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kumaraguru · 2007 June 14th, 11:08 AM

this reading comprehension is full of tuff questions. Help me to solve this reading comprehension..

nothing is direct in this reading comprehension..

Passage 1
The historian Frederick J. Turner wrote in
the 1890's that the agrarian discontent that had
been developing steadily in the United States
since about 1870 had been precipitated by the
(5) closing of the internal frontier--that is, the
depletion of available new land needed for
further expansion of the American farming
system. Not only was Turner's thesis influential
at the time, it was later adopted and elaborated
(10) by other scholars, such as John D. Hicks in The
Populist Revolt (1931). Actually, however, new
lands were taken up for farming in the United
States throughout and beyond the nineteenth
century. In the 1890's, when agrarian discontent
(15) had become most acute, 1,100,000 new farms
were settled, which was 500,000 more than had
been settled during the previous decade. After
1890, under the terms of the Homestead Act and
its successors, more new land was taken up for
(20) farming than had been taken up for this purpose
in the United States up until that time. It is true
that a high proportion of the newly farmed land
was suitable only for grazing and dry farming,
but agricultural practices had become suffi-
(25) ciently advanced to make it possible to increase
the profitability of farming by utilizing even
these relatively barren lands.
The emphasis given by both scholars and
statesmen to the presumed disappearance of the
(30) American frontier helped to obscure the great
importance of changes in the conditions and
consequences of international trade that oc-
curred during the second half of the nineteenth
century. In 1869 the Suez Canal was opened and
(35) the first transcontinental railroad in the United
States was completed. An extensive network of
telegraph and telephone communications was
spun: Europe was connected by submarine
cable with the United States in 1866 and with
(40) South America in 1874. By about 1870 improve-
ments in agricultural technology made possible
the full exploitation of areas that were most
suitable for extensive farming on a mechanized
basis. Huge tracts of land were being settled and
(45) farmed in Argentina, Australia, Canada, and in
the American West, and these areas were joined
with one another and with the countries of
Europe into an interdependent market system.
As a consequence, agrarian depressions no
(50) longer were local or national in scope, and they
struck several nations whose internal frontiers
had not vanished or were not about to vanish.
Between the early 1870's and the 1890's, the
mounting agrarian discontent in America paral-
(55) leled the almost uninterrupted decline in the
prices of American agricultural products on
foreign markets. Those staple-growing farmers
in the United States who exhibited the greatest
discontent were those who had become most
(60) dependent on foreign markets for the sale of
their products. Insofar as Americans had been
deterred from taking up new land for farming, it
was because market conditions had made this
period a perilous time in which to do so.

20. The author is primarily concerned with
(A) showing that a certain interpretation is better supported by the evidence than is an alternative explanation
(B) developing an alternative interpretation by using sources of evidence that formerly had been unavailable
(C) questioning the accuracy of the evidence that most scholars have used to counter the author's own interpretation
(D) reviewing the evidence that formerly had been thought to obscure a valid interpretation
(E) presenting evidence in support of a controversial version of an earlier interpretation.

21. According to the author, changes in the conditions of international trade resulted in an
(A) underestimation of the amount of new land that was being famed in the United States
(B) underutilization of relatively small but rich plots of land
(C) overexpansion of the world transportation network for shipping agricultural products
(D) extension of agrarian depressions beyond national boundaries
(E) emphasis on the importance of market forces in determining the prices of agricultural products

22. The author implies that the change in the state of the American farmer's morale during the latter part of the nineteenth century was traceable to the American farmer's increasing perception that the
(A) costs of cultivating the land were prohibitive within the United States
(B) development of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States occurred at the expense of the American farmer
(C) American farming system was about to run out of the new farmland that was required for its expansion.
(D) prices of American agricultural products were deteriorating especially rapidly on domestic markets
(E) proceeds from the sales of American agricultural products on foreign markets were unsatisfactory

23. According to the passage, which of the following occurred prior to 1890?
(A) Frederick J. Turner's thesis regarding the American frontier became influential.
(B) The Homestead Act led to an increase in the amount of newly farmed land in the United States.
(C) The manufacturers of technologically advanced agricultural machinery rapidly increased their marketing efforts.
(D) Direct lines of communication were constructed between the United States and South America.
(E) Technological advances made it fruitful to farm extensively on a mechanized basis.

