Question 2 Explanation_Digital SAT Reading and Writing Practice Test 8

Mark for Review

Which choice most logically completes the text?

the number of manufacturing jobs in Mexico increased by a greater amount than the combined decreases in the United States and Canada.

NAFTA made it more difficult for manufacturers to establish factories in the United States and Canada.

the cost of manufacturing goods in the area covered by NAFTA decreased.

complex goods, such as automobiles and electronics, were increasingly manufactured in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Correct Answer: A

Your Answer:

Explanation

This is a Conclusions question as it asks for an answer that logically completes the text. Read the text and highlight the main ideas. The focus of the text is on NAFTA and its relation to manufacturing jobs. During the interval from 1994 to 2020, the second sentence states that the number of manufacturing jobs in the United States and Canada declined, but the total number of manufacturing jobs in the countries covered by NAFTA increased. Therefore, a logical conclusion would explain how this might be possible.

(A) is correct because if an increase in the number of manufacturing jobs in Mexico, which is also covered by NAFTA, was greater than the combined decreases in the United States and Canada, this would explain the seemingly contradictory data in the second sentence.
(B), (C), and (D) are wrong because none of them offers a reason as to how the number of manufacturing jobs in the United States and Canada declined, but the total number of manufacturing jobs in all three countries increased.