Most studies of recent Southeast Asian immigrants to the United States

2. With which one of the following statements concerning the educational programs of the immigration centers would Tollefson most probably agree?

(A) Although the programs offer adequate job training, they offer inadequate English training.
(B) Some of the programs’ attempts to improve the earning power of the immigrants cut them off from potential sources of income.
(C) Inclusion of the history of immigration in the United States in the programs’ curricula facilitates adjustment for the immigrants.
(D) Immigrants would benefit if instructors in the programs were better prepared to teach the curricula developed in the teacher-training courses.
(E) The programs’ curricula should be redesigned to include greater emphasis on the shared values, beliefs, and practices in the United States.

These efforts often
(30) have the effect of undermining the immigrants’ sense
of community and, in doing so, sometimes isolate them
from the moral support and even from business
opportunities afforded by the immigrant community.

The Author provides enough info in the Passage to understand that the S.E.A Communities ended up being trained for and fit for low-level jobs.

Clearly mentioned in Lines 19-21



The Answer is B.

Writing answers for the Tricky questions only.

Q1.Which one of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the passage?

Tollefsen does not seem too happy with many of the immigration practices of the government or other entities, as we can see from language like "counterproductive and demoralizing". So C is an appropriate answer.
A lot of people went for A, but A is not very strong, just saying that Tollefsen's study is different. This only goes a little bit of the way, and misses Tollefsen's strong dislike of traditional immigrant-processing practices.

2. With which one of the following statements concerning the educational programs of the immigration centers would Tollefson most probably agree?

(A) Although the programs offer adequate job training, they offer inadequate English training.

Because of concerns that the immigrants be self-supporting as soon as possible, they are trained almost exclusively for low level jobs that do not require English proficiency


The passage doesn’t say, the programs offered any English training.
It only states that the program training focused on jobs that required No English.

A can be eliminated

(B) Some of the programs’ attempts to improve the earning power of the immigrants cut them off from potential sources of income.

Tollefson also detects a fundamental flaw in the attempts by program educators to instill in the immigrants the traditionally Western principles of self sufficiency and individual success. These efforts often (30) have the effect of undermining the immigrants’ sense of community and, in doing so, sometimes isolate them from the moral support and even from business opportunities afforded by the immigrant community.

Correct the values taught to them thinking it help their earning power, but it may isolate them from opportunities offered by the their immigrant community.

(C) Inclusion of the history of immigration in the United States in the programs’ curricula facilitates adjustment for the immigrants.

Cannot be inferred from the passage.

(D) Immigrants would benefit if instructors in the programs were better prepared to teach the curricula developed in the teacher-training courses.

No mention of lack of preparation on part of educators.

(E) The programs’ curricula should be redesigned to include greater emphasis on the shared values, beliefs, and practices in the United States.

Nothing like it has been mentioned by Tollefson.

Hi, everyone. I have two questions:
1) Is it possible to update the difficulty level as there have already been more than 30 responses.
2) Please could you provide an explanation for the question #3? I picked up the answer A, which appeared to be wrong. I was hesitant between A and B, but chose B in the end because Tollefson did not come up with any recommendations. Thus, I thought that the word "incomplete" sounded not as descriptive as the word "misguided". Also taking into account the sentence from the first paragraph, "Based on interviews, transcripts from classes, essays by immigrants, personal visits to a teacher-training unit, and official government documents, Tollefson relies on an impressive amount and variety of documentation in making his arguments about processing centers’ educational programs.", I made an assumption that the study is thorough. But it seems faulty.

Hello RusskiyLev

(1). Updated the difficulty level, it is medium to hard level passage (650-Level).

(2). Question #3 is a medium 600-Level question. As you have eliminated other choices i would only discuss option A and B. Since the author doesn’t think Tollefson provides solutions to the problems he points out, she wouldn’t argue that his work is “thorough.” Moreover, she wouldn’t consider it “misguided” either. Indeed, she acknowledges the study’s importance, even while she’s critical of it. So A is wrong here.

PS: I love the way you asked the question, it shows the seriousness of the person asking the question.

Hi, I am currently studying for GMAT and I want to improve my RC skills so I am solving RC in LSAT; how much time should I target to read the passage and answer the questions correctly.

Pretty upset I got the first one wrong. This wasn't too bad of a passage. 5/6. 12.5 minutes.

