Economist: Paying extra for fair-trade coffee-coffee labeled with the Fairtrade logo-is intended to help poor farmers, because they receive a higher price for the fair-trade coffee they grow. But this practice may hurt more farmers in developing nations than it helps. By raising average prices for coffee, it encourages more coffee to be produced than consumers want to buy. This lowers prices for non-fair-trade coffee and thus lowers profits for non-fair-trade coffee farmers.

To evaluate the strength of the economist's argument, it would be most helpful to know which of the following?

A:Whether there is a way of alleviating the impact of the increased average prices for coffee on non-fair-trade coffee farmers` profits

B:What proportion of coffee farmers in developing nations produce fair-trade coffee

C:Whether many coffee farmers in developing nations also derive income from other kinds of farming

D:Whether consumers should pay extra for fair-trade coffee if doing so lowers profits for non-fair-trade coffee farmers

E:How fair-trade coffee farmers in developing nations could be helped without lowering profits for non-fair-trade coffee farmers

参考答案及共享解析

共享解析来源为网络权威资源、GMAT高分考生等；如有疑问，欢迎在评论区提问与讨论

正确答案： B:What proportion of coffee farmers in developing nations produce fair-trade coffee

B:知道发展中国家fair trade的农民的比例。文章结构大概是：lowers profits for non-fair-trade coffee farmers因为pay extra这个行为带来了hurt more farmers in developing nations than it helps. 也就是，不公平交易的农民的损失因为payextra的行为带来了伤害发展中国的农民而不是帮助。也就是pay extra的这个行为在fair trade中就是帮助，在unfair trade中，就是伤害。B告诉你了发展中国家在fair trade农民的比例。比例高了，带来的就是帮助：比例低了，带来了就是伤害。