Archeological excavation of Market Street Chinatown, a nineteenth-century Chinese American community in San Jose, California, provided the first evide...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Archeological excavation of Market Street Chinatown, a nineteenth-century Chinese American community in San Jose, California, provided the first evidence that Asian food products were imported to the United States in the 1800s: bones from a freshwater fish species native to Southeast Asia. Jinshanzhuang-Hong Kong-based import/export firms-likely coordinated the fish's transport from Chinese-operated fisheries in Vietnam and Malaysia to North American markets. This route reveals the (often overlooked) multinational dimensions of the trade networks linking Chinese diaspora communities.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
It explains why efforts to determine the country of origin of the items mentioned in the previous sentence remain inconclusive.
It provides information that helps support a claim about a discovery's significance that is presented in the following sentence.
It traces the steps that were taken to locate and recover the objects that are described in the previous sentence.
It outlines a hypothesis that additional evidence discussed in the following sentence casts some doubt on.
I'll solve this step by step, following the comprehensive process outlined.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Archeological excavation of Market Street Chinatown, a nineteenth-century Chinese American community in San Jose, California, provided the first evidence that Asian food products were imported to the United States in the 1800s: bones from a freshwater fish species native to Southeast Asia.' |
|
| 'Jinshanzhuang Hong Kong based import/export firms likely coordinated the fish's transport from Chinese-operated fisheries in Vietnam and Malaysia to North American markets.' |
|
| 'This route reveals the (often overlooked) multinational dimensions of the trade networks linking Chinese diaspora communities.' |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Archaeological evidence reveals that complex multinational trade networks connected Chinese diaspora communities through food imports in the 1800s.
Argument Flow: The passage moves from a specific archaeological discovery to explaining how that discovery happened, then to the broader implications of what this transport route reveals about Chinese diaspora trade networks.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? The function of the underlined sentence within the text as a whole
What type of answer do we need? How the sentence serves the passage's overall purpose and structure
Any limiting keywords? 'underlined sentence' (the second sentence about Jinshanzhuang firms) and 'in the text as a whole'
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The underlined sentence explains HOW the fish bones got from Southeast Asia to California
- It provides the missing link between the archaeological discovery and shows the complex trade mechanism involved
- This explanation directly supports the final sentence's claim about multinational trade networks
- Without understanding the transport route, we couldn't appreciate the significance
- So the right answer should describe how this sentence provides explanatory information that supports the broader significance claim that follows
It explains why efforts to determine the country of origin of the items mentioned in the previous sentence remain inconclusive.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims the sentence explains why determining origin remains inconclusive
- The sentence actually does the opposite it identifies the likely origin and transport route clearly
It provides information that helps support a claim about a discovery's significance that is presented in the following sentence.
✓ Correct
- The sentence provides information (the transport mechanism) that directly supports the following sentence's claim about multinational trade networks
- Without understanding how the fish got there through Hong Kong firms coordinating between Vietnam/Malaysia and North America, we couldn't appreciate the 'multinational dimensions' mentioned next
It traces the steps that were taken to locate and recover the objects that are described in the previous sentence.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims it traces archaeological recovery steps
- The sentence is about transport/trade routes, not excavation methods
It outlines a hypothesis that additional evidence discussed in the following sentence casts some doubt on.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims the hypothesis gets doubted by additional evidence
- The following sentence actually supports and builds on this transport explanation