58. Some people say that the scarcity of food is a function of the finite limits of the earth’s resources, coupled with a relentless rate of population growth. This analysis fails to recognize, however, that much of the world’s agricultural resources are used to feed livestock instead of people. In the United States, for example, almost one-half of the agricultural acreage is devoted to crops fed to livestock. A steer reduces twenty-one pounds of inexpensive grain to one pound of expensive meat. Thus, the scarcity of food is not merely a function of limited resources and population growth.
Which one of the following is an assumption that would allow the conclusion in the argument to be properly drawn?
(A) People prefer eating meat to eating grain.
(B) Meat is twenty-one times more expensive than grain.
(C) The limits of the earth’s agricultural resources are not finite.
(D) More than one-half of the agricultural acreage in the United States is devoted to drops fed to humans.
(E) Growing crops for human consumption on the acreage currently devoted to crops for livestock will yield more food for more people.
答案e，怎么理解，我觉得是growing crops会给更多人提供食物，后面的都是修饰部分。也就是说喂养livestock也占用资源。
答案解释的意思好像是说把crops 变成meat能养更多人，will前面整个做主语作者: nancyyue1219 时间: 2012-7-19 06:59
Conclusion: the scarcity of food is not merely a function of limited resources and population growth.
牲畜消耗了21pounds的食物产生了1pounds的肉--》结论是食物的缺少不仅仅是因为土地有限和人口的增加。
Negate E : Growing crops for human consumption on the acreage currently devoted to crops for livestock will NOT yield more food for more people.把原来给牲畜吃的东西给人吃的话（去掉了牲畜的影响），也不能产生更多的食物--》食物对于人口的增加还是缺乏的（否定了一个可能的因素，结果还是不变的话 weaken）
