The passage mainly explains

why two people can both gain by specializing and trading, even if one is better at everything (The passage explains comparative advantage: both gain by each doing the job they give up the least to do.)

According to the passage, what should the skilled worker do?

Bake, while her neighbor mends the shoes (Because baking is where her time is worth most, 'he should mend the shoes while she bakes'.)

Why should the slower neighbor mend the shoes?

He gives up very little bread, so mending shoes costs him the least (He 'gives up very little bread by mending shoes', so that job costs him the least to choose.)

In this passage, to 'sacrifice' the least means to

give up the least (Shown by 'an hour she cannot bake', to sacrifice is to give up; the best job is the one you give up the least to do.)

Why Even the Best Should Trade: Level 3 Reading Comprehension Questions

Suppose one worker is better than her neighbor at two jobs, both baking bread and fixing shoes. It seems she should simply do both herself. Yet economics shows that both people can gain if each focuses on one job and they trade. The reason is an idea called comparative advantage.

The key is not who is better, but what each person gives up. Every hour the skilled worker spends fixing shoes is an hour she cannot bake, and baking is where her time is worth the most. Her neighbor, though slower at both, gives up very little bread by mending shoes, since he was never a strong baker. So he should mend the shoes while she bakes, and they exchange.

By each doing the job they sacrifice the least to do, the pair produces more bread and more repaired shoes together than if both split their time. This is why trade can help both sides even when one seems better at everything. The gain comes not from being best, but from spending your hours where giving them up costs you the least.

Comprehension questions