are two different developments here. The color removes the need for dyeing. The longer fiber makes machine spinning possible, and the passage says commercial feasibility arrived only with that machine-spinnable variety. Don't let those two benefits blur together: fiber length explains the production breakthrough, while natural color explains avoiding the dye and its waste.
What we’re looking for
Does that make this cotton cheaper overall? Maybe, but eliminating one expense doesn't tell us every other cost. The naturally colored cotton could cost more to grow, for example. My first prediction for what we can infer would concern the cleaner processing step—avoiding the hazards associated with leftover dye. I'll keep the separate claim about commercial feasibility in mind too, rather than insist that the answer match my first guess.
Working the answers
- A
This compares long fibers with short fibers. The environmental benefit described comes from not needing dye, not from length itself. Long white cotton could still need dyeing, while a short naturally colored fiber might avoid that step. The passage doesn't give us an ecological ranking based on length.
- BCorrect
This picks up the commercial-feasibility point rather than my prediction about the dyeing process. The green and brown cottons existed for decades, but they became commercially feasible only when a variety that could be spun by machine was developed. In the situation described, versions that must still be spun by hand don't meet the condition that made these cottons commercially workable.
- C
Hand spinning versus machine spinning isn't the environmental comparison given. The ecological hazards come from disposing of leftover dye and its by-products. We aren't told that the act of spinning by hand is safer than spinning by machine.
- D
Synthetic fabrics never enter the comparison. We haven't been given their production costs or the economics of regular short-fibered cotton. We can't rank two products economically when the passage supplies neither side of that comparison.
- E
Avoiding dyeing saves a processing expense, but that doesn't establish a lower price for finished clothing. Other production costs could offset the saving, or a seller could keep the saving rather than pass it on to customers. We would need more information to move from one cheaper step to a cheaper garment.
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