Abandoning Hunting and Gathering

1. According to paragraph 1, which of the following Paragraph 1

can be inferred about the transition from hunting
and gathering to agriculture? For much of human history, people survived by
A. The transition only took place in a few locations hunting and gathering, but in the Neolithic periods,
around the world. starting around 10,000 B.C.E., this was gradually
B. Historians are not sure why this transition given up in favor of growing grains and other plants
occurred. or domesticating animals (pastoralism). Why did
C. The transition began long before the Neolithic early societies in so many parts of the world
period. gradually abandon a way of life based on food
D. People in the Middle East began this transition gathering? Some theories assume that people were
long after other groups. drawn to food production by its obvious advantages.
For example, it has recently been suggested that
people settled in what is now the Middle East so
they could grow enough grains to ensure
themselves a ready supply of beer. Beer drinking is
frequently depicted in ancient Middle eastern art
and can be dated to as early as 3500 B.C.E..

Paragraph 2

2. According to paragraph 2, all of the following However, most researchers today believe that
likely occurred between 6000 and 2000 B.C.E. climate change drove people to abandon hunting
EXCEPT: and gathering in favor of pastoralism and
A. In most areas, grasslands were replaced by agriculture. So great was the global warming that
forests. ended the great Ice Age that geologists give the
B. Dry spells caused food shortages in the Middle next era which began around 9000 B.C.E. a new
East. name: the Holocene. Scientists have also found
C. The great Ice Age ended, beginning the evidence that temperate lands were exceptionally
Holocene. warm between 6000 and 2000 B.C.E., the era when
D. People in many places started growing food. people in so many parts of the world adopted
agriculture. The precise nature of the crisis
probably varied. In the middle East taking up food
production may have been a response to shortage of
wild food caused by a dry spell or population
growth. Elsewhere, a warmer, wetter climate could
have promoted rapid forest growth in former
grasslands, reducing the supplies of game and wild
grains.
3. The word “retention” in the passage is closest in Paragraph 3
meaning to
A. modification Additional support for an ecological explanation
B. restoration comes from the fact that in many drier parts of the
C. preservation world, where wild food remained abundant,
D. abandonment agriculture was not adopted. The inhabitants of
Australia continued to rely exclusively on foraging
4. In paragraph 3, why does the author discuss until recent centuries, as did some peoples in all the
particular societies in Australia, North Africa, and other continents. Many Amerindians in the arid
Eurasia? grasslands from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico
A. To support the idea that there were many early hunted bison, while in the Pacific Northwest others
societies that depended on food supplies that were took up salmon fishing. Abundant supplies of fish,
more reliable than agriculture. shellfish, and aquatic animals permitted food
B. To compare the lifestyles of various gatherers east of the Mississippi River in North
hunting-gathering communities throughout the America to become increasingly sedentary. In the
world. equations favored retention of the older ways. The
C. To provide information on various types of wild reindeer-based societies of northern Eurasia were
food sources available to hunter-gather societies. also unaffected by the spread of farming.
D. To emphasize the point that it was the changing
climate that encouraged the transition of some early
societies to agriculture.