24. The author implies that, after certain territories and countries had been joined into an interdependent market system in the nineteenth century, agrarian depressions within that system
(A) spread to several nations, excluding those in which the internal frontier remained open
(B) manifested themselves in several nations, including those in which new land remained available for farming
(C) slowed down the pace of new technological developments in international communications and transportation
(D) affected the local and national prices of the nonagricultural products of several nations
(E) encouraged several nations to sell more of their agricultural products on foreign markets

25. The author provides information concerning newly farmed lands in the United States (lines 11-27) as evidence in direct support of which of the following?
(A) A proposal by Frederick J. Turner that was later disputed by John D. Hicks
(B) An elaboration by John D. Hicks of a thesis that formerly had been questioned by Frederick J. Turner
(C) The established view that was disputed by those scholars who adopted the thesis of Frederick J. Turner
(D) The thesis that important changes occurred in the nature of international trade during the second half of the nineteenth century
(E) The view that the American frontier did not become closed during the nineteenth century or soon thereafter

26. The author implies that the cause of the agrarian discontent was
(A) masked by the vagueness of the official records on newly settled farms
(B) overshadowed by disputes on the reliability of the existing historical evidence
(C) misidentified as a result of influential but erroneous theorizing
(D) overlooked because of a preoccupation with market conditions
(E) undetected because visible indications of the cause occurred so gradually and sporadically

27. The author's argument implies that, compared to the yearly price changes that actually occurred on foreign agricultural markets during the 1880's, American farmers would have most preferred yearly price changes that were
(A) much smaller and in the same direction
(B) much smaller but in the opposite direction
(C) slightly smaller and in the same direction
(D) similar in size but in the opposite direction
(E) slightly greater and in the same direction

CarolineLee · 2009 March 18th, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kumaraguru

20. The author is primarily concerned with
(A) showing that a certain interpretation is better supported by the evidence than is an alternative explanation
(B) developing an alternative interpretation by using sources of evidence that formerly had been unavailable
(C) questioning the accuracy of the evidence that most scholars have used to counter the author's own interpretation
(D) reviewing the evidence that formerly had been thought to obscure a valid interpretation
(E) presenting evidence in support of a controversial version of an earlier interpretation.

I have the same problem to detect right answer immediately. Answer (A) is said to be the OA, but I don't know why? Is anybody able to throw any light on this question?

paul2432 · 2009 March 20th, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CarolineLee

I have the same problem to detect right answer immediately. Answer (A) is said to be the OA, but I don't know why? Is anybody able to throw any light on this question?

A - The passage disputes that discontent was caused by the closing of the frontier and presents an alternate view point. Answer A is consistent with this.

B - The passage says nothing about new evidence, so this not the correct answer.

C - The passage says nothing about how other authors have responded to the author of this passage, so this is not the correct answer.

D - This doesn't fit either. There is nothing in the passage saying that any of the authors evidence was formerly thought to obscure.

E - There is nothing in the passage about controvesry, or the author's position being an earlier interpretation.

I hope this helps.

Paul

paul2432 · 2009 March 20th, 07:52 PM

21 D.

See line 49-51

Paul

paul2432 · 2009 March 20th, 11:26 PM

23 - E

See lines 40-44.

Note, A and B happened after 1890 (lines 2 and 18). The passage doesn't say anything about marketing efforts, so C is not the answer. The passage says cables are between USA and Europe and Europe and South America, but doesn't say anything about cables between USA and South America, so D is not the anwer.

Paul

sweetu1995 · 2009 March 30th, 03:55 PM

Very time consuming (took around half an hour to solve..

)

I feel the answers are:

A
D
E
E
B
E
D
D

Correct me if any of these looks wrong.

shah khan · 2009 April 26th, 03:16 PM

A
D
E
A
B
E
E
B

hahahut · 2009 July 27th, 01:40 PM

I had the hardest time to understand question 27 itself. The passage gives no direction information about price though I know the farming industry was in depression in general. Neither the question nor the answers refer anything specific. Can someone please help to explain? Thanks!

the Empress · 2009 August 20th, 01:25 PM

i agree with sweetu on almost all the questions.

my answers are:

20. A
21. D
22. E
23. E
24. B
25. E
26. C
27. D

Please give the OAs!! can ETS really give such an indirect passage in the real exam? the kind of questions that are given in powerprep are of a much lower level of difficulty. and that's the closest i can get to simulate real GRE questions. this kind of a passage would be a nasty shock .

the Empress · 2009 August 20th, 01:28 PM

hi sweetu, the 26th answer looks like C to me. D looks incorrect.

