bySayantani Barman Experta en el extranjero
Reading Passage Question
In a 1984 book, Claire C. Robertson argued that, before colonialism, age was a more important indicator of status and authority than gender in Ghana and in Africa generally. British colonialism imposed European-style male-dominant notions upon more egalitarian local situations to the detriment of women generally, and gender became a defining characteristic that weakened women’s power and authority.
Subsequent research in Kenya convinced Robertson that she had overgeneralized about Africa. Before colonialism, gender was more salient in central Kenya than it was in Ghana, although age was still crucial in determining authority. In contrast with Ghana, where women had traded for hundreds of years and achieved legal majority (not unrelated phenomena), the evidence regarding central Kenya indicated that women were legal minors and were sometimes treated as male property, as were European women at that time. Factors like strong patrilinearity and patrilocality, as well as women’s inferior land rights and lesser involvement in trade, made women more dependent on men than was generally the case in Ghana. However, since age apparently remained the overriding principle of social organization in central Kenya, some senior women had much authority. Thus, Robertson revised her hypothesis somewhat, arguing that in determining authority in precolonial Africa age was a primary principle that superseded gender to varying degrees depending on the situation.
‘In a 1984 book, Claire C. Robertson argued that, before colonialism’ is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.
This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 7 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.
Solution and Explanation
- The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) present evidence undermining a certain hypothesis
(B) describe a particular position and its subsequent modification
(C) discuss two contrasting viewpoints regarding a particular issue
(D) describe how a social phenomenon varied by region
(E) evaluate an assumption widely held by scholars
Answer: B
Explanation: In the passage, the first paragraph it has been discussed how the power and authority of women were weakened. The author argued about something, Subsequent research made the author believe something else and based on that belief, the author modifies her hypothesis. Hence, B is correct. As it clearly depicts that the author took a position and subsequent research forced her to change her hypothesis. B is the correct choice.
- The passage indicates that Robertson’s research in Kenya caused her to change her mind regarding which of the following?
(A) Whether age was the prevailing principle of social organization in Kenya before colonialism
(B) Whether gender was the primary determinant of social authority in Africa generally before colonialism
(C) Whether it was only after colonialism that gender became a significant determinant of authority in Kenyan society
(D) Whether age was a crucial factor determining authority in Africa after colonialism
(E) Whether British colonialism imposed European-style male-dominant notions upon local situations in Ghana
Answer: C
Explanation: She became less inclined to overgeneralize about Africa as a result. Women in Kenyan society were treated as legal minors and occasionally as male property, as the verse makes clear. This demonstrates that even before colonialism, gender was a significant factor in defining authority in Kenyan society. The author has discovered that gender was more significant in Kenya even before colonialism than she had previously believed it to be in all of Africa. This takes us directly to C.
- The passage suggests that after conducting the research mentioned in highlighted text, but not before, Robertson would have agreed with which of the following about women’s status and authority in Ghana?
(A) Greater land rights and greater involvement in trade made women in precolonial Ghana less dependent on men than were European women at that time.
(B) Colonialism had a greater impact on the status and authority of Ghanaian women than on Kenyan women.
(C) Colonialism had less of an impact on the status and authority of Ghanaian women than it had on the status and authority of other African women.
(D) The relative independence of Ghanaian women prior to colonialism was unique in Africa.
(E) Before colonialism, the status and authority of Ghanaian women were similar to that of Kenyan women.
Answer: B
Explanation: Previously, Robertson believed that colonialism "weakened women's power and authority" across Africa. She consequently reasoned that women in Ghana and Kenya would experience the same repercussions of colonialism. This suggests that even without her new information, Robertson would have disagreed with (B). Prior to her additional investigation, Robertson would have disagreed with (B). Afterward, she would have agreed with it, hence (B) is the correct answer to the question.
- The author of the passage mentions the status of age as a principle of social organization in precolonial central Kenya in highlighted text most likely in order to
(A) indicate that women’s dependence on men in precolonial Kenya was not absolute
(B) contrast the situation of senior women to that of less senior women in precolonial Kenyan society
(C) differentiate between the status and authority of precolonial Kenyan women and that of precolonial Ghanaian women
(D) explain why age superseded gender to a greater extent in precolonial Kenya than it did elsewhere in Africa
(E) identify a factor that led Robertson to revise her hypothesis about precolonial Africa
Answer: E
Explanation: Robertson "therefore" modified her initial theory, arguing that age was a crucial element in determining pre-colonial African power determination. Overriding gender to varying degrees depending on the circumstances, as stated in the final clause. Before altering her original theory, she identified all of the listed requirements; so, E is the proper answer.
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