In the Year 1885, the Eiffel Firm, which was Named After the French Engineer and Architect Gustave Eiffel and which had Extensive Experience in Structural Engineering.

Reading Passage Question

In the year 1885, the Eiffel firm, which was named after the French engineer and architect Gustave Eiffel and which had extensive experience in structural engineering, undertook a series of investigations of tall metallic piers based upon its recent experiences with several railway viaducts and bridges. The most spectacular of these was the famous Garabit Viaduct, which carries a railroad some 400 feet above the valley of the Truyere in southern France. The design of this structure was the inspiration for the design of a 395-foot pier, which, although never incorporated into a bridge, is said to have been the direct basis for the Eiffel Tower. Preliminary studies for a 300-meter tower were made with the intention of showcasing it in the 1889 fair called Exposition Universelle. With an assurance born of positive knowledge, Eiffel in June of 1886 approached the Exposition commissioners with the project. There can be no doubt that only the singular respect with which Eiffel was regarded not only by his profession but by the entire nation motivated the Commission to approve a plan which, in the hands of a figure of less stature, would have been considered grossly impractical.

Between this time and the commencement of the Tower’s construction at the end of January 1887, there arose one of the most persistently annoying of the numerous difficulties, both structural and social, which confronted Eiffel as the project advanced. In the wake of the initial enthusiasm—on the part of the fair’s Commission that was inspired by the desire to create a monument to highlight French technological achievement, and on the part of the majority of French people by the stirring of their imagination at the magnitude of the structure—there grew a rising movement of disfavor. At the center of this movement was, not surprisingly, the intelligentsia, but objections were made by prominent French people from all walks of life.

The most interesting point to be noted in a retrospection of this often violent opposition is that, although every aspect of the Tower was attacked, there was remarkably little criticism of its structural feasibility, either by the engineering profession or, as seems traditionally to be the case with bold and unprecedented undertakings, by large numbers of the technically uninformed population. True, there was an undercurrent of what might be characterized as unease by many property owners in the structure’s shadow, but the most obstinate element of resistance was that which deplored the Tower as a mechanistic intrusion upon the architectural and natural beauties of Paris. This resistance voiced its fury in a flood of special newspaper editions, petitions, and manifestos signed by such lights of the fine and literary arts as De Maupassant, Gounod, Dumas fils, and others.

“In the year 1885, the Eiffel firm, which was named after the French engineer and architect Gustave Eiffel and which had extensive experience in structural engineering.”- 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. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

Question 1: Based on the discussion of public opinion regarding the Eiffel Tower's construction it can be inferred that

1. the poorer Parisians took to the Tower more readily than the educated classes
2. early in its planning, the Tower was generally embraced by most of the French people
3. those who disagreed with the plans for the Tower were mostly members of the intelligentsia
4. there was no disagreement about whether a 300-meter tower could be constructed
5. those living closest to the tower's site were the most supportive of it

Question 2: Which faction does the author refer to when he mentions “undercurrent” in the last paragraph?

1. those who lived around the Eiffel Tower and were concerned about the mechanical stability of Eiffel Tower
2. those who lived around the Eiffel Tower and were technically uninformed
3. those who voiced their concerns regarding Eiffel Tower through manifestos and petitions
4. those who deplored the Eiffel Tower as a mechanistic intrusion upon the architectural and natural beauties of Paris
5. those belonging to the engineering profession who were concerned about the structural feasibility of the Eiffel Tower

Question 3: De Maupassant, Gounod, Dumas fils are mentioned by the passage in order to

1. overview the leadership structure of the fine and literary arts
2. list the names of the Tower's most steadfast opponents
3. explain who in French society was most interested in French architecture at that time
4. reveal how the creative and scientific communities were at odds over the Tower
5. clarify that distinguished members of the artistic community considered the Tower as a possible eye-sore

Question 4: Which of the following is the author’s primary purpose behind this passage?

1. To discuss the feasibility of the Eiffel Firm's plan for the Tower.
2. To teach the history of the Eiffel Tower's precursors
3. To explain how the Tower would not have been approved without Eiffel's reputation and knowledge of structural engineering.
4. To detail how the public turned against the Tower in the months after the Exposition.
5. To give a general history of the Tower's construction and the public reaction to it.

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