Q3

[SimranT846]

Hi, can someone help me to understand the answer to Question 3 on this passage? When I first read it, I understood the passage as saying that the reason that Great Zimbabwe had such a large population was due to the size of the herd of cattle, because they needed that many people to protect and guide the cattle. I do not understand why the answer is B and also how to get to that answer. Thank you

[smiller]

The relationship between the cattle and the population is central to the passage, and lines 39-41 indicate that a large number of people were required to support the type of cattle farming described ("large-scale coordinated efforts"). Based on that, it's easy to understand your idea about the population being large because they needed that many people to guide and protect the cattle.

However, there's more evidence that this type of cattle farming is what allowed the population to grow as large as it did. Lines 12-19 state that agriculture was the most significant factor in explaining Great Zimbabwe's prosperity. That's really the central theme in the whole passage. The second paragraph explains why cattle farming, not crop cultivation, was the form of agriculture used to support the large population. Lines 34-35 explicitly state that the people relied on the cattle for food.

It definitely seems like a two-way street: cattle farming allowed the population to grow as large as it did, and it seems like a large population would facilitate the "large-scale coordinated efforts" needed to farm the cattle the way they did. But the population's reliance on cattle is the more significant focus in the passage. So, just as the cattle supported the large population and allowed it to exist, irrigation would support a farm in a desert.

[WilliamS670]

The fundamental reason (B) is correct is as follows: just as the cattle economy allowed for a large population under circumstances unfavorable (second sentence of second para) for a large population, irrigation allows for a farm under circumstances, i.e. a desert, where there's no water, unfavorable for a farm.