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ASVAB · Inference and Conclusion

Read: 'The ancient city was built on a peninsula, with water on three sides and a massive wall on the fourth. Despite repeated sieges, it held out for nearly a thousand years.' What can be INFERRED about why the city survived so long?

Correct answer

Its geography and defenses combined to make it extremely difficult to conquer — water on three sides eliminated attack from those directions, and the wall concentrated defense on one front

  1. A The city had superior weapons
  2. B Its geography and defenses combined to make it extremely difficult to conquer — water on three sides eliminated attack from those directions, and the wall concentrated defense on one front
  3. C The attackers were always incompetent
  4. D The city was never actually attacked

Why this is the answer

Inference requires drawing a reasonable conclusion from stated evidence. The passage gives two facts: water on three sides AND a massive wall on the fourth. The logical inference: both features contributed to survival — natural water barriers eliminated three attack vectors, leaving only one fortified approach. This is the classic ASVAB inference format: evidence stated → conclusion not stated but clearly implied.
Source: ASVAB PC, Inference

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