A ten-year comparison between the United States and the Soviet Union in terms of crop yields per acre revealed that when only planted acreage is compared, Soviet yields were equal to 68 percent of United States yields. When total agricultural acreage (planted acreage plus fallow acreage) is compared, however, Soviet yield was 114 percent of United States yield.
From the information above, which of the following can be most reliably inferred about United States and Soviet agriculture during the ten-year period?
A. A higher percentage of total agricultural acreage was fallow in the United States than in the Soviet Union.
B. The United States had more fallow acreage than planted acreage.
C. Fewer total acres of available agricultural land were fallow in the Soviet Union than in the United States.
D. The Soviet Union had more planted acreage than fallow acreage.
E. The Soviet Union produced a greater volume of crops than the United States produced.
答案：A
Explanation
If crop yield per planted acre was less in the Soviet Union than it was in the United States, yet crop yield per total (planted plus fallow) agricultural acreage was greater in the Soviet Union than it was in the United States, the percentage of the total acreage that was left fallow must have been lower in the Soviet Union than in the United States. Therefore, Choice A is the correct answer. Since the information provided in the paragraph
is given in terms of yield per acre, no conclusion can be drawn about actual acreage, so Choices B, C, and D are all incorrect. Similarly, it is impossible to determine the total volume of crops produced in the Soviet Union, so Choice E is incorrect.
