byRituparna Nath Content Writer at Study Abroad Exams
Reading Passage Question
In an unfinished but highly suggestive series of essays, the late Sarah Eisenstein has focused attention on the evolution of working women’s values from the turn of the century to the First World War. Eisenstein argues that turn-of-the-century women neither wholly accepted nor rejected what she calls the dominant “ideology of domesticity,” but rather took this and other available ideologies—feminism, socialism, trade unionism—and modified or adapted them in light of their own experiences and needs. In thus maintaining that wage-work helped to produce a new “consciousness” among women, Eisenstein to some extent challenges the recent, controversial proposal by Leslie Tentler that for women the work experience only served to reinforce the attractiveness of the dominant ideology. According to the Tentler, the degrading conditions under which many female wage earners worked made them view the family as a source of power and esteem available nowhere else in their social world. In contrast, Eisenstein’s study insists that wage-work had other implications for women’s identities and consciousness. Most importantly, her work aims to demonstrate that wage-work enabled women to become aware of themselves as a distinct social group capable of defining their collective circumstance. Eisenstein insists that as a group working-class women were not able to come to collective consciousness of their situation until they began entering the labor force, because domestic work tended to isolate them from one another.
Unfortunately, Eisenstein’s unfinished study does not develop these ideas in sufficient depth or detail, offering tantalizing hints rather than an exhaustive analysis. Whatever Eisenstein’s overall plan may have been, in its current form her study suffers from the limited nature of the sources she depended on. She uses the speeches and writings of reformers and labor organizers, who she acknowledges were far from representative, as the voice of the typical woman worker. And there is less than adequate attention given to the differing values of immigrant groups that made up a significant proportion of the population under investigation. While raising important questions, Eisenstein’s essays do not provide a definitive answer, and it remains for others to take up the challenges they offer.
“In an unfinished but highly suggestive series of essays, the late Sarah Eisenstein” is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension. This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 4 comprehension questions.
The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. The comprehension question usually involves a recent news item, a topic linked to the competitive exam, or something from another area of life. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.
Solution and Explanation
Question 1. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) criticize a scholar’s assumptions and methodology
(B) evaluate an approach to women’s study
(C) compare two sociological theories
(D) correct a misconception about feminist theory
(E) defend an unpopular ideology
Answer: B
Explanation: A and B are both great contenders. The rest is simple to get rid of. In terms of A, the author does not express a direct criticism of Eisenstein's work. Instead, he is examining her strategy, the underlying presumption, and the flaws. Thus, B.
Question 2. It can be inferred from the passage that, in Eisenstein’s view, working women at the turn of the century had which of the following attitudes toward the dominant ideology of their time?
(A) They resented the dominant ideology as degrading.
(B) They preferred the dominant ideology to other available ideologies.
(C) They began to view the dominant ideology more favorably as a result of their experiences in the labor force.
(D) They accepted some but not all aspects of the dominant ideology.
(E) They believed that the dominant ideology isolated them from one another.
Answer: D
Explanation: C and D are two top contenders. Eisenstein argues that turn-of-the-century women neither wholly accepted nor rejected what she calls the dominant “ideology of domesticity”. But rather took this and other available ideologies—feminism, socialism, trade unionism—and modified or adapted them in light of their own experiences and needs.
The entire statement in C, however, is untrue. It is not possible to conclude that the women found the dominant ideology to be "more FAVORABLE".
B experiences the same drawbacks as C. The women's preference for other available ideologies over dominant ideologies is not mentioned in the passage.
Since the passage indicates that the women neither accepted nor rejected the mainstream ideology, option A is false.
E was Eisenstein's perspective, not what the women thought.
The solution, then, is D.
Question 3. Which of the following best describes the organization of the first paragraph of the passage?
(A) A chronological account of a historical development is presented, and then future developments are predicted.
(B) A term is defined according to several different schools of thought, and then a new definition is formulated.
(C) A theory is presented, an alternative viewpoint is introduced, and then the reasoning behind the initial theory is summarized.
(D) A tentative proposal is made, reasons for and against it are weighed, and then a modified version of the proposal is offered.
