Question 65·Medium·Inferences
In the early 1900s, nearly all boats in Harborfield were small, sail-powered vessels that stayed close to shore. Market logs from 1910–1960 list mostly nearshore species. In the 1970s, as diesel engines became affordable and the town added cold-storage facilities (1972), captains began taking longer trips. Within a decade, the market lists a wider variety of species, including deep-water fish not recorded earlier. Interviews from the period report little change in local consumers’ tastes, and biologists noted no major ecological shifts near the shoreline.
Together, these observations most strongly support the inference that ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
For inference questions that ask what the observations "most strongly support," first underline the key changes over time and any explicit statements about what did not change. Then, summarize in your own words what cause-and-effect relationship the passage implies. Finally, test each answer choice against the text: eliminate any choice that is contradicted, that depends on a factor the passage says stayed the same, or that introduces a new idea not supported by the evidence. Choose the option that most directly restates or combines the given facts without adding speculation.
Hints
Locate the key contrast
Focus on how fishing and market records in the early 1900s–1960s differ from those in the 1970s. What new information appears in the 1970s?
Pay attention to cause and effect
What technological developments are mentioned just before the text says the market began listing a wider variety of species, including deep‑water fish?
Use the “did NOT change” details
The passage explicitly says consumer tastes changed little and there were no major nearshore ecological shifts. How does that affect choices that blame demand or ecology?
Test each option against the evidence
For each answer, ask: Is this directly supported, contradicted, or not mentioned by the observations given?
Step-by-step Explanation
Identify what changed over time
From the early 1900s through 1960, Harborfield used small sail-powered boats that stayed near shore, and market logs show mostly nearshore species. In the 1970s, diesel engines became affordable and cold storage was added, and soon after the market lists many more species, including deep-water fish.
Use what the passage says did NOT change
The text says there was little change in local consumers’ tastes and no major ecological shifts near the shoreline. That weakens explanations based on changing demand or nearshore ecological decline.
Connect the change to the most supported cause
Diesel engines allow longer trips (access to deeper waters), and cold storage helps preserve fish from farther away. Those changes directly explain why deep-water species begin appearing in the market records.
Select the choice that matches the supported inference
Therefore, the best completion is: diesel engines and cold storage let fishers travel farther and keep catches fresh, increasing the variety of species sold.