Paragraph 4

5. According to paragraph 4, approximately how Whatever the causes, the effects of the gradual
many people were alive before the last glacial adoption of food production in most parts of the
epoch ended? world were momentous. A hundred thousand years
A. Between 13,000 and 32,000 ago, there were fewer than 2 million people, and
B. Fewer than 2 million their range was largely confined to the temperate
C. 10 million and tropical regions of Africa and Eurasia. During
D. 50 million the last glacial epoch, between 32,000 and 13,000
years ago, human populations may have fallen even
6. Paragraph 4 strongly suggests that the population lower. Then, as the glaciers retreated, people moved
boom between 5000 and 1000 B.C.E. was a result into new land and adopted agriculture. Their
of numbers gradually rose to 10 million by 5000
A. social and cultural changes B.C.E. and mushroomed to between 50 million and
B. the movement of glaciers into different regions 100 million by 1000 B.C.E.. This increase brought
C. human migration out of temperate and tropical important changes to social and cultural life.
regions
D. the adoption of agriculture
7. Which of the sentences below best expresses the Paragraph 5
essential information in the highlighted
sentence in the passage? Incorrect choices change The evidence that an ecological crisis may have
the meaning in important ways or leave out driven people to food production has led
essential information. researchers to reexamine the assumption that people
A. Permanent settlements contained many sources in agricultural societies were better off than
of disease, such as livestock, insects and other pests, foragers. Modern studies demonstrate that food
and contaminated water. producers have to work much harder and for much
B. In addition to disease, permanent settlements longer periods needed to put in long
create a number of other problems, including days of arduous labor clearing and cultivating the
vermin and insect infestations. land. Pastoralists had to guard their herds from wild
C. Water contaminated by human waste encouraged predators, guide them to fresh pastures, and tend to
insects and other pests, and often made both people their many needs. There is also evidence that even
and livestock sick. though the food supply of early farmers was more
D. Vermin and insects often migrated from pig and secure than that of food-gathering peoples and
cattle to infest the bodies and homes of people in pastoralists, the farmers’ diet was less varied and
permanent settlements. nutritious. Skeletal remains show that on average
Neolithic farmers were shorter than earlier
8. According to paragraph 5, how did the lives of food-gathering peoples and more likely to die at an
early food producers compare with the lives of food earlier age from contagious diseases. People in
gatherers? permanent settlements were more exposed to
A. Food producers consumed less food diseases from water contaminated by human waste,
B. Food producers were more likely to die at an to disease-bearing vermin and insects that infested
early age. their bodies and homes, and to new diseases that
C. Food producers expended less effort overall to migrated from their domesticated animals
acquire food. (especially pigs and cattle).
D. Food producers had a healthier, more complete
diet.
9. Look at the four squares ▇ that indicate where Paragraph 2
the following sentence could be added to the
passage. However, most researchers today believe that
climate change drove people to abandon hunting
For example, warmer temperatures could cause and gathering in favor of pastoralism and
decreased rainfall in some areas and increased agriculture. So great was the global warming that
rainfall in other areas, with negative effects in ended the great Ice Age that geologists give the
both cases. next era which began around 9000 B.C.E. a new
name: the Holocene. ▇ Scientists have also found
Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a evidence that temperate lands were exceptionally
square ▇ to add the sentence to the passage. warm between 6000 and 2000 B.C.E., the era when
people in so many parts of the world adopted
agriculture. ▇ The precise nature of the crisis
probably varied. ▇ In the middle East taking up
food production may have been a response to
shortage of wild food caused by a dry spell or
population growth. ▇ Elsewhere, a warmer, wetter
climate could have promoted rapid forest growth in
former grasslands, reducing the supplies of game
and wild grains.
10. Directions : An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete
the summary by selecting the 3 answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some
sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or
are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points. Drag your choices to the spaces where they
belong to review the passage, click on View Text.

Answer Choices

A. Agriculture and pastoralism began in the Middle East and gradually spread to other continents.

B. Although food production has many obvious advantages, most researchers today believe that humans
were forced into adopting this lifestyle because of climate change.

C. Food production created a reliable food supply and resulted in growing populations, but it may have also
caused people to work harder for a less varied and nutritious diet.

D. Recent evidence suggests that grain cultivation began first, and as populations increased, societies later
adopted pastoralism.

E. During a period of global warming, people in wet areas may have taken up agriculture because they lost
grasslands, while people in many drier parts of the world continued gathering food.

F. On average, early pastoralists were taller than hunters and gatherers but more likely to die at an earlier
age from disease, suggesting that both lifestyles had their drawbacks.
 Examining the Problem of Bycatch

1. The phrase “relevance to” in the passage is Paragraph 1

closest in meaning to
A. significance to A topic of increasing relevance to the conservation
B. debate about of marine life is bycatch—fish and other animals
C. difficulty in that are unintentionally caught in the process of
D. threat to fishing for a targeted population of fish. Bycatch is
a common occurrence in longline fishing, which
2. Why does the author provide the information that utilizes a long heavy fishing line with baited hooks
“Available data indicate that discarded biomass placed at intervals, and in trawling, which utilizes a
(organic matter from living things) amounts to fishing net (trawl) that is dragged along the ocean
25-30 percent of o 伍 cial catch, or about 30 million floor or through the mid-ocean waters. Few
metric tons”? fisheries employ gear that can catch one species to
A. To disprove the claim that it is difficult to the exclusion of all others. Dolphins, whales,
accurately estimate the extent of the bycatch and turtles are frequently captured in nets set for
problem tunas and billfishes, and seabirds and turtles are
B. To illustrate the extreme effectiveness of the caught in longline sets. Because bycatch often goes
longline and trawling methods unreported, it is diffcult to accurately estimate its
C. To suggest that uncertainty about the true extent extent. Available data indicate that discarded
of bycatch does not leave in doubt that it is a biomass (organic matter from living things)
problem amounts to 25-30 percent of offcial catch, or about
D. To indicate that data about bycatch are available 30 million metric tons.
only from fisheries having the right kind of gear

