question TT-GWD-6-21

Q21:

Scientists have made genetic modifications to cotton to increase its resistance to insect pests.  According to farmers’ report, the amount of insecticide needed per acre to control insect pests was only slightly lower for those who tried the modified seed than for those who did not.  Therefore, since the modified seed costs more than ordinary seed without producing yields of higher market value, switching to the modified seed would be unlikely to benefit most cotton farmers economically.

Which of the following would it be most useful to know in order to evaluate the argument?

1. Whether farmers who tried the modified cotton seed had ever tried growing other crops from genetically modified seed
2. Whether the insecticides typically used on ordinary cotton tend to be more expensive than insecticides typically used on other crops
3. Whether for most farmers who grow cotton it is their primary crop
4. Whether the farmers who have tried the modified seed planted as many acres of cotton, on average, as farmers using the ordinary seed did

5. Whether most of the farmers who tried the modified seed did so because they had previously had to use exceptionally large quantities of insecticide

 这道题我总认为答案应该是B因为conclusion是ecnomically阿

呵呵，我把我在另一个贴贴的想法贴过来。

我觉得应该选E，因为如果 most of the farmers who tried the modified seed did so because they had previously had to use exceptionally large quantities of insecticide，那么可以推断出在在现在insecticede的用量相当的情况下，switching不划算。但是如果most of the farmers who tried the modified seed did so NOT
        because they had previously had to use exceptionally large quantities of insecticide，那么很有可能是其他的经济因素吸引他们所致，那么switching就划算

B is the best answer.

Since the passage talks about "quantity" only. It never mention "the unit price", and the conclusion is "benefit most cotton farmers economically".   To reach such a conclusion, we have to know both the "quantity" and "the unit price".

这道题选D没什么问题。

所谓“would be unlikely to benefit most cotton farmers economically”， 实际上是在说花费在农药上面的金钱的总数大小。题目里面说了，每acre用到的农药，modified seed只是slightly lower than ordinary. 要想知道到底是不是economically beneficial， 就要知道各种cotton都种了多少，才能知道总共的花费是多少，是不是更加经济。