Question

Questions 1 to 3 refer to the passage below.

"[Hangzhou, China, has] ten principal markets... [They] are all squares of half a mile to the side, and along their front passes the main street, which is 40 paces in width, and runs straight from end to end of the city, crossing many bridges of easy and commodious [convenient] approach... So also parallel to this great street, but at the back of the market places, there runs a very large canal, on the bank of which towards the squares are built great houses of stone, in which the merchants from India and other foreign parts store their wares, to be handy for the markets. In each of the squares is held a market three days in the week, frequented by 40,000 or 50, 000 persons."

Marco Polo, The Travels of Marco Polo, c. 1300
Based on the passage, which of the statements concerning the trading city of Hangzhou is most accurate? Group of answer choices Foreigners were not welcome in Chinese trading cities, because they were considered barbarians and had nothing of value to trade. Chinese imperial governments limited the number of markets in Hangzhou to just a few centrally-located areas of the city Many of the people coming to trade in cities in China were Europeans traveling along the Silk Road. Hangzhou was a vital trading city because it had foreign merchants and was also accessible by the Grand Canal for internal trade.

Answer 1

Answer:

The statement concerning the trading city of Hangzhou that is most accurate according to the passage is:

D. Hangzhou was a vital trading city because it had foreign merchants and was also accessible by the Grand Canal for internal trade.

Explanation:

According to the passage, foreigners were not only welcome, but also a vital part of the markets in the city of Hangzhou. Therefore, we can easily eliminate letter A.

The passage mentions nothing about the government limiting the number of markets. Quite the opposite, it says there were 10 principal (main) markets, which makes us infer there were also other, smaller ones. Besides that, over 40,000 people frequented those markets. We can also eliminate letter B.

Letter C does not look incorrect. It is a fact that Europeans came to trade in cities in China. However, the passage says nothing about that specifically. Since the question asks us to take the passage into consideration, we should eliminate letter C as well.

We are left with letter D. If over 40,000 people frequented Hangzhou's markets, we can obviously assume it was a vital trading city. The passage makes it clear that foreign merchants could trade in the city, and that there was a canal. As we know, canals are supposed to make access to certain places easier. Therefore, letter D seems to be the best option.