Traditional social science models of class groups in the United States are based on economic status and assume that women's economic status derives from association with men, typically fathers or husbands, and that women therefore have more compelling common interest with men of their own economic class than with women outside it. Some feminist social scientists, by contrast, have argued that the basic division in American society is instead based on gender, and that the total female population, regardless of economic status, constitutes a distinct class. Social historian Mary Ryan, for example, has argued that in early-nineteenth-century America the identical legal status of working-class and middle-class free women outweighed the differences between women of these two classes: married women, regardless of their family's wealth, did essentially the same unpaid domestic work, and none could own property or vote. Recently, though, other feminist analysts have questioned this model, examining ways in which the condition of working-class women differs from that of middle-class women as well as from that of working-class men. Ann Oakley notes, for example, that the gap between women of different economic classes widened in the late nineteenth century: most working-class women, who performed wage labor outside the home, were excluded from the emerging middle-class ideal of femininity centered around domesticity and volunteerism.

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to
A. offer social historical explanations for the cultural differences between men and women in the United States
B. examine how the economic roles of women in the United States changed during the nineteenth century
C. consider differing views held by social scientists concerning women's class status in the United States
D. propose a feminist interpretation of class structure in the United States
E. outline specific distinctions between working-class women and women of the upper and middle classes

OA:C

2. It can be inferred from the passage that the most recent feminist social science research on women and class seeks to do which of the following?
A. Introduce a divergent new theory about the relationship between legal status and gender
B. Illustrate an implicit middle-class bias in earlier feminist models of class and gender
C. Provide evidence for the position that gender matters more than wealth in determining class status
D. Remedy perceived inadequacies of both traditional social science models and earlier feminist analyses of class and gender
E. Challenge the economic definitions of class used by traditional social scientists

OA:D

Traditional social science models of class groups in the United States ..........
Which essentialy tells that Traditional social scientists based their model with an assumption that women were entirely dependent on men for their social status.

Then passage introduces 
Some feminist social scientists, by contrast, have argued that the basic division in American society ........
The passage introduced another model and a different group of social scientists.

And finally the passage talks about
Recently, though, other feminist analysts have questioned this model,......
Where more recent social scientists have altogether a different view.

Now if you read option D again, it clearly stands out.

P1 
Traditional: class = econ status, W get status from M, so W have more in common with same-class M than with different-class W. 
Others: NOT econ status. gender. All W = same legal status, therefore all W = one big class 
MR: diff class W (working, middle) = more similar than different 
Still others: maybe they're ALL different? Working W not like middle W. Working W not like W men. 
AO: diff between working W and middle W 
[Okay, so there are at least 3 different theories here about class groups and how W fit in] 

Question: 
inference. So, something that must be true according to info given in the passage. 
"most recent" research. Which is that? "most recent" won't be the traditional view (the 1st one). The third theory starts with the word "recently" so that's probably the most recent one. 

What does this "most recent" theory try to do? Well, it's questioning something that was described before. Is it questioning both prior theories or just one? Both. The first theory said that same-class W and same-class M are similar. The second theory said that all W are similar. This one says all women are different and, further, same-class W and same-class M are also different. The example given in the last sentence is only about women being different though - it doesn't mention the men. 

What's the third theory trying to do then? Not the example - that's just an example. The main purpose of the third theory is what's contained in that second-to-last sentence (and summarized in the previous paragraph). 

A) introduce a new theory? sure. about legal status and gender? No - that was the 2nd theory, not the third one. Eliminate. 
B) bias? no, there wasn't a bias in the earlier feminist model. Elim. 
C) gender matters more than wealth = 2nd theory is better than 1st. That's not what this says. Elim. 
D) both earlier theories have problems and there's a better way to look at things? That sounds pretty good. Check E just to make sure. 
E) maybe partially. but they're also challenging the 2nd theory. Elim.

3. Which of the following statements best characterizes the relationship between traditional social science models of class and Ryan's model, as described in the passage?
A. Ryan's model differs from the traditional model by making gender, rather than economic status, the determinant of women's class status.
B. The traditional social science model of class differs from Ryan's in its assumption that women are financially dependent on men.
C. Ryan's model of class and the traditional social science model both assume that women work, either within the home or for pay.
D. The traditional social science model of class differs from Ryan's in that each model focuses on a different period of American history.
E. Both Ryan's model of class and the traditional model consider multiple factors, including wealth, marital status, and enfranchisement, in determining women's status.

OA:A