Question

Statement: The average life expectancy for the Indian population as a whole is 75 years, but children born in Bihar will live an average of 77 years, and those born in Uttar Pradesh, 72 years. If a couple from UP were to begin their family in Bihar, therefore, their children would be expected to live longer than would be the case if the family remained in UP.
Which of the following statements, if true, would most significantly strengthen the conclusion drawn in the passage?

Q: Answer-Statement: The average life expectancy for the Indian population as a whole is 75 years, but childre...

b is the right answer. The greater prevalence of environmental factors that positively affect longevity is responsible to some extent for the higher life expectancy in Bihar. Therefore, B is the best answer.If life expectancy in Bihar is going to fall, as A says, the argument is weakened rather than strengthened.C merely provides data which is irrelevant to the argument.D is irrelevant because the information it mentions about rates would already have been accounted for in the data provided in the passage.