1. Which one of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the passage?

(A) Tollefson’s focus on the economic and cultural factors involved in adjusting to a new country offers a significant departure from most studies of Southeast Asian immigration. CORRECT (Correct answer is C) If I had to correct myself, I think this choice is a bit too broad.
(B) In his analysis of educational programs for Southeast Asian immigrants, Tollefson fails to acknowledge many of the positive effects the programs have had on immigrants’ lives. X
(C) Tollefson convincingly blames the philosophy underlying immigrant educational programs for some of the adjustment problems afflicting Southeast Asian immigrants. X
(D) Tollefson’s most significant contribution is his analysis of how Southeast Asian immigrants overcome the obstacles they encounter in immigrant educational programs. X
(E) Tollefson traces a gradual yet significant change in the attitudes held by processing center educators toward Southeast Asian immigrants. X

2. With which one of the following statements concerning the educational programs of the immigration centers would Tollefson most probably agree?

(A) Although the programs offer adequate job training, they offer inadequate English training. X
(B) Some of the programs’ attempts to improve the earning power of the immigrants cut them off from potential sources of income. CORRECT
(C) Inclusion of the history of immigration in the United States in the programs’ curricula facilitates adjustment for the immigrants. X
(D) Immigrants would benefit if instructors in the programs were better prepared to teach the curricula developed in the teacher-training courses. X
(E) The programs’ curricula should be redesigned to include greater emphasis on the shared values, beliefs, and practices in the United States. X

3. Which one of the following best describes the opinion of the author of the passage with respect to Tollefson’s work?

(A) thorough but misguided X
(B) innovative but incomplete CORRECT
(C) novel but contradictory X
(D) illuminating but unappreciated X
(E) well documented but unoriginal X

4. The passage suggests that which one of the following is an assumption underlying the educational approach in immigrant processing centers?

(A) There is a set of values and behaviors that, if adopted by immigrants, facilitate adjustment to United States society. CORRECT
(B) When recent immigrants are self-supporting rather than supported by public assistance, they tend to gain English proficiency more quickly. X
(C) Immediate employment tends to undermine the immigrants’ sense of community with each other. X
(D) Long-term success for immigrants is best achieved by encouraging the immigrants to maintain a strong sense of community. X
(E) The principles of self-sufficiency and individual success are central to Southeast Asian culture and ethnicity. X

5. Which one of the following best describes the function of the first paragraph of the passage?

(A) It provides the scholarly context for Tollefson’s study and a description of his methodology. CORRECT
(B) It compares Tollefson’s study to other works and presents the main argument of his study. X
(C) It compares the types of documents Tollefson uses to those used in other studies. X
(D) It presents the accepted theory on Tollefson’s topic and the method by which Tollefson challenges it. X
(E) It argues for the analytical and technical superiority of Tollefson’s study over other works on the topic. X

6. The author of the passage refers to Tollefson’s descriptions of the bureaucratic nature of the immigrant educational programs in the fourth paragraph most probably in order to

(A) criticize Tollefson’s decision to combine a description of the bureaucracies with suggestions for improvement X
(B) emphasize the author’s disappointment in Tollefson’s overly general recommendations for improvements to the programs CORRECT
(C) point out the irony of Tollefson concluding his study with suggestions for drastic changes in the programs X
(D) support a contention that Tollefson’s recommendations for improvements do not focus on the real sources of the programs’ problems X
(E) suggest a parallel between the complexity of the bureaucracies and the complexity of Tollefson’s arguments X

2. With which one of the following statements concerning the educational programs of the immigration centers would Tollefson most probably agree?

(A) Although the programs offer adequate job training, they offer inadequate English training.
(B) Some of the programs’ attempts to improve the earning power of the immigrants cut them off from potential sources of income.
(C) Inclusion of the history of immigration in the United States in the programs’ curricula facilitates adjustment for the immigrants.
(D) Immigrants would benefit if instructors in the programs were better prepared to teach the curricula developed in the teacher-training courses.
(E) The programs’ curricula should be redesigned to include greater emphasis on the shared values, beliefs, and practices in the United States.

These efforts often
(30) have the effect of undermining the immigrants’ sense
of community and, in doing so, sometimes isolate them
from the moral support and even from business
opportunities afforded by the immigrant community.

ans B