Paragraph 2

3. The word “acute” in the passage is closest in The bycatch problem is particularly acute when
meaning to trawl nets with small mesh sizes
A. common (smaller-than-average holes in the net material) are
B. severe dragged along the bottom of the ocean in pursuit of
C. complicated ground-fish or shrimp. Because of the
D. noticeable small mesh size of the shrimp trawl nets, most of
the fishes captured are either juveniles (young),
4. According to paragraph 2, why have larger mesh smaller than legal size limits, or undesirable small
sizes not provided a practical solution to bycatch in species. Even larger mesh sizes do not prevent
shrimp fishing? bycatch because once the net begins to fill with fish
A. Larger openings increase the risk that nets will or shrimp, small individuals caught subsequently
get tangled or damaged as they are being hauled are trapped without ever encountering the mesh. In
over the sides of the vessel. any case, these incidental captures are unmarketable
B. Openings large enough to prevent the capture of and are usually shoveled back over the side of the
juvenile and other undesirable fish would also vessel dead or dying.
release the shrimp.
C. Large mesh sizes are more likely to result in fish
getting stuck partway through, causing more deaths
within the catch.
D. When nets grow full, they still trap fish that
cannot reach the mesh openings.
 Paragraph 3

The bycatch problem is complicated economically

and ecologically. Bycatch is a liability to shrimp
fishers, clogging the nets and increasing fuel costs
because of increased drag (resistance) on the vessel.
Sorting the catch requires time, leading to spoilage
of harvested shrimp and reduced time for fishing.
Ecologically, high mortality rates among juvenile
fishes could contribute to population declines of
recreational and commercial species. Evidence to
this effect exists for Gulf of Mexico red snapper
and Atlantic Coast weakfish. Because the
near-shore areas where shrimp concentrate are also
important nursery grounds for many fish species,
shrimp trawling could have a profound impact on
stock size.

Paragraph 4

5. According to paragraph 4, how does bycatch Once the dead or dying bycatch is returned to the
sometimes benefit sport fish, seabird, crab, and even ecosystem, it is consumed by predators, detritivores
shrimp populations? (organisms that eat dead plant and animal matter),
A. The discarded fish provide these species with a and decomposers (organisms that break down
significant amount of food that would otherwise be dead or decaying organic matter), which could have
unavailable to them. a positive effect on sport fish, seabird, crab, and
B. Fishing eliminates up to 40 to 60 percent of the even shrimp populations. Available evidence
predators of these species, most of which are caught indicates that 40-60 percent of the 30 metric tons of
unintentionally. catch discarded annually by commercial fishing
C. These fish and other animals may be caught vessels, and even more of the non-catch waste
unintentionally in overcrowded locations and then (organisms killed but never brought to the surface),
released into more favorable environments. does not lie unused on the bottom of the sea. It
D. Many of the competitors of these species are becomes available to midwater and ocean-bottom
eliminated by fishing, leaving them with access to scavengers, transferring material into their food
more food and other resources. web and making energy available to foragers
(organisms that search for food) that is normally
tied up in ocean- bottom, deep-ocean, midwater,
and open-ocean species.
6. Which of the sentences below best expresses the Paragraph 5
essential information in the highlighted sentence in
the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning Overfishing and over-discarding may thus
in important ways or leave out essential contribute to a syndrome known as "fishing down
information. of food webs," whereby we eliminate apex (top)
A. Overfishing and over-discarding of jellyfish, predators and large species while transforming the
ocean-bottom invertebrates, plankton, and ocean into a simplified system increasingly
planktivores are transforming the ocean in a process dominated by microbes, jellyfish, ocean-bottom
known as fishing down of food webs. invertebrates, plankton, and planktivores. The
B. Over-discarding bycatch simplifies the food web strongest evidence for the fishing down
by favoring the kinds of predators that feed on such phenomenon exists in global catch statistics that
prey as jellyfish, ocean-bottom invertebrates, and show alarming shifts in species composition from
planktivores. high-value, near-bottom species to lower-value,
C. Fishing down of food webs may occur if open-ocean species. In the last three decades of the
overfishing and bycatch disposal result in the twentieth century, the global fishing fleet doubled in
disappearance of species at the top of the food web size and technology advanced immeasurably.
and the dominance of species near the bottom. Despite increased effort and technology, total catch
D. Overfishing and over-discarding is a syndrome stabilized, but landing rates (rates at which species
that affects not only top predators and large species are caught) of the most valuable species fell by 25
but also microbes, jellyfish, ocean-bottom percent.
invertebrates, plankton, and planktivores.

