Explanation
Correct answer: C.
Choice C is the best answer because it most logically completes the text’s discussion of the ancient Inca farming method. In this context, “effective” means successful in producing a desired result. The text describes how the Inca used terraces with built-in irrigation systems to grow crops at different altitudes and then indicates that this farming method produced positive results “as evidenced by the great number and variety of crops grown at that time.” The context clearly suggests that the terraced farming approach was highly productive, or effective.
Why the other choices are wrong
Choice A
Choice A is incorrect because to describe the Inca farming method as “chaotic” contradicts the text’s description of a systematic approach using deliberately constructed terraces with built-in irrigation systems. Moreover, the “great number and variety of crops” yielded by this method seems unlikely to result from a disorganized, or chaotic, approach.
Choice B
Choice B is incorrect because “uniform” means consistent or the same throughout. It does not make sense in this context to describe a farming method as highly uniform if it produced a “great number and variety of crops.” Moreover, the text indicates that Inca terrace farming was specifically designed to accommodate different crops at different altitudes, highlighting the diversity rather than uniformity of this approach.
Choice D
Choice D is incorrect because the success of the method, “as evidenced by the great number and variety of crops grown,” does not support the claim that the Inca farming method was “burdensome,” or difficult to implement or maintain. In fact, the context clearly emphasizes the advantages, rather than the burdens, of Inca terrace farming.