PrepTest 154, Section 3, Question 6
Complex societies flourished on the central plateau of(465 more words not shown)
According to the passage, which(11 more words not shown)
- AThe system was(13 more words not shown)
- BThe system was(8 more words not shown)
- CThe system exemplified(8 more words not shown)
- DThe system was(15 more words not shown)
- EThe system promoted(10 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Here, “agricultural system” includes cattle raising. Don't read it as a question only about growing grain. Crop cultivation had serious limitations, and the cattle economy offered the alternative that helped sustain the city.
What we’re looking for
One especially clear consequence comes at the end: cattle gave rulers something valuable to offer the laborers needed for large-scale mining.
Working the answers
- A
The author explains how the alternative system helped sustain an unusually large population. We aren't told it was inadequate or that the population lacked enough food. That would confuse the limits of ordinary crop cultivation with the cattle system's contribution.
- B
Cattle used different elevations in different seasons: higher in summer and lower in winter. The author doesn't say the system chiefly operated at lower elevations overall. A seasonal use doesn't establish an overall predominance.
- C
“Without extensive political controls” contradicts the account. Coordinating the herds favored centralized control, and the ruling class owned the cattle. This system was closely connected with political authority.
- DCorrect
Mining was dangerous and labor-intensive, with possibly small yields. Cattle gave rulers a powerful incentive to offer workers, enabling them to assemble the necessary labor force. Follow the connection: valuable cattle made participation attractive, and that labor made large-scale gold mining possible.
- E
The alternative system used extensive grazing land; the author doesn't describe it as establishing small areas of intensive seasonal crop cultivation. This substitutes a different agricultural arrangement for the cattle system we've been discussing.
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