7. What does paragraph 5 suggest is the reason why

landing rates of the most valuable species fell 25
percent in the last three decades of the twentieth
century?
A. Changes in technology led many fishers to shift
from a focus on near-bottom species to lower-value
open-ocean species.
B. Around the world, the number of people and
ships involved in the fishing trade declined because
of changes in the demand for fish.
C. The total amount of fish in the ocean decreased Paragraph 6
significantly, leading to a steady decrease in global
total catch. Conservation organizations have condemned the
D. The most valuable species make up a much obvious and extreme waste associated with bycatch.
smaller percentage of the total sea population than Public concern over high mortality rates of
they used to. endangered marine turtles captured in shrimp trawls
led to the development of turtle exclusion devices
8. According to paragraph 6, which of the following (TEDs) in the 1980s. TEDs were incorporated into
led to the development of TEDs? the shrimp net design with the purpose of directing
A. The desire of fishers to increase their shrimp turtles out of nets without unacceptably reducing
catch by decreasing turtle bycatch shrimp catches. Marine engineers and fishers also
B. The need to capture endangered turtles to developed shrimp net designs that incorporate
relocate them bycatch reduction devices (BRDs), taking
C. A request by fishers to develop ways to preserve advantage of behavioral differences between shrimp
their nets from turtle damage and fish, or between different fishes, in order to
D. Public concern over endangered turtles in separate fishes.
bycatch
9. Look at the four squares ▇ that indicate where Paragraph 6
the following sentence could be added to the
passage. Conservation organizations have condemned the
obvious and extreme waste associated with bycatch.
Turtles were not the only marine species to ▇ Public concern over high mortality rates of
benefit from new catch techniques. endangered marine turtles captured in shrimp trawls
led to the development of turtle exclusion devices
Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a (TEDs) in the 1980s. ▇ TEDs were incorporated
square ▇ to add the sentence to the passage. into the shrimp net design with the purpose of
directing turtles out of nets without unacceptably
reducing shrimp catches. ▇ Marine engineers and
fishers also developed shrimp net designs that
incorporate bycatch reduction devices (BRDs),
taking advantage of behavioral differences between
shrimp and fish, or between different fishes, in
order to separate fishes. ▇
10. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below.
Complete the summary by selecting the 3 answer choices that express the most important ideas in the
passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not
presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.

Many fish and other animals are unintentionally caught during commercial fishing, a problem known
as bycatch.

Answer Choices

A. Bycatch occurs in both longline fishing and trawling and affects a range of species, although marine
engineers have developed net devices that have lessened the problem for some species.

B. Trawling with small mesh nets for shrimp results in large amounts of bycatch, especially of small,
young, or unwanted species of fish, causing a range of problems for shrimp fishers and the ecosystem.

C. When bycatch is disposed of in the ocean, the extra food is eaten by predators, detrivores, and
decomposers but may ultimately cause the most valuable species to decline.

D. Female fish are especially likely to become bycatch when they are near the ocean bottom spawning their
eggs, which decreases the populations of commercially desirable fish such as salmon and tuna.

E. Efforts are being made to come up with productive uses for bycatch, such as providing food for fish farms
or being used in agricultural products such as animal feed and fertilizers.

F. Much of the equipment designed to prevent bycatch has so far proven to be largely ineffective, with TEDs
failing to significantly reduce the number of sea turtles captured in fishing nets.
 Grains, Cities, States, and Armies

1. Why does the author point out that “Roots could Paragraph 1
often be harvested year-round or left in the ground
without rotting, and grains could be stored in Ancient human societies developed cuisines (styles
granaries”? of prepared food) that were based on specific
A. To explain why grain was harvested faster and in grains or roots. Roots and grains have many
larger quantities than roots advantages over other food sources. They are rich
B. To indicate that early human societies harvested in calories and nutrients because they provide
as much wild-growing food as possible sustenance for the next generation of plants. They
C. To suggest that roots were superior to grains in often grow abundantly in the wild. They also can be
certain ways easily harvested, as American botanist Jack Harlan
D. To support the claim that roots and grains have demonstrated in the 1970s by harvesting two
advantages in comparison to other foods kilograms of wheat in just an hour with a sickle
(simple harvesting tool). Roots could often be
harvested year-round or left in the ground without
rotting, and grains could be stored in granaries
(storage buildings) to provide food in the difficult
seasons of cold, drought, or heavy rain, depending
on the region.

