Question

Read the passage from Sugar Changed the World. Since sugar had to pass through many hands before it reached the fairs, it was expensive and hard to get. King Henry III of England, for example, liked sugar. Yet there was little he could do to satisfy his craving. He wrote to one official in 1226 asking if he could possibly obtain three pounds of the precious substance—at a cost of about 450 modern dollars. He later appealed to a mayor, hoping he might be able to get four more pounds of the rare grains. And finally, by 1243, he managed to buy three hundred pounds. The fairs lasted until the 1300s, when Venice came to dominate European trade with the Muslim world. The Venetians greatly expanded the sugar trade, so much so that a hundred years after Henry III's reign, the English were able to buy thousands of pounds of the sweet stuff each year.
Which inference does this passage support?

Before Venice took over, England dominated European trade with the Muslim world.
King Henry III was unable to buy large amounts of sugar because he was a poor negotiator.
As sugar became increasingly available to the English, they wanted to acquire even more of it.
As sugar became more available to the Venetians, the demand for it started to decrease.

Answer 1

Answer:

The inference that this passage supports is "As sugar became increasingly available to the English, they wanted to acquire even more of it."

Explanation:

This excerpt from "Sugar Changed the World" tells the story of how different is the possibility of acquiring sugar nowadays in comparison with the time when King Henry III wanted to get it, he as many other fell in love with the sweet gains and as they became more accessible to the English people the more they bought of it and that tendency continues being a reality to the present days.

Answer 2

Answer:

As sugar became increasingly available to the English, they wanted to acquire even more of it.

Explanation:

This is the only option that can be inferred from the things stated in the excerpt. We can see that King Henry III negotiation skills had nothing to do with the amount of sugar he could get, as it was difficult for everyone to buy it. Sugar was very scarce and therefore very expensive. The passage doesn't describe England as the one that dominated trade with the Muslim World before Venbice did, so we can't infer it. It could be true or not, the text doesn't have the information to know it, we only are informed that when Venice took control, the sugar trade was expanded making the fairs unecessary.

The thing that we know is that the English always bought more and more sugar as it was more available, King Henry III first bought three pounds, then four, later three hundred, one hundred years later the English bought thousands of pounds. Therefore the demand increased.