Deriving Conclusions From Passages Questions and Answers

Answer: A

The appropriate inference is there is a strong correlation between crow birth and cracker sales.

The two curves rise, flatten, spike and fall together over the same years, so the data show a strong correlation: the two quantities move together. That is all the data can show, because the studies were unrelated and nothing links the two mechanisms.

The other three options all claim causation, in one direction or the other: that cracker use raises crow births, that falling cracker sales would lower crow births, or that more crow births raise cracker sales. Correlation alone does not establish causation; the two series could share a cause, or coincide by chance.

Answer: B

The correct inference is that more people are visiting the malls but not spending enough.

The passage gives two facts: the number of visitors is impressive, and the revenue from sales is generally low. Many visitors with low total sales means that, on average, visitors are not buying much.

'Fewer people are visiting' contradicts the impressive visitor numbers, so both options that start that way are wrong. 'Spending more' contradicts the low revenue, which rules out the remaining option.

Answer: D

The inference is definitely false.

The paragraph says "Maximum losses suffered by these units are through poor housekeeping". So poor housekeeping is the largest source of loss, which is the reverse of saying it is not reflected in those losses. The statement contradicts the paragraph.

Answer: A

The key treats this inference as definitely true.

The paragraph names the lack of proper opportunities for recycling waste as one of three main sources of the units' maximum losses, and asks for "innovative and sustainable waste minimization techniques" to eliminate or reduce them. Recycling by modern techniques therefore addresses a main source of loss, which is the reading the key takes.

Strictly, the paragraph does not say how much of the loss recycling would recover, so "large part" is a strong word and some would call the inference only probably true. The key does not.

Answer: B

The key treats this inference as probably true.

The paragraph lists small scale of operation among the heavy constraints of the smaller units, and says their margins are very low, which suggests that scale matters to viability. It does not say that large scale is necessary, so the inference is not definitely true. It is not contradicted either, so it is probably true.

Answer: A

The key treats this inference as definitely true.

The paragraph calls for innovative and sustainable waste minimization techniques and complains of obsolete technology and poor opportunities for recycling, which together point to waste handling that needs modernizing. The key takes the statement as following directly.

The paragraph speaks of small pesticide units and not of India's waste management as a whole, so a stricter reading would call the inference only probably true. The key does not.

Answer: B

The key treats this inference as probably true.

The paragraph says the units' operating profit margins are very low and that poor housekeeping is a main source of loss, but it never states the reason for the poor housekeeping. Lack of funds is a plausible cause given the low margins, which makes the inference probably true, but the paragraph does not say it, so it is not definitely true.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Data inadequate

The passage says Indian ports should be benchmarked against the best ports worldwide, but it never says where those ports are. Nothing in it points to the United States or to any other country. The statement is therefore neither supported nor contradicted - it is simply outside what the passage tells us, which is what makes it a data inadequate case rather than a false one.

Answer: C

Correct answer: Data inadequate

The passage says there is a need to continually benchmark Indian ports against the best in the world. That is a recommendation about what should be done in future; it does not tell us whether any grading has already been carried out. A call for something to be done regularly is not evidence that it has never been done at all, so the passage leaves the question open.

Answer: D

Correct answer: Probably false

The passage states the opposite: pre-berthing time has been marginally increasing over the years. It is the average turn-around time that has been falling. The statement therefore runs against what is written, and since the fourth option here is worded ‘probably false’ rather than ‘definitely false’, that is the strongest verdict available - and the right one to choose when the contradiction is clear but the passage hedges with ‘marginally’.