Question

(The following is based on material written in 1996.) The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer... signed in 1987 by more than 150 nations, has attained its short-term goals: it has decreased the rate of increase in amounts of most ozone-depleting chemicals reaching the atmosphere and has even reduced the atmospheric levels of some of them. The projection that the ozone layer will substantially recover from ozone depletion by 2050 is based on the assumption that the protocol's regulations will be strictly followed. Yet there is considerable evidence of violations, particularly in the form of the release of ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are commonly used in the refrigeration, heating. and air-conditioning industries. These violations reflectindustry attitudes; for example, in the United States, 48% of respondents in a recent survey of subscribers to Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration News, an industry trade journal, said that they did not believe that CFCs damage the ozone layer. Moreover, some in the industry apparently do not want to pay for CFC substitutes, which can run five times the cost of CFCs. Consequently, a black market in imported illicit CFCs has grown. Estimates of the contraband CFC trade range from 10,000 to 22,000 tons a year, with most of the CFCs originating in India and China, whose agreements under the protocol still allow them to produce CFCs. In fact, the United States Customs Service reports that CFC-12 is a contraband problem second only to illicit drugs.
...The passage suggests which of the following about the illicit trade in CFCs?

• A. It would cease if manufacturers in India and China stopped producing CFCs.
• B. Most people who participate in such trade do not believe that CFCs deplete the ozone layer.
• C. It will probably surpass illicit drugs as the largest contraband problem faced by the United States Customs Service.
• D. It is fostered by people who do not want to pay the price of CFC substitutes.
• E. It has grown primarily because of the expansion of the refrigeration, heating, and air-conditioning industries in foreign countries.

Hint:

Pay close attention to cause-and-effect keywords like "consequently," "therefore," "because," and "as a result." They often point directly to the reasons behind the events described in the passage.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This Reading Comprehension question asks us to identify a statement about the illicit CFC trade that is supported by the passage. We need to find the option that is either stated directly or strongly implied.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let's analyze the passage for clues about the illicit trade:
The passage states, "...some in the industry apparently do not want to pay for CFC substitutes, which can run five times the cost of CFCs. Consequently, a black market in imported illicit CFCs has grown." The word "consequently" creates a direct causal link between the high price of substitutes and the growth of the black market.
- (A) The passage says most illicit CFCs originate in India and China. While stopping production there would disrupt the supply, the passage doesn't go so far as to suggest the trade would completely "cease." This is a prediction not explicitly made in the text.
- (B) The passage mentions a survey where 48% did not believe CFCs damage the ozone. 48% is a large minority, but it is not "most people."
- (C) The passage says CFC-12 is "second only to illicit drugs," meaning it is currently smaller. It gives no information to suggest it will surpass drugs in the future.
- (D) This is a direct paraphrase of the cause-and-effect relationship established in the passage. The high price of substitutes creates demand for cheaper, illicit CFCs, thus "fostering" the trade.
- (E) The passage attributes the growth of the illicit market to demand for cheap alternatives in places like the U.S., not to industry expansion in foreign countries.
Step 3: Final Answer:
The passage most strongly supports the idea that the black market is driven by the desire to avoid the high cost of legal substitutes. This corresponds to option (D).