Paragraph 2

2. The word “substantial” in the passage is closest Few other candidates for plant food measured up.
in meaning to Although some fruits, particularly bananas and
A. necessary breadfruit, also provided substantial calories, most
B. adequate were small, sour or bitter, seasonal, and hard to
C. considerable stockpile. Nuts, such as acorns, chestnuts, pine nuts,
D. valuable coconuts, and hazelnuts, are rich in calories but
many are so oily that they upset the stomach when
3. Why does the author mention that “Leaves and eaten in large quantities. Because nut-bearing trees
shoots, low in calories, often bitter, and difficult to often take years to fruit, migrants who needed to
store, were used mainly as medicines”? reproduce cuisines quickly in a new place would
A. To emphasize the importance of medicinal have been more likely to move roots and grains.
plants in ancient societies Leaves and shoots, low in calories, often bitter, and
B. To support the idea that few plants could difficult to store, were used mainly as medicines.
compare to roots and grains as staples Most societies, therefore, came to depend on two or
C. To compare the uses of low-calorie plants with three favorite roots or grains as their staples—that
those of calorie-rich plants such as nuts is as the food resources they depended on to
D. To explain why ancient people grew leaves and provide most of their calories. Other foodstuffs,
shoots despite the difficulties involved such as meat, fruits, and vegetables, provided flavor
variety and nutritional balance. The staples that
humans had picked out centuries before 1000 B.C.E.
still provide most of the world’s human food
calories. Only sugarcane, in the form of sugar, was
to join them as a major food source.
4. Which of the sentences below best expresses the Paragraph 3
essential information in the highlighted sentence in
the passage? Incorrect choices change the meaning Only cuisines consisting of grain were able to
in important ways or leave out essential support cities in 1000 B.C.E., a generalization that
information. would hold true until the end of the nineteenth
A. The difference in weight between moist roots century CE. This phenomenon has to do with the
and lighter dry grains was very important when difficulty of provisioning large conglomerations of
everything had to be carried by people or animals, people, notably the cities and the armies, which in
pulled in carts, or transported by sea. the ancient world often rivaled cities in size. To
B. Because of their water content, roots and grains sustain an individual on a staple diet of roots
had to be transported slowly, either by land or by required consuming large a weight daily, up to
sea. sixteen pounds, one estimate suggests, though it
C. Transporting roots and grains was a slow process, seems improbably high. Whatever the exact figure,
given the limitations of human, animal, and sea- grains had a much better nutrient-to-weight ratio:
based means of carrying heavy goods. only about two pounds of grain, on average, were
D. A crucial difference between grains and roots is needed to provide 2.500 to 3,000 calories per
the fact that grains are dry while roots are moist, person per day. When everything had to be carried
and this causes roots to be heavier and more on the backs of men or animals, in lumbering
difficult to carry than relatively light grains. oxcarts with a maximum speed of three miles an
hour, or by sea, this difference between moist,
5. According to paragraph 3, which TWO of the heavy roots (as much as 80 percent water) and dry,
following reasons explain why cuisines that relatively light grains (10 percent water) was crucial.
supported cities in 100 B.C.E. were based on grains Grains, too, keeping at least a year and often longer,
rather than roots? To receive credit, you must select unlike wet roots, which began to rot once out of the
TWO answers ground. Not until the cheap, fast steamships and
A. Grains could be eaten in smaller amounts than railroad transport of the nineteenth century could
roots and still provide enough nutrients. roots compete with grains as provisions for cities.
B. Keeping enough roots to feed each person
sixteen pounds per day required too much storage
space
C. The supply of roots was often set aside to
provision the large armies of the ancient world
D. Grains could be eaten long after they were
harvested while roots could not.
6. According to paragraph 4, supplying enough Paragraph 4
grain to feed cities and armies was difficult for
which of the following reasons? That is not to say feeding cities or armies even with
A. Animals used to transport grain often ate large grains was easy. A packhorse could carry 200 to
portions of the grain they carried along the way 250 pounds of grain enough for ten people for ten
B. Packhorses were rarely able to carry heavy loads days. The problem was that a horse ate ten pounds
of grain on journeys lasting more than ten days of grain (and ten of grass) every day, so unless
C. Horses needed to eat more grass each day than grain could be obtained along the route, it
could be found along many transportation routes. consumed rations equivalent to those of five men
D. Cities and armies were often located far from the every day, and within three weeks had eaten its
places most favorable for growing grain entire load. Water transport was more efficient. A
merchant ship in the ancient Mediterranean Sea
7. According to paragraph 4, all of the following are could carry as much as 400 tons. It cost no more to
true of grain transportation in the ancient ship grain from one end of the Mediterranean to the
Mediterranean region EXCEPT: other than to cart it 75 miles overland. Hence grains
A. Shipping grain in the Mediterranean Sea was were rarely moved more than about 5 miles by land,
worth the cost only when loads were heavier than since land transport cost 7 times as much as river
400 tons transport and 25 to 30 times as much as going by
B. Moving grain 75 miles on land cost the same as sea. Cities, not surprisingly, were usually located
or more than shipping it across the entire on navigable rivers or good harbors (places where
Mediterranean Sea ships could safely stop).
C. Grains were typically carried overland only if
they were being moved 5 or fewer miles
D. Shipping grains by sea was much less expensive
than transporting them by river

