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Difficulty: MediumInferential Comprehension and Deduction

Read the passage below carefully and evaluate the statement that follows.

For generations, the women of Okposi Okwu in Ebonyi State have extracted salt from local brine lakes using a traditional thermal evaporation process. The salt produced holds significant cultural value and is prized for its perceived purity, selling at a premium in local markets compared to imported refined iodized salt. However, recent geological surveys revealed heavy metal trace contaminants in the unrefined brine, prompting state health officials to introduce subsidized iodized salt and advocate for a transition away from unrefined brine consumption. Despite public health campaigns warning of long-term health risks, local households continue to prefer traditional salt for ceremonial cooking and local medicine. Cultural historians note that this preference is not rooted in ignorance of modern health advice, but in the deep-seated economic autonomy the salt trade grants local female cooperatives, who control the entire supply chain from extraction to retail—an independence threatened by reliance on commercial salt networks.

Statement: The continued reliance on traditional Okposi salt in local households is primarily a result of public ignorance regarding health risks associated with brine contamination.

Answer: Answer

Answer

The statement is False. The passage directly contradicts the claim that public ignorance is the primary cause of continued traditional salt use, explaining instead that the preference is driven by the preservation of economic autonomy.
The statement is False because the author explicitly refutes the idea that lack of health awareness drives the ongoing use of traditional salt, identifying economic self-reliance and supply chain control as the true motivations.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the core assertion of the statement regarding the cause of local behavior.
The statement attributes the continued reliance on traditional salt to public ignorance of health risks.
To establish what causal relationship needs to be verified against the text.
2
Locate and synthesize textual evidence addressing the motivations of local households.
The text states that despite public health warnings, historians observe the preference is 'not rooted in ignorance of modern health advice, but in the deep-seated economic autonomy' of female cooperatives.
To identify the actual cause presented by the author.
3
Evaluate the logical alignment between the statement and the textual evidence.
Because the text explicitly disproves ignorance as the primary factor and identifies economic independence as the true driver, the statement is logically false.
To determine the final truth value based on deduction.

Key Concept

Evaluating causal claims and identifying explicit vs implicit motivations in reading comprehension
Estimated Time:1m 15s
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Topics

Inferential Comprehension and Deduction

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