Q3 - Since 1989 the importation

[chike_eze]

Please, kindly work me through the reasoning for this question. Not sure why my brain ain't getting it. Maybe I'm over-thinking it (wouldn't be the first time). Kindly break it down into small chunks. (Small chunks? Gosh that sounds like... O neva mind)

For some reason, I chose (A) on my first and second attempts. (D) was very tempting, but I didn't like "Much", which sounded like "Most" to me. Where did I go wrong?

[tianfeng102]

"Most strongly supported" is very similar to "must be true" but just a bit off. The correct answer for most strongly supported does not have to be true, but most likely to be true based on the info in the stimulus.

That said, A) is completely wrong since the stimulus tells us that 1) in 1989 the customs officials lacked a technique to tell elephant ivory from that of mammoths; 2) "[j]ust after such a technique was invented and its use by customs officials became widely known, ..."

D) on the other hand is highly likely. It is more like an answer for a paradox question in that D) reconciles the facts in the stimulus (and does not violate any known facts).

[chike_eze]

"Most strongly supported" is very similar to "must be true" but just a bit off. The correct answer for most strongly supported does not have to be true, but most likely to be true based on the info in the stimulus.

D) on the other hand is highly likely. It is more like an answer for a paradox question in that D) reconciles the facts in the stimulus (and does not violate any know facts).

The hint that answer D seems to resolve a paradox was key to my understanding of the stimulus. I confused periods "Just after such a technique was invented" and "Since 1989... ban on importation of ivory from Africa".

Thanks--

Chike

[inesa909]

Hello all,
I am having a hard time understanding how (D) is proven in the stimulus. It seems to me that based on the information, we don't know for sure that elephant ivory was imported after the ban and labeled as mammoth ivory. After all, it is possible; for example that a huge mammoth graveyard was found after the ban was instated and by the time the technology was developed to differentiate the two, the source became depleted.

Even though answer choice (D) is a qualified statement and not an absolute one, I just feel like we aren't given enough information to be able to infer that. I personally chose (E) on this question, and it still seems to be more provable in the text than (D) does.

If someone could help me out on this one, that would be very much appreciated.

[maryadkins]

(D) is inferable as the "most strongly supported" answer, here"”agreed that it's (far from) 100% provable given the very clever reason you suggested (the graveyard), but it's the most provable.

(A) is unsupported entirely, as is (B).
(C) is out of scope, and (E) is unsupported as well"”what information is given for us possibly to infer this? There was a sharp increase in imported ivory ID'd as mammoth ivory, but that is very different from there being an overall increase in ivory being imported.

Remember that on "most strongly supported" questions, unlike "must be true" questions, the answer may not be 100% provable. But your task is still the same: find the most provable answer choice.