8. Paragraph 4 suggests that many cities were

located on rivers or harbors for which of the
following reasons?
A. Many cities needed access to grain growth at the
other end of the Mediterranean Sea.
B. The grain grown by people living in cities
required a reliable water source
C. The cost of transporting food supplies on land
was often too expensive
D. People living in cities lacked enough horses to
transport their food supplies overland.
9. Look at the four squares ▇ that indicate where Paragraph 2
the following sentence could be added to the
passage. Few other candidates for plant food measured up.
Although some fruits, particularly bananas and
Because these were fast-growing crops they breadfruit, also provided substantial calories, most
could provide valuable sources of nutrition soon were small, sour or bitter, seasonal, and hard to
after planting. stockpile. Nuts, such as acorns, chestnuts, pine nuts,
coconuts, and hazelnuts, are rich in calories but
Where would the sentence best fit? Click on a many are so oily that the upset the stomach when
square ▇ to add the sentence to the passage. eaten in large quantities. ▇ Because nut-bearing
trees often take years to fruit, migrants who needed
to reproduce cuisines quickly in a new place would
have been more likely to move roots and grains. ▇
Leaves and shoots, low in calories, often bitter, and
difficult to store were used mainly as medicines. ▇
Most societies, therefore, came to depend on two or
three favorite roots or grains as their staples-that is
as the food resources they depended on to provide
most of their calories. Other foodstuffs, such as
meat, fruits, and vegetables, provided flavor variety
and nutritional balance. ▇ The staples that humans
had picked out centuries before 1000 B.C.E. still
provide most of the world’s human food calories.
Only sugarcane, in the form of sugar, was to join
them as a major food source.
10. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below.
Complete the summary by selecting the 3 answer choices that express the most important ideas in the
passage Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not
presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points. Drag your
choices to the spaces where they belong. To review the passage, die1 on View Text.

Ancient human societies often based their cuisines on certain roots or grains.

Answer Choices
A. Many of the staples that humans selected before 1000 B.C.E. were small and difficult to store, so
ancient people eventually began to rely on roots and grains, which were more nutritious and easier to store.

B. All cities depended on grain-based food from 1000 B.C.E. until the end of the nineteenth century C.E.,
when faster, less expensive transportation modes brought greater variety to urban cuisines.

C. In the ancient world, the supply of roots was needed to feed large armies, whose diets were insufficiently
nutritious, and thus made roots unavailable in cities.

D. Roots and grains were not the only nutritious, calorie-rich plant foods, but they were plentiful, easy to
harvest, and often relatively easy to make available as a food source throughout the year.

E. Ancient people often relied on oxcarts or packhorses to transport enough grain to feed large populations,
and oxen and horses frequently carried large loads of grain for many miles.

F. Feeding cities posed challenges for ancient people, who relied on themselves or animals to carry supplies
on land, and ships provided a means of transporting large amounts of grain over long distances.