Education is a key area of focus. Although the world is making progress in…
2025
Education is a key area of focus. Although the world is making progress in achieving gender parity in education, girls still make up a higher percentage of out-of-school children than boys. Approximately one quarter of girls in the developing world do not attend school. Typically, families with limited means who cannot afford costs such as school fees, uniforms, and supplies for all of their children will prioritize education for their sons. Families may also rely on girls’ labor for household chores, carrying water, and childcare, leaving limited time for schooling. But prioritizing girls’ education provides perhaps the single highest return on investment in the developing world. An educated girl is more likely to postpone marriage, raise a smaller family, have healthier children, and send her own children to school.
She has more opportunities to earn an income and to participate in political processes, and she is less likely to become infected with HIV.
When is a girl less likely to become infected with HIV?
Answer: D. When she is educated — ConceptIn literal reading comprehension, an answer must be based on an explicit statement in the passage rather than on outside assumptions. The reliable…
- A.
When she is left uneducated
- B.
When she is overburdened with responsibilities
- C.
When she is left all alone
- D.
When she is educated
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept
In literal reading comprehension, an answer must be based on an explicit statement in the passage rather than on outside assumptions.
The reliable method is to identify the key phrase in the question, locate its matching statement, and preserve the condition attached to that statement.
Application
The question asks for the condition under which a girl is less likely to become infected with HIV. In the passage’s final sentence, the pronoun “she” refers to “an educated girl” introduced in the preceding sentences. Therefore, the condition attached to the reduced likelihood is being educated.
Contrast
Being left uneducated describes the absence of the condition stated in the passage.
Being overburdened with responsibilities is discussed as a reason girls have limited time for schooling, not as the condition attached to the HIV statement.
Being left alone is not part of the passage’s stated explanation.
Being educated is the condition governing the benefits listed in the closing sentences.
Cross-check
Substituting the passage’s subject into the last sentence gives: an educated girl is less likely to become infected with HIV. This matches the wording and grammar of the source sentence.
Result
A girl is less likely to become infected with HIV when she is educated.