Reading Passage Question
From Romania to Germany, from Tallinn to Belgrade, a major historical process—the death of communism—is taking place. The German Democratic Republic no longer exists as a separate state. And the former German Democratic Republic will serve as the first measure of the price a post-Communist society has to pay for entering the normal European orbit. In Yugoslavia we will see whether the federation can survive without communism. One thing seems common to all these countries: dictatorship has been defeated and freedom has won, yet the victory of freedom has not yet meant the triumph of democracy.
Democracy is something more than freedom. Democracy is freedom institutionalized, freedom submitted to the limits of the law, freedom functioning as an object of compromise between the major political forces on the scene. We have freedom, but we still have not achieved the democratic order. That is why this freedom is so fragile. In the years of democratic opposition to communism, we supposed that the easiest thing would be to introduce changes in the economy. In fact, we thought that the march from a planned economy to a market economy would take place within the framework of the bureaucratic system, and that the market within the Communist state would explode the totalitarian structures. Only then would the time come to build the institutions of a civil society; and only at the end, with the completion of the market economy and the civil society, would the time of great political transformations finally arrive.
The opposite happened. First came the big political change, the great shock, which either broke the monopoly and the principle of Communist Party rule or simply pushed the Communists out of power. Then came the creation of civil society, whose institutions were created in great pain, and which had trouble negotiating the empty space of freedom. Only then, as the third moment of change, the final task was undertaken: that of transforming the totalitarian economy into a normal economy where different forms of ownership and different economic actors will live one next to the other.
Today we are in a typical moment of transition. No one can say where we are headed. The people of the democratic opposition have the feeling that we won. We taste the sweetness of our victory the same way the Communists, only yesterday our prison guards, taste the bitterness of their defeat. Yet, even as we are conscious of our victory, we feel that we are, in a strange way, losing. In Bulgaria the Communists have won the parliamentary elections and will govern the country, without losing their social legitimacy. In Romania the National Salvation Front, largely dominated by people from the old Communist bureaucracy, has won. In other countries democratic institutions seem shaky, and the political horizon is cloudy. The masquerade goes on: dozens of groups and parties are created, each announces similar slogans, each accuses its adversaries of all possible sins, and each declares itself representative of the national interest. Personal disputes are more important than disputes over values. Arguments over values are fiercer than arguments over ideas.
“From Romania To Germany, From Tallinn To Belgrade, A Major Historical”- is a reading comprehension exercise for the GMAT. Candidates must be extremely skilled in GMAT reading comprehension.
This GMAT reading comprehension section contains 6 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed to assess candidates' ability to comprehend, analyzation, and application skills. GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions can help candidates who are actively preparing.
Solutions and Explanation
- The author originally thought that the order of events in the transformation of communist society would be represented by which one of the following?
(A) A great political shock would break the totalitarian monopoly, leaving in its wake a civil society whose task would be to change the state-controlled market into a free economy.
(B) The transformation of the economy would destroy totalitarianism, after which a new and different social and political structure would be born.
(C) First the people would freely elect political representatives who would transform the economy, which would then undermine the totalitarian structure.
(D) The change to a democratic state would necessarily undermine totalitarianism, after which a new economic order would be created.
(E) The people’s frustration would build until it spontaneously generated violent revolution, which would sentence society to years of anarchy and regression.
Answer: (B)
Explanation: Since this is a description question, you should find the passage where it was taken. The third paragraph contains it. The author reflects on his hope that the introduction of the market system would cause the communist system to collapse internally. The second selection is therefore the right response. Even though the first option appears to be the best one, it is not.
- Beginning in the second paragraph, the author describes the complicated relationship between “freedom” and “democracy.” In the author’s view, which one of the following statements best reflects that relationship?
(A) A country can have freedom without having democracy.
(B) If a country has freedom, it necessarily has democracy.
(C) A country can have democracy without having freedom.
(D) A country can never have democracy if it has freedom.
(E) If a country has democracy, it cannot have freedom.
Answer: (A)
Explanation: Since this is an extension question, the response must go beyond what is stated in the passage without making a radical departure from the text. "Democracy is something more than freedom" is the key quotation. Since democracy is not necessary for freedom to exist, freedom by itself does not guarantee it. This means that the first choice is the right answer and that the other options are all wrong ones.
- From the passage, a reader could conclude that which one of the following best describes the author’s attitude toward the events that have taken place in communist society?
(A) Relieved that at last the democratic order has surfaced.
(B) Clearly wants to return to the old order.
(C) Disappointed with the nature of the democracy that has emerged.
(D) Confident that a free economy will ultimately provide the basis for a true democracy.
(E) Surprised that communism was toppled through political rather than economic means.
Answer: (C)
Explanation: This is a question about tone. The answer to this question can be found in the closing remarks. The author writes, "The masquerade continues," referring to nascent democracies. As a result, he is skeptical of newly emerging democracies. Keep an eye out for the final option. Although the passage supports it, it is in a supporting paragraph. A concluding paragraph's ideas take precedence over those in a supporting paragraph. Finally, the third option is the correct answer.
- A cynic who has observed political systems in various countries would likely interpret the author’s description of the situation at the end of the passage as
(A) evidence that society is still in the throws of the old totalitarian structure.
(B) a distorted description of the new political system.
(C) a necessary political reality that is a prelude to “democracy.”
(D) a fair description of many democratic political systems.
(E) evidence of the baseness of people.
Answer: (D)
Explanation: A cynic views reality negatively, usually with a sense of dark irony and hopelessness. The last option is tricky, but not the right one. Although such a statement is likely to be made by a cynic, it does not address the topic of the passage—political and economic systems. The passage does not directly address human nature. The fourth option is the most appropriate response.
- Which one of the following does the author imply may have contributed to the difficulties involved in creating a new democratic order in eastern Europe?
- The people who existed under the totalitarian structure have not had the experience of “negotiating the empty space of freedom.”
- Mistaking the order in which political, economic, and social restructuring would occur.
- Excessive self-interest among the new political activists.
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) I and III only
(D) II and III only
(E) I, II, and III
Answer: (E)
Explanation: Except for the last option, all of the options are incorrect. This is due to the fact that all of the statements are true and relevant to the passage. The final option covers all of the statements and can thus be declared the correct answer. The remaining options contain one or two statements but not all of them.
- By stating “even as we are conscious of our victory, we feel that we are, in a strange way, losing” the author means that
(A) some of the old governments are still unwilling to grant freedom at the individual level.
(B) some of the new governments are not strong enough to exist as a single federation.
(C) some of the new democratic governments are electing to retain the old political parties.
(D) no new parties have been created to fill the vacuum created by the victory of freedom.
(E) some of the new governments are reverting to communism.
Answer: (C)
Explanation: The author means this when he says, "even as we are conscious of our victory, we feel that we are, in a strange way, losing." This is a question that combines an extension and a description. Reading a few sentences before. After is crucial because it refers to a specific point in the passage. Only the third option's statement is correct, as it is found in the passage. The remaining options are all wrong choices.
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