Historians generally agree that, of the great modern innovations, the

6 mins 24 secs... and all correct. Pretty good passage with straightforward questions.

I will pen down my thoughts about the questions in a later edit to this post.

Edit1: Adding answer explanations & summary.



Detail question and pretty straightforward with a few tricks. Essential to spot that it is an EXCEPT question!
Q1). The passage provides information to answer all of the following questions EXCEPT:

(A) During what period did the railroad reach the zenith of its popularity in the United States? Nah. Mentioned in the first para by the author
(B) How extensive was the impact of the railroad on the Industrial Revolution in the United States, relative to that of other modern innovations? Nah - easy discard. The first line of the passage.
(C) Who are some of the writers of the 1830s who expressed ambivalence toward the railroad? Also mentioned - Stilgoe didn't think so but the author mentions it.
(D) In what way could Stilgoe have strengthened his argument regarding intellectuals’ attitudes toward the railroad in the years after the 1880s? Discard. Mentioned in brackets in the last paragraph
(E) What arguments did the writers after the 1880s, as cited by Stilgoe, offer to justify their support for the railroad? CORRECT - no arguments of the authors are presented just their views ( as per the author and Stilgoe) are described

Detail question explained where romantic era distrust is explained as being wrongly interpreted by him by the author in the first lines of the second para
Q2). According to the author of the passage, Stilgoe uses the phrase “romantic-era distrust” (line 13) to imply that the view he is referring to was

(A) the attitude of a minority of intellectuals toward technological innovation that began after 1830 Opposite - this is the truth but this is not what Stilgoe was referring to!
(B) a commonly held attitude toward the railroad during the 1830s BINGO - this is exactly what the author says is incorrect and hence Stilgoe was referring to this.
(C) an ambivalent view of the railroad expressed by many poets and novelists between 1880 and 1930 Opposite and unrelated about the time when this view was held. Discard
(D) a critique of social and economic developments during the 1830s by a minority of intellectuals Opposite. What social and economic critique - discard. Stilgoe never thought the authors were thinking of anything other than the railroad itself.
(E) an attitude toward the railroad that was disseminated by works of popular culture after 1880 BS Option. Discard

Detail question - can be found in the third paragraph - the author thinks their writing was similar to previous authors mentioned in the second para
Q3). According to the author, the attitude toward the railroad that was reflected in writings of Henry James, Sinclair Lewis, and F. Scott Fitzgerald was

(A) influenced by the writings of Frank Norris, Eugene O’Neill, and Henry Adams BS option. Opposite. Discard
(B) similar to that of the minority of writers who had expressed ambivalence toward the railroad prior to the 1880s BINGO - this is exactly what we are looking for
(C) consistent with the public attitudes toward the railroad that were reflected in works of popular culture after the 1880s Discard. This is opposite to what the Stilgoe thought and irrelevant to the author's thinking as the author never agrees to the "romantic-era distrust" theory of Stilgoe
(D) largely a reaction to the works of writers who had been severely critical of the railroad in the 1830s Discard - no one was "severely" critical of the railroads
(E) consistent with the prevailing attitude toward the railroad during the 1830sTRAP - a prevailing attitude by who? It refers to the general public and this is wrong for the same reason as (C) above.

Another detail question which can be found in the author's explanation of Stilgoes second argument. In the third paragraph
Q4). It can be inferred from the passage that the author uses the phrase “works of popular culture” (line 41) primarily to refer to the

(A) work of a large group of writers that was published between 1880 and 1930 and that in Stilgoe’s view was highly critical of the railroad Opposite. Stilgoe refers to poplar culture for an entirely opposite reason. Discard
(B) work of writers who were heavily influenced by Hawthorne and Thoreau BS Option. Noone can be said to be heavily influenced by those two. Discard
(C) large volume of writing produced by Henry Adams, Sinclair Lewis, and Eugene O’Neill BS Option. Discard.
(D) work of journalists, novelists, and illustrators who were responsible for creating enthusiasm for the railroad during the 1830s TRAP - we are looking for the first few words but the last words are irrelevant and meaningless. Hence discard
(E) work of journalists, novelists, and illustrators that was published after 1880 and that has received little attention from scholars other than Stilgoe BINGO - exactly what we are looking for- author mentions the popular art as being fringe and no one other than Stilgoe refers to it.

Detail question. Second time the brackets portion in the passage is being referred to. Pretty easy to spot... NOTE: INference type so we need 100% support for the same from the passage either direct or implied
Q5). Which one of the following can be inferred from the passage regarding the work of Frank Norris, Eugene O’Neill, and Henry Adams?

(A) Their work never achieved broad popular appeal. Nah. Cannot infer this from the passage
(B) Their ideas were disseminated to a large audience by the popular culture of the early 1800s. Nah. Cannot infer. Almost a BS Option.
(C) Their work expressed a more positive attitude toward the railroad than did that of Henry James, Sinclair Lewis, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Bingo The author implies exactly this is true when giving the example in the bracket as a way Stilgoe could have given a stronger argument.
(D) Although they were primarily novelists, some of their work could be classified as journalism. BS option. completely irrelevant to the discussion. Discard
(E) Although they were influenced by Thoreau, their attitude toward the railroad was significantly different from his. Discard. Noone can be said to have influenced anyone else. The second time this wrong option appears in the questions.

Detail question and one needs to understand the central theme to be able to answer this. Whatever author is saying Stilgoe is opposite to that.
Q6). It can be inferred from the passage that Stilgoe would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements regarding the study of cultural history?

(A) It is impossible to know exactly what period historians are referring to when they use the term “romantic era.” WRONG- Stilgoe refers himself.
(B) The writing of intellectuals often anticipates ideas and movements that are later embraced by popular culture. The writing does not anticipate but rather reflect according to Stilgoe
(C) Writers who were not popular in their own time tell us little about the age in which they lived. Opposite is true as believed by Stilgoe
(D) The works of popular culture can serve as a reliable indicator of public attitudes toward modern innovations like the railroad. BINGO - this is exactly the case at hand regarding the "romantic-era distrust" part as expressed by Stilgoe
(E) The best source of information concerning the impact of an event as large as the Industrial Revolution is the private letters and journals of individuals. BS option- discard

Finally main point question.
Q7). The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) evaluate one scholar’s view of public attitudes toward the railroad in the United States from the early nineteenth to the early twentieth century BINGO - as highlighted by me, the evaluation of Stilgoes work is the main idea
(B) review the treatment of the railroad in American literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries Too broad to be the main point also out of scope as we are only looking at one book
(C) survey the views of cultural historians regarding the railroad’s impact on major events in United States history Survey word is used. Discard. The author does not survey anything
(D) explore the origins of the public support for the railroad that existed after the completion of a national rail system in the United States Nah. "origins of public transport" too wild.. we are only talking about railroads.
(E) define what historians mean when they refer to the “romantic-era distrust” of the railroad Too detailed to be the main point. Discard.

Phew. Took me over 30 mins to write the explanations down. It is one of those passages that is difficult to explain due to a lot of implicit references and two different point of views ( Stilgoe & that of the author) throughout.