The emphasis given by both scholars and
statesmen to the presumed disappearance of the
(30) American frontier helped to obscure the great
importance of changes in the conditions and
consequences of international trade that oc-
curred during the second half of the nineteenth
century.

Does this not support option C ?

2007 June 14th, 11:08 AM	#1 (permalink)
kumaraguru Eager! Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 47	A tough RC from big book. Nothing is directly given this reading comprehension is full of tuff questions. Help me to solve this reading comprehension.. nothing is direct in this reading comprehension.. Passage 1 The historian Frederick J. Turner wrote in the 1890's that the agrarian discontent that had been developing steadily in the United States since about 1870 had been precipitated by the (5) closing of the internal frontier--that is, the depletion of available new land needed for further expansion of the American farming system. Not only was Turner's thesis influential at the time, it was later adopted and elaborated (10) by other scholars, such as John D. Hicks in The Populist Revolt (1931). Actually, however, new lands were taken up for farming in the United States throughout and beyond the nineteenth century. In the 1890's, when agrarian discontent (15) had become most acute, 1,100,000 new farms were settled, which was 500,000 more than had been settled during the previous decade. After 1890, under the terms of the Homestead Act and its successors, more new land was taken up for (20) farming than had been taken up for this purpose in the United States up until that time. It is true that a high proportion of the newly farmed land was suitable only for grazing and dry farming, but agricultural practices had become suffi- (25) ciently advanced to make it possible to increase the profitability of farming by utilizing even these relatively barren lands. The emphasis given by both scholars and statesmen to the presumed disappearance of the (30) American frontier helped to obscure the great importance of changes in the conditions and consequences of international trade that oc- curred during the second half of the nineteenth century. In 1869 the Suez Canal was opened and (35) the first transcontinental railroad in the United States was completed. An extensive network of telegraph and telephone communications was spun: Europe was connected by submarine cable with the United States in 1866 and with (40) South America in 1874. By about 1870 improve- ments in agricultural technology made possible the full exploitation of areas that were most suitable for extensive farming on a mechanized basis. Huge tracts of land were being settled and (45) farmed in Argentina, Australia, Canada, and in the American West, and these areas were joined with one another and with the countries of Europe into an interdependent market system. As a consequence, agrarian depressions no (50) longer were local or national in scope, and they struck several nations whose internal frontiers had not vanished or were not about to vanish. Between the early 1870's and the 1890's, the mounting agrarian discontent in America paral- (55) leled the almost uninterrupted decline in the prices of American agricultural products on foreign markets. Those staple-growing farmers in the United States who exhibited the greatest discontent were those who had become most (60) dependent on foreign markets for the sale of their products. Insofar as Americans had been deterred from taking up new land for farming, it was because market conditions had made this period a perilous time in which to do so. 20. The author is primarily concerned with (A) showing that a certain interpretation is better supported by the evidence than is an alternative explanation (B) developing an alternative interpretation by using sources of evidence that formerly had been unavailable (C) questioning the accuracy of the evidence that most scholars have used to counter the author's own interpretation (D) reviewing the evidence that formerly had been thought to obscure a valid interpretation (E) presenting evidence in support of a controversial version of an earlier interpretation. 21. According to the author, changes in the conditions of international trade resulted in an (A) underestimation of the amount of new land that was being famed in the United States (B) underutilization of relatively small but rich plots of land (C) overexpansion of the world transportation network for shipping agricultural products (D) extension of agrarian depressions beyond national boundaries (E) emphasis on the importance of market forces in determining the prices of agricultural products 22. The author implies that the change in the state of the American farmer's morale during the latter part of the nineteenth century was traceable to the American farmer's increasing perception that the (A) costs of cultivating the land were prohibitive within the United States (B) development of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States occurred at the expense of the American farmer (C) American farming system was about to run out of the new farmland that was required for its expansion. (D) prices of American agricultural products were deteriorating especially rapidly on domestic markets (E) proceeds from the sales of American agricultural products on foreign markets were unsatisfactory 23. According to the passage, which of the following occurred prior to 1890? (A) Frederick J. Turner's thesis regarding the American frontier became influential. (B) The Homestead Act led to an increase in the amount of newly farmed land in the United States. (C) The manufacturers of technologically advanced agricultural machinery rapidly increased their marketing efforts. (D) Direct lines of communication were constructed between the United States and South America. (E) Technological advances made it fruitful to farm extensively on a mechanized basis. 24. The author implies that, after certain territories and countries had been joined into an interdependent market system in the nineteenth century, agrarian depressions within that system (A) spread to several nations, excluding those in which the internal frontier remained open (B) manifested themselves in several nations, including those in which new land remained available for farming (C) slowed down the pace of new technological developments in international communications and transportation (D) affected the local and national prices of the nonagricultural products of several nations (E) encouraged several nations to sell more of their agricultural products on foreign markets 25. The author provides information concerning newly farmed lands in the United States (lines 11-27) as evidence in direct support of which of the following? (A) A proposal by Frederick J. Turner that was later disputed by John D. Hicks (B) An elaboration by John D. Hicks of a thesis that formerly had been questioned by Frederick J. Turner (C) The established view that was disputed by those scholars who adopted the thesis of Frederick J. Turner (D) The thesis that important changes occurred in the nature of international trade during the second half of the nineteenth century (E) The view that the American frontier did not become closed during the nineteenth century or soon thereafter 26. The author implies that the cause of the agrarian discontent was (A) masked by the vagueness of the official records on newly settled farms (B) overshadowed by disputes on the reliability of the existing historical evidence (C) misidentified as a result of influential but erroneous theorizing (D) overlooked because of a preoccupation with market conditions (E) undetected because visible indications of the cause occurred so gradually and sporadically 27. The author's argument implies that, compared to the yearly price changes that actually occurred on foreign agricultural markets during the 1880's, American farmers would have most preferred yearly price changes that were (A) much smaller and in the same direction (B) much smaller but in the opposite direction (C) slightly smaller and in the same direction (D) similar in size but in the opposite direction (E) slightly greater and in the same direction