(E) A controversy is described, its historical implications are assessed, and then a compromise is suggested.
Answer: C
Explanation: Try to understand the structure and primary concepts of any passage you read.
The passage explicitly introduces a theory before discussing an alternative viewpoint (that of Tentler), hence the correct response must be C.
If you practice reading to determine the structure/main point, the remaining possibilities can be quickly ruled out.
Question 4 Which of the following would the author of the passage be most likely to approve as a continuation of Eisenstein’s study?
(A) An oral history of prominent women labor, organizers
(B) An analysis of letters and diaries written by typical female wage earners at the turn of the century
(C) An assessment of what different social and political groups defined as the dominant ideology in the early twentieth century
(D) A theoretical study of how socialism and feminism influenced one another at the turn of the century
(E) A documentary account of labor’s role in the introduction of women into the labor force
Answer: B
Explanation: The author points out an issue with Eisenstein's work in the concluding chapter. She represents the voice of the normal woman worker. She used the writings and statements of reformers and labor organizers, both of whom she concedes were hardly representative. Furthermore, she states that "Eisenstein's articles do not give a conclusive solution, and it is up to others to take up the difficulties they present."
The works of the topics being examined as described by the subjects themselves should, without a doubt, be the focus of future research.
(B) It appears appropriate to analyze letters and diaries from average female wage earners at the turn of the century.
Suggested GMAT Reading Comprehension Questions
- The Pioneers of the Teaching of Science Imagined that its Introduction into Education would Remove the Conventionality, Artificiality, and Backward-Lookingness GMAT Reading Comprehension
- The Single-Celled Parasite known as Toxoplasma Gondii Infects more than Half of the World's Human Population GMAT Reading Comprehension
- During the Victorian Period, Women Writers were Measured Against A Social GMAT Reading Comprehension
- In Current Historiography, the Picture of a Consistent, Unequivocal Decline in Women’s Status GMAT Reading Comprehension
- Resin is a Plant Secretion that Hardens when Exposed to Air GMAT Reading Comprehension
- Some Historians Contend that Conditions in the United States During the Second World War GMAT Reading Comprehension
- It Was Once Assumed that All Living Things Could be Divided into Two Fundamental and Exhaustive Categories GMAT Reading Comprehension
- A Fundamental Principle of Pharmacology is that all Drugs have Multiple Actions. Actions that are Desirable in the Treatment of Disease are Considered therapeutic GMAT Reading Comprehension
- Scepticism is as Much the Result of Knowledge, as Knowledge is of Scepticism. GMAT Reading Comprehension
- On the surface, the Conquest of the Aztec Empire by Herman Cortes GMAT Reading Comprehension
- A One-Child Policy was Implemented in China in 1979 GMAT Reading Comprehension
- But Man is Not Destined to Vanish. He can be Killed, but he cannot be Destroyed, Because his Soul is Deathless and his Spirit is Irrepressible. GMAT Reading Comprehension
- Coral Reefs Are One of the Most Fragile, Biologically Complex, And Diverse Marine Ecosystems on Earth GMAT Reading Comprehension
- Although Numbers of Animals in a Given Region May Fluctuate From Year to Year GMAT Reading Comprehension
- Antonia Castañeda has Utilised Scholarship from Women's Studies and Mexican-American History to Examine Nineteenth-Century Literary Portrayals of Mexican Women. GMAT Reading Comprehension
- By 1950, The Results of Attempts to Relate Brain Processes to Mental Experience Appeared Rather Discouraging GMAT Reading Comprehension
- In February 1848 the People of Paris Rose in Revolt Against the Constitutional Monarchy of Louis-Philippe GMAT Reading Comprehension
- Over the Last 150 Years, Large Stretches of Salmon Habitat have been Eliminated by Human Activity. GMAT Reading Comprehension
- The Brain Contributes to the Adaptive Success of Animals through the Control and Coordination of Muscle Contractions. GMAT Reading Comprehension
- The Geology of the Grand Canyon Area Exposes One of the Most Complete and Studied Sequences of Rock on Earth. GMAT Reading Comprehension
Comments