With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made: I. The food manufacturing and processing industries in every country should align their objectives and processes in accordance with the changing needs of the societies. II. Wealthier societies tend to incur great loss of calories of food materials due to indirect utilization of their agricultural produce. Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

1. A. I only
2. B. II only
3. C. Both I and II
4. D. Neither I nor II

Answer: B

Explanation

Assumption I is invalid. The passage critiques the trend of increased animal product consumption in wealthier societies due to its inefficiency. It does not suggest that industries should simply accommodate these changing consumption patterns, but rather implies that this trend is problematic. Assumption II is valid. The passage explicitly states that “as societies become wealthier, their consumption of animal products increases,” leading to plant-based food being used for animal feed. It then details the significant calorie loss in this conversion process (e.g., only 16% recovery from chickens), directly supporting the idea of calorie loss due to indirect utilization. This question evaluates the candidate’s ability to identify implicit assumptions based solely on the provided text, a key component of critical reasoning.