Which one ???


Regards

Choice B is incorrect: The passage says that lack of advertising revenue made African American newspapers more expensive than the large national dailies, implying that if advertisers had purchased space, the difference in price would have been smaller; but nothing in the passage supports the claim that African American newspapers would have been cheaper than the large national dailies

The passage suggests that if advertisers had more frequently purchased advertising in African American newspapers, then which of the following might have resulted?

African American newspapers would have been available at lower prices than large national dailies were.

In choice B , the data is not given but there is a chance that the reduction in price might result cheaper prices than that of the large national dailies. I can understand that if the question would have asked MUST, then B is incorrect. But this one confuses me.

Help?

I agree with your analysis till the point - "In choice B , the data is not given but there is a chance that the reduction in price might result cheaper prices"
however problem starts when you try to compare with the price of large national dailies.
There is not enough information in the passage to draw this inference/comparison. All we know:
African-American newspapers dont have advertisers - thus price is high compared to large national dailies. which have advertisers

What can we infer:
If advertisers purchase advertising in African-American newspapers - its price would reduce.

What we cannot infer:
Whether this reduced price would be higher, lower or equal to the price of national dailies

I believe above explanations from experts also address this query.

The best advice I do have for a student at any level, beginner or who retake the test one million of time, is always the same: read CAREFULLY and think what you read. Not just a sequence of facts facts facts.

Now, essentially you do have 3 strategies to use to tackle even the most daunting passage:
- simply every sentence and get its meaning
- understand which role plays every sentence in the economy of the paragraph and the entire passage
- spot signal words.

Above 160 level you should use all 3. Below is up to you and your level of standard English and the ability to read complex scenarios and connect the dots.

African American newspapers in the 1930s faced many hardships.

Ok somewhere in time they had difficulties of different genre

For instance, knowing that buyers of African American papers also bought general-circulation papers, advertisers of consumer products often ignored African American publications. Advertisers’ discrimination did free the African American press from advertiser domination.

Who purchased the Afro American paper also purchased the generals' ones. So, those who were interested to the adds on paper went for the general, discriminating the Afro.

here I am employing all 3 strategies: the signal word for instance which is very important, the second one because this second sentence is related to the crisis of the Afro paper of before, and the meaning per se of this second sentence which shows us the gist of the entire passage: no ads, no gain.
However, the afro less ads, no gain BUT more freedom. SUPER IMPORTANT concept


Editors could print politically charged material more readily than could the large national dailies, which depended on advertisers’ ideological approval to secure revenues.

This sentence address what we said before: more freedom. Positive side

Unfortunately, it also made the selling price of Black papers much higher than that of general-circulation dailies.

More freedom but the negative side


Often as much as two-thirds of publication costs had to come from subscribers or subsidies from community politicians and other interest groups.

the reason why the negative side had consequences

And despite their editorial freedom, African American publishers often felt compelled to print a disproportionate amount of sensationalism, sports, and society news to boost circulation.

Turns out, more freedom, no gain so the afro paper had to fill the contents of sport or else to attract readers and push the gains up. Otherwise, close and die.



The passage suggests that if advertisers had more frequently purchased advertising in African American newspapers, then which of the following might have resulted?

African American newspapers would have given more attention to sports and society news than they did.

Not really, the passage says that the afro papers inserted more ads for more gain. This question is the other way around. If any, the papers already gave attention to sport or else as filler.

African American newspapers would have been available at lower prices than large national dailies were.

Price is not mentioned.

African American newspapers would have experienced constraints on their content similar to those experienced by large national dailies

Correct.

In 20 seconds thanks to the reading of the passage and its analysis.

Regards

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