2009 March 30th, 03:55 PM	#6 (permalink)
sweetu1995 Done with GRE/TOEFL Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: New York Posts: 363	Very time consuming (took around half an hour to solve..) I feel the answers are: A D E E B E D D Correct me if any of these looks wrong.

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2009 March 20th, 07:52 PM	#4 (permalink)
paul2432 Within my grasp! Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 114	21 D. See line 49-51 Paul

2009 March 20th, 11:26 PM	#5 (permalink)
paul2432 Within my grasp! Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 114	23 - E See lines 40-44. Note, A and B happened after 1890 (lines 2 and 18). The passage doesn't say anything about marketing efforts, so C is not the answer. The passage says cables are between USA and Europe and Europe and South America, but doesn't say anything about cables between USA and South America, so D is not the anwer. Paul

2009 April 26th, 03:16 PM	#7 (permalink)
shah khan I JUST got here. Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 25	A D E A B E E B

2009 July 27th, 01:40 PM	#8 (permalink)
hahahut 1st time GREr Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 68	I had the hardest time to understand question 27 itself. The passage gives no direction information about price though I know the farming industry was in depression in general. Neither the question nor the answers refer anything specific. Can someone please help to explain? Thanks!

2009 August 20th, 01:25 PM	#9 (permalink)
the Empress Eager! Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 55	i agree with sweetu on almost all the questions. my answers are: 20. A 21. D 22. E 23. E 24. B 25. E 26. C 27. D Please give the OAs!! can ETS really give such an indirect passage in the real exam? the kind of questions that are given in powerprep are of a much lower level of difficulty. and that's the closest i can get to simulate real GRE questions. this kind of a passage would be a nasty shock .

2009 August 20th, 01:28 PM	#10 (permalink)
the Empress Eager! Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 55	hi sweetu, the 26th answer looks like C to me. D looks incorrect. The emphasis given by both scholars and statesmen to the presumed disappearance of the (30) American frontier helped to obscure the great importance of changes in the conditions and consequences of international trade that oc- curred during the second half of the nineteenth century. Does this not support option C ?

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