Reading Passage Question
Desertification in the arid United States is flagrant. Groundwater supplies beneath vast stretches of land are dropping precipitously. Whole river systems have dried up; others are choked with sediment washed from denuded land. Hundreds of thousands of acres of previously irrigated cropland have been abandoned to wind or weeds. Several million acres of natural grassland are eroding at unnaturally high rates as a result of cultivation or overgrazing. All told, about 225 million acres of land are undergoing severe desertification.
Federal subsidies encourage the exploitation of arid land resources. Lowinterest loans for irrigation and other water delivery systems encourage farmers, industry, and municipalities to mine groundwater. Federal disaster relief and commodity programs encourage aridland farmers to plow up natural grassland to plant crops such as wheat and, especially, cotton. Federal grazing fees that are well below the free-market price encourage overgrazing of the commons. The market, too, provides powerful incentives to exploit arid land resources beyond their carrying capacity. When commodity prices are high relative to the farmer’s or rancher’s operating costs, the return on a productionenhancing investment is invariably greater than the return on a conservation investment. And when commodity prices are relatively low, arid land ranchers and farmers often have to use all of their available financial resources to stay solvent.
The incentives to exploit arid land resources are greater today than ever. The government is now offering huge new subsidies to produce synfuel from coal or oil shale as well as alcohol fuel from crops. Moreover, commodity prices are on the rise; and they will provide farmers and agribusiness with powerful incentive to overexploit arid land resources. The existing federal government costshare programs designed to help finance the conservation of soil, water, and vegetation pale in comparison to such incentives.
In the final analysis, when viewed in the national perspective, the effects on agriculture are the most troublesome aspect of desertification in the United States, for it comes at a time when we are losing over a million acres of rain-watered crop and pasture land per year to “higher uses”— shopping centers, industrial parks, housing developments, and waste dumps— heedless of the economic need of the United States to export agricultural products or of the world’s need for U.S. food and fiber. Today the arid West accounts for 20% of the nation’s total agricultural output. If the United States is, as it appears, well on its way toward overdrawing the arid land resources, then the policy choice is simply to pay now for the appropriate remedies or pay far more later, when productive benefits from arid land resources have been both realized and largely terminated.
“Desertification in the arid United States is flagrant.”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.
This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 7 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.
Solution and Explanation
- The author is primarily concerned with
(A) discussing a solution
(B) describing a problem
(C) replying to a detractor
(D) finding a contradiction
(E) defining a term
Answer: B
Explanation: A suggestion to delay the development of desertification would be a logical continuation of the conversation. However, as that is not mentioned in the passage as it is written, option A must be false. We cannot discover any evidence in the passage to support options C, D, or E, hence they are all incorrect. Even acknowledging that the author means to define "desertification" implicitly. That most definitely isn't the passage's major message. The causes of the issue are also covered in great detail by the author. A major concept query asks for a problem's description. The problem of desertification is the author's main topic of discussion. So, option (B) is the right one.
- The passage mentions all of the following as effects of desertification EXCEPT
(A) increased sediment in rivers
(B) erosion of land
(C) overcultivation of arid land
(D) decreasing groundwater supplies
(E) loss of land to wind or weeds
Answer: C
Explanation: In the dry United States, desertification is blatant. The amount of groundwater underlying large areas of land is rapidly diminishing. Several river systems have completely dried up, while others are clogged with debris from deforested land. Previously irrigated agriculture covering hundreds of thousands of acres has been left to the wind or weeds. Due to development or overgrazing, many million acres of natural grassland are eroding at unnaturally high rates. A total of 225 million acres of land are severely degrading into deserts. The author refers to A, B, D and E as characteristics of desertification in the first paragraph. The second paragraph's list of reasons for desertification, however, includes Option C.
- The author most likely encloses the phrase “higher uses” (Highlighted) in quotations marks in order to
(A) alert the reader to the fact that the term is very important
(B) minimize the importance of desertification in non-arid land
(C) voice his support for expansion of such programs
(D) express concern over the extent of desertification
(E) indicate disagreement that such uses are more important
Answer: E
Explanation: In essence, this is equivalent to saying "so called" before the statement. The third example of "higher uses," waste dumps, only serves to further this image. Not that the author would claim that these uses are not significant. The author does not however think that those applications are more significant than agricultural ones.
- The passages mentions all of the following as economic factors tending to contribute to desertification EXCEPT
(A) price incentives for farmers to use arid lands to produce certain commodities
(B) artifically low government fees for use of public grazing lands
(C) government subsidies for fuels that are manufactured from a variety of crops
(D) worldwide demand for the food and fiber produced in the United States
(E) lack of effective government financial incentives to conserve soil, water, and vegetation
Answer: D
Explanation: In contrast to being a cause, global need is stated as a justification for preventing desertification (feeding people is crucial). The other options, A and B in paragraph 2 and C and E in paragraph 3, are cited as reasons. In the concluding paragraph, the author discusses the desire for American goods across the world. The right response is D.
- According to the passage, the most serious long-term effect of desertification would be the reduced ability of
(A) the United States to continue to export agricultural products
(B) municipalities to supply water to meet the needs of residents
(C) farmers to cover the cost of producing crops
(D) the United States to meet the food needs of its own people
(E) the United States to produce sufficient fuel for energy from domestic sources
Answer: A
Explanation: Mentioned in the last paragraph. In the end, the most problematic component of desertification in the United States is its consequences on agriculture when seen from a national viewpoint. The capacity of the United States to export agricultural goods would be negatively impacted by desertification, according to the author. In terms of satisfying the need for food and fiber, this will be detrimental to both the economic health of the United States and the rest of the globe.
- The passage leads most logically to discussion of a proposal for
(A) reduced agricultural output in the United States
(B) direct government aid to farmers affected by desertification
(C) curtailing the conversion of land to shopping centers and housing
(D) government assistance to develop improved farming methods to increase exploitation of arid land
(E) increased government assistance to finance the conservation of arid land
Answer: E
Explanation: The overall message of the passage is that action has to be taken to stop the effects of desertification from getting worse. The author claims that the high rate of desertification is mostly due to government initiatives that promote the use of dry terrain. A suggestion for government expenditure to save dry regions would be a logical continuation of the conversation. And the third paragraph, when the author states that government conservation incentives are insufficient, provides explicit evidence for this.
- The author’s attitude toward desertification can best be described as one of
(A) alarm
(B) optimism
(C) understanding
(D) conciliation
(E) concern
Answer: E
Explanation: B, C, and D can all be ruled out as not conveying the appropriate level of anxiety. A then exaggerates the situation between A and E. We can either address the issue now or later, according to the author (at a higher cost). However, that is a sign of worry rather than alarm. Therefore, choice E is right.
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