Reading Passage Question
Till the beginning of the 21 century, the food supply chain across the globe was dominated by four huge firms: ADM, Bunge, Cargill, and Dreyfus, which are collectively known as the ABCDs – have more than hundred years of experience and therefore, have vast networks of ports, store houses, vehicles, and farmer relationships that make these firms the most crucial middlemen who are responsible for distributing food across the world. Almost every food item imported by any country at some point would go through the hands of one of the ABCDs. However, a new and budding firm CIL – the overseas branch of China’s government owned firm COFCO – is beginning to give the giant four a tough competition.
With more than 1.4 bn people to feed, China doesn’t have enough farming lands to cultivate food grains. Also, a booming middle-class population – as is the case in China – is accompanied by a sharp increase in demand for meat, worsening the situation as animal feed is typically made of grain. China has previously tried a different approach to tackling this problem – purchasing farmlands abroad. As a matter of fact, China was the largest foreign owner of arable lands in countries such as Australia. However, the Chinese government soon realized that utilizing farmlands abroad for agriculture is not a financially viable solution in the long run – especially when the host nations impose restrictions on foreign investments. Eventually, the government liked the idea of a stateowned supply chain firm that operates at a global level to procure food for the Chinese population, laying foundations for the CIL.
Even though the CIL has a strong hold on the food grain supply chain in over 50 countries, its initial days were riddled with hiccups – most of them stemming out of lack of experience. For instance, it acquired two major traders in South America, but lacked the vision to merge them, resulting in severe undercutting of price between the two and in losses for CIL as a whole. However, the CIL has soon learnt the tricks of the trade and is currently earning about $34 bn a year – a revenue just short of that of Dreyfus, one of the big four. With continuous growth in demand for food grains in China and the Chinese government’s vision for growth, the CIL is very much on its way to monopolizing the food supply routes across the world.
“Till the beginning of the 21 century, the food supply chain across the”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage. The candidates must possess a solid knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension. This GMAT reading Comprehension section comes with three sets of questions with a series of answers. GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are set to check the candidates' capabilities for utilizing ideas and for analysing concepts. The candidates can boost their efficiency by answering GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.
Solutions and Explanation
- What is the main point of the passage?
- To elaborate why the CIL was established and how it grew to its current stage
- To point out that there is a huge scope for food supply chain industry to grow in the modern world
- To highlight the increasing demand for food grains in China
- To prove how the big four firms – ABCDs – no longer have an iron hold on the food supply chain industry
- To point out the mistakes that a food supply chain firm needs to avoid in its budding stages
Answer: (A)
Explanation: The GMAT Reading Comprehension passage mainly discusses the reason behind the foundation of CIL and its progress in the current scenario. The CIL, a new and developing firm, has paved the way to monopolize the food supply routes all over the world. Therefore, option A is the right answer as it depicts the real facts presented in the passage. The remaining options go wrong since they have irrelevant information.
- Based on the information in the passage, which of the following meanings can be inferred for the word "arable land" (Highlighted)?
- Land conducive to farming
- Australian land
- Rented land
- Grazing land for animals
- Land for research and development
Answer: (A)
Explanation: According to the description of the passage, the arable lands can be described as the lands that are helpful to conduct the farming process. These are the productive farmlands suitable for cultivating food grains. Thus, option A is the correct answer whereas the rest of the options are irrelevant.
- Which of the following instances has been quoted in the passage to highlight a mistake committed by CIL?
- Utilizing farmlands abroad for agriculture
- Not merging the acquired traders
- Venturing into the food supply chain industry
- Being a state-owned supply chain }rm
- Not gaining enough experience before competing with ABCDs
Answer: (B)
Explanation: The passage depicts the mistake committed by CIL is that the firm lacked the vision of merging the developed traders. Therefore option B is the correct answer as it holds the relevant information illustrated in the passage. The rest of the options thereby goes irrelevant to the passage.
Suggested GMAT Reading Comprehension Samples
- Scientists have Long Claimed that, in Order to Flourish and Progress GMAT Reading Comprehension
- Despite their Many Differences of Temperament GMAT Reading Comprehension
- In the United States the Per Capita Costs of Schooling have Risen GMAT Reading Comprehension
- Without Entering Now into the Why, let me Observe that the Printer may Always Ascertain GMAT Reading Comprehension
- Years After the Movement to Obtain Civil rights for Black People in the United States GMAT Reading Comprehension
- Photography in Europe was Largely Guided by the Notions of the Picturesque GMAT Reading Comprehension
- In Recent years, A Growing Belief that the Way Society Decides GMAT Reading Comprehension
- When Anton Van Leeuwenhoek made the First Recorded Estimation of Global Population GMAT Reading Comprehension
- Direct Observation of Contemporary Societies at the Threshold GMAT Reading Comprehension
- A Year has Passed Since Many Developed Economies Locked Down GMAT Reading Comprehension
- A Myth in the Ongoing Debate About Minimum Wages GMAT Reading Comprehension
- Currently the Internet is a Non-Discriminatory Space, Where Each Site Sends Information Freely GMAT Reading Comprehension
- In Any Country, the Wages Commanded by the Labourers are Determined by the Productivity GMAT Reading Comprehension
- A recent history of the Chicago meat-packing industry GMAT Reading Comprehension
- At the peak of tulip mania in Holland, in March 1637 GMAT Reading Comprehension
- The outsourcing of production factories to locations overseas from companies GMAT Reading Comprehension
- United States Corporations Seeking to Improve Productivity Relied on Cost-Cutting Measures GMAT Reading Comprehension
- “Strange Bedfellows!” Lamented the Title of a Recent Letter to Museum News GMAT Reading Comprehension
- For Business Executives, Managing Growth of a Company at an Appropriate Rate is a Central Challenge GMAT Reading Comprehension
- Historically, Relations Between Workers and Employers in the United States have Often Been Characterized GMAT Reading Comprehension
Comments