16Hit1600
Information and IdeasHardInference from two agreeing sources

Information and Ideas practice question

Tree rings from the region show a run of unusually narrow rings — slow growth — through the 1690s. Written records from the same decade describe repeated failed harvests and famine. Taken together, these sources suggest that ____

Which choice most logically completes the text?

  1. A. the 1690s brought conditions harsh enough to affect both wild trees and farmed crops.Correct
  2. B. the trees' slow growth caused the harvests to fail.
  3. C. the written records exaggerated the severity of the famine.
  4. D. tree rings are an unreliable guide to past climate.

Answer: A. the 1690s brought conditions harsh enough to affect both wild trees and farmed crops.

Two independent records point the same way: trees grew slowly and crops failed. A shared cause — harsh conditions — fits both.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. the trees' slow growth caused the harvests to fail.
Trees don't cause crop failures; both are effects.
C. the written records exaggerated the severity of the famine.
The tree rings CONFIRM the records rather than contradicting them.
D. tree rings are an unreliable guide to past climate.
The agreement between rings and records supports the rings' reliability.

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