PSAT Reading Question 170: Answer and Explanation

Question: 170

Based on the information provided in Passage 1, it can be inferred that

• A. European nations tried to grow tea in their colonies.
• B. European tea growers never learned Chinese cultivation techniques.
• C. Europeans' purpose in opening trade routes with the Far East was to gain access to tea.
• D. Europeans believed tea was ineffective as a treatment against illness.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

A

Difficulty: Medium

Category: Inference

Getting to the Answer: Be careful to choose an answer that is clearly supported by the information in the passage. The passage states that the climate was not right for growing tea "even in the equatorial colonies" (line 28). Choice (A) is the correct answer. Clearly, European tea-drinking nations tried to grow tea in their equatorial colonies; that's how they learned that the climate there wasn't right.