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Difficulty: MediumInferential Comprehension and Deduction

Read the passage below carefully:

For decades, urban planners in Lagos viewed the vast network of lagoons surrounding the metropolis as an environmental impediment to road network expansion rather than a viable transit corridor. However, as daily vehicular gridlock began costing the commercial hub billions of naira in lost productivity annually, municipal authorities launched an integrated water transport scheme. Instead of replacing existing road transport, state-commissioned passenger ferries were deployed exclusively to connect high-density coastal residential zones to central business districts. Initial passenger turnout remained low, prompting critics to blame culturally entrenched fears of open water. Yet, detailed transit surveys revealed that commuters were discouraged primarily by the lack of last-mile feeder buses connecting inland neighborhoods to the dock terminals. When private minibuses were subsequently rerouted to synchronize schedules with ferry arrivals, daily ridership tripled within six months. This shift demonstrated that urban commuter habits are governed more by intermodal connectivity and scheduling reliability than by inherent cultural aversion to maritime travel.

Based on the passage above, evaluate whether the following statement is TRUE or FALSE:
'The initial low passenger turnout for the Lagos water transport scheme was primarily caused by commuters' cultural aversion to maritime travel.'

Answer: Answer

Answer

The statement is FALSE because textual evidence demonstrates that inadequate last-mile feeder bus connectivity, rather than cultural aversion, was the primary cause of low initial ferry ridership.
The statement is false because the text explicitly refutes the idea that cultural fear was the root cause of low ridership. Empirical transit surveys proved that commuters avoided ferries mainly due to a lack of connecting feeder buses from inland neighborhoods.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the primary claim made in the statement.
The statement attributes low initial ferry turnout to commuters' cultural aversion to water travel.
Evaluating a true/false statement requires isolating its core assertion against passage evidence.
2
Examine the passage for evidence regarding the cause of low initial turnout.
The passage notes that while critics blamed 'culturally entrenched fears,' actual transit surveys revealed commuters were discouraged 'primarily by the lack of last-mile feeder buses.'
Inferential comprehension requires distinguishing unverified claims made by critics from empirical findings presented in the text.
3
Deduce the truth value of the statement.
Because the passage refutes the cultural aversion explanation with survey evidence of an infrastructural issue, the statement is false.
A statement that presents a disproved assumption as the primary cause is logically false according to the text.

Key Concept

Differentiating empirical textual findings from unverified character assumptions in inferential reading
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Topics

Inferential Comprehension and Deduction

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