Question

Difficulty: EasyInferential Comprehension and Deduction

Read the passage below carefully and answer the question that follows.

For generations, the women of Uburu, a historic community in Ebonyi State, have harvested salt from the ancient brine lake using traditional earthenware pots and firewood evaporation methods. However, recent local environmental regulations restricted timber harvesting in surrounding forests to curb severe deforestation. Deprived of cheap fuel, the salt harvesters faced potential economic ruin. Rather than abandoning their ancestral craft, the women's cooperative partnered with regional technical institutes to construct low-cost, solar-evaporation shallow pans fitted with transparent glass covers. This innovation utilizes abundant sunlight to evaporate the brine rapidly, cutting processing time by half while preserving the distinctive mineral composition of the salt. Consequently, young women who had earlier migrated to urban centers in search of alternative livelihoods are returning to join the venture. The adoption of solar technology has thus protected local forests, boosted cooperative revenues, and ensured the survival of a centuries-old cultural tradition.

Based on the passage, what can be logically deduced about the introduction of solar-evaporation technology in Uburu?

  1. It helped reverse rural-to-urban youth migration by restoring the financial viability of local salt production.Answer
  2. B
    It completely eliminated the need for manual labor during the salt harvesting process.
  3. C
    It accelerated deforestation because solar pans required large timber frames for support.
  4. D
    It was designed primarily to supply technical institutes with raw mineral salt for industrial research.

Answer

The introduction of solar-evaporation technology helped reverse rural-to-urban youth migration by restoring the financial viability of local salt production.
The passage states that economic hardship had driven young women to urban centers, but the introduction of solar pans boosted cooperative revenues and shortened processing times, causing those young women to return. Thus, it can be logically deduced that the technology helped reverse youth migration by restoring local economic viability.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the passage for implicit outcomes associated with solar-evaporation technology.
Identified that timber restrictions threatened the trade, solar technology reduced processing time and boosted revenues, and young women returned from urban centers.
Inferential comprehension requires synthesizing cause-and-effect relationships implied across the narrative.
2
Evaluate the option regarding youth migration against textual evidence.
The text explicitly connects the technological adaptation and increased revenues to the return of young women from urban centers.
A valid logical deduction must be directly supported by clues in the text without over-extrapolation.

Key Concept

Inferential Comprehension and Deduction
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