Economist Jingting Fan argues that the effects of international trade may display spatial variation at sub-national levels. For instance, imported...

GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions

Source: Practice Test

Craft and Structure

Words in Context

MEDIUM

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Economist Jingting Fan argues that the effects of international trade may display spatial variation at sub-national levels. For instance, imported goods may reduce expenses for a country's average consumer, but for consumers living far from ports, high intranational transport costs could _____ the price advantages associated with imports.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical and precise word or phrase?

nullify

denigrate

underestimate

misconstrue

Solution

Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage

Create Passage Analysis Table

Text from Passage	Analysis
Economist Jingting Fan argues that the effects of international trade may display spatial variation at sub-national levels.	What it says: Fan argues trade effects vary by location within countries What it does: Introduces Fan's argument about geographic variation in trade effects What it is: Expert claim/thesis
For instance, imported goods may reduce expenses for a country's average consumer,	What it says: Imports = lower costs for avg consumer What it does: Provides example supporting the variation argument What it is: Supporting example (positive case)
but for consumers living far from ports, high intranational transport costs could	What it says: BUT consumers far from ports face high transport costs What it does: Contrasts with the previous example, showing negative case What it is: Contrasting example setup
the price advantages associated with imports.	What it says: Price benefits of imports What it does: Completes the thought about what happens to import advantages What it is: Object of the missing word's action

Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements

Main Point: International trade effects vary geographically within countries, with location determining whether consumers benefit from import cost savings.

Argument Flow: Fan presents a thesis about geographic variation in trade effects. He then illustrates this with contrasting examples: while average consumers benefit from lower import costs, consumers far from ports may face transport costs that work against these price advantages.

Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely

This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.

Step 3: Prethink the Answer

The blank needs to describe what high transport costs do to the price advantages of imports
From our analysis, we see a contrast being set up - while imports generally reduce costs, for people far from ports, transport costs work against this benefit
The word should indicate that transport costs eliminate, cancel out, or make ineffective the price advantages

Answer Choices Explained

nullify

✓ Correct

Nullify means to make something ineffective or void
This perfectly captures how high transport costs would eliminate the price advantages of imports

denigrate

✗ Incorrect

Denigrate means to criticize or speak badly of something
Transport costs don't criticize price advantages - they have a practical economic effect

underestimate

✗ Incorrect

Underestimate means to judge something as smaller than it really is
The sentence isn't about misjudging the size of price advantages

misconstrue

✗ Incorrect

Misconstrue means to interpret something wrongly
This is about interpretation/understanding, not economic reality

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