It Is Natural to Believe That The World’s Leading Cities Would Be Found To Be In A Constant State Of Change GMAT Reading Comprehension

Reading Passage Question

It is natural to believe that the world’s leading cities would be found to be in a constant state of change, evolving to accommodate new waves of immigrants, work/life balance, modes of transport and architectural style. With such a process of reinvention and renewal, and often sprawl, these places must become almost unrecognizable over long periods of time, say, for example, 100 years. However, when you get down to it and have a careful look at how these cities have changed over such a period, you are immediately struck not by the way they have changed but in the ways they haven’t. In particular, most of the broad patterns of socio economic class remain the same, as do many local socioeconomic characteristics. Most of the poorest areas will still be found to be poor. The architectural style of slum may have changed; low-rise, multi-occupied hovels may well have been knocked down to be replaced with high-rise flats on sprawling heartless estates, but the social malaise caused by poverty and unemployment remains. A road that was notorious 100 years ago as a place frequented by drunks and members of the criminal class may well be found to suffer the same challenges. Only the language used to describe the nature of the problem will have changed and perhaps the problems will be attributed to drugs rather than alcohol and gangs of alienated youths rather than a criminal class.

“It is natural to believe that the world’s leading cities would be found to be in a constant state of change”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 3 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
Which of the suggested answers best expresses the key point of the passage?

1. The social geography of the world’s leading cities changes over long periods less than you might expect.
2. In the last 100 years, the world’s leading cities have changed beyond recognition architecturally, but socially they have hardly changed at all.
3. The world’s leading cities are in a constant state of change, evolving to accommodate new waves of immigrants, work/life balance, modes of transport and architectural style.
4. When you get down to it and have a careful look at these cities you are struck not by the way they have changed, but in the ways they haven’t.
5. The world’s great cities are just that because they are in a constant state of flux.

Question 2
Which of the following statements would the author of the passage be most likely to disagree with?

1. The architecture of the world’s great cities is being constantly revamped.
2. The language with which we describe the social geography of our great cities is constantly evolving.
3. The social geography of our great cities is in a constant state of transformation.
4. The social geography of our great cities appears invariable.
5. Tomorrow’s archeologists will find our architectural styles and modes of transport novel.

Question 3
In the context of the passage, the word ‘sprawl’ means:

1. spread out one’s limbs
2. disorganized expansion
3. an ungainly movement
4. an industrial area
5. a mix of residential and industrial developments

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