Question

read the excerpt from chapter 8 of the travels of marco polo. this province produces great quantities of excellent white incense, and also dates in great abundance. no grain is grown here except rice, and not much of that; but it is imported from abroad at a big profit. fish is plentiful, notably tunas of large size, which are so abundant that two of them can be bought for a venetian groat. the staple diet consists of rice, meat, and fish. what is the authors reason for writing this text? to persuade the reader to follow a certain diet to convince the reader to travel to shir to inform the reader about the products and foods that a region offers to entertain the reader with stories about what the author has bought

Explanation:

The text simply states facts about the products (white incense, dates, fish) and foods (rice, meat) of the region. There is no persuasion (like for a diet or travel), nor is it about entertaining with stories of what was bought. It is just presenting information about the region's products and foods.

Answer:

to inform the reader about the products and foods that a region offers