In eighteenth-century France and England, reformers rallied around

All correct in 11 mins 15 seconds, including 4 mins 30 seconds to read(did not find Q2 in the first read and attempted it later)
Para 1- 18th Century England and France- few reformers advocated higher education for women, one place where women could exhibit their erudition: the literary salon
Para 2- Bluestocking vs salonnieres
Para 3- Bluestocking- at first and how did they change- In an atmosphere of mutual support, the Bluestockings went beyond the salon experience. They traveled, studied, worked, wrote for publication, and by their activities challenged the stereotype of the passive woman.
Para 4- Though the Bluestockings were trailblazers when compared with the salonnieres, they were not feminists.

1. Which of the following best states the central idea of the passage?
(E) For women, who did not have access to higher education as men did, literary salons provided an alternate route to learning and a challenge to some of society's basic assumptions about women.- Correct

2. According to the passage, a significant distinction between the salonnieres and Bluestockings was in the way each group regarded which of the following?
(B) The role of pleasure in the activities of the literary salon
The French salon incorporated aristocratic attitudes that exalted courtly pleasure and emphasized artistic accomplishments. The English Bluestockings, originating from a more modest background, emphasized learning and work over pleasure.


3. The author refers to differences in social background between salonnieres and Bluestockings in order to do which of the following?
(E) Explain the differences in atmosphere and style in their salons - Correct
Differences in social orientation and background can account perhaps for differences in the nature of French and English salons. The French salon incorporated aristocratic attitudes that exalted courtly pleasure and emphasized artistic accomplishments. The English Bluestockings, originating from a more modest background, emphasized learning and work over pleasure. Accustomed to the regimented life of court circles, salonnieres tended toward formality in their salons. The English women, though somewhat puritanical, were more casual in their approach.


4. Which of the following statements is most compatible with the principles of the salonnieres as described in the passage?
(C) Devotion to pleasure and art is justified in itself.

The French salon incorporated aristocratic attitudes that exalted courtly pleasure and emphasized artistic accomplishments.

5. The passage suggests that the Bluestockings might have had a more significant impact on society if it had not been for which of the following?
(E) Their unwillingness to defy aggressively the conventions of their age
Though the Bluestockings were trailblazers when compared with the salonnieres, they were not feminists. They were too traditional, too hemmed in by their generation to demand social and political rights.



6. Which of the following could best be considered a twentieth-century counterpart of an eighteenth-century literary salon as it is described in the passage?
(D) A humanities study group
It was an informal university, too, where women exchanged ideas with educated persons, read their own works and heard those of others, and received and gave criticism.


7. To an assertion that Bluestockings were feminists, the author would most probably respond with which of the following?
(B) Qualified disagreement

Though the Bluestockings were trailblazers when compared with the salonnieres, they were not feminists. They were too traditional, too hemmed in by their generation to demand social and political rights. -- the author disagrees
Nonetheless, in their desire for education, their willingness to go beyond the confines of the salon in pursuing their interests, and their championing of unity among women, the Bluestockings began the process of questioning women’s role in society.- qualifies his disagreement

8. Which of the following titles best describes the content of the passage?
(C) Eighteenth-Century Precursors of Feminism - Correct
Though the Bluestockings were trailblazers when compared with the salonnieres, they were not feminists. They were too traditional, too hemmed in by their generation to demand social and political rights. Nonetheless, in their desire for education, their willingness to go beyond the confines of the salon in pursuing their interests, and their championing of unity among women, the Bluestockings began the process of questioning women’s role in society.