Question

read the passage from sugar changed the world. not only were russian farms run on unfree labor, but they used very simple, old - fashioned methods of farming. like the english back in the time of henry iii, all russians aside from the very wealthy still lived in the age of honey—sugar was a luxury taken out only when special guests came to visit. indeed, as late as 1894, when the average english person was eating close to ninety pounds of sugar a year, the average russian used just eight pounds. what inference does the passage best support? ○ most russians in the 1890s were not wealthy. ○ most english citizens were very wealthy. ○ russians did not run their farms well. ○ english people were fonder of sweets.

Explanation:

To determine the best inference, analyze each option:

• Option "Most Russians in the 1890s were not wealthy": The passage states that aside from the very wealthy, Russians lived in the Age of Honey (where sugar was a luxury), and the average Russian used only 8 pounds of sugar in 1894 while the average English person used 90 pounds. This suggests most Russians weren't wealthy enough to consume much sugar.
• Option "Most English citizens were very wealthy": The passage only compares sugar consumption, not overall wealth of most English citizens, so this is not supported.
• Option "Russians did not run their farms well": The passage mentions old - fashioned farming methods but doesn't say they ran farms poorly; it focuses on labor and sugar consumption.
• Option "English people were fonder of sweets": The passage shows higher sugar consumption by English, but this could be due to availability/wealth, not just fondness. So the first option is best supported.

Answer:

A. Most Russians in the 1890s were not wealthy.