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555-605 Level|   Long Passage|   Social Science|            
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jabhatta2
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The Black Death, a severe epidemic that ravaged fourteenth century Eur 13 Apr 2022, 10:51
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AndrewN
^^
Is (b) wrong because

(i) we cant assume that these rats succumbed to the plague themselves - Maybe the rats died on these ships based on sea sickness or lack of food

(ii) (B) makes logical sense but isnt mentioned or inferred per the passage per se
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The Black Death, a severe epidemic that ravaged fourteenth century Eur 13 Apr 2022, 12:43
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jabhatta2
Hi AndrewN - on question 3 - not sure how to eliminate (b) unfortunately. This line is really making me believe perhaps (b) is an answer. Curious on how one can eliminate (B)

Quote:

... Moreover, Twigg disputes the traditional trade-ship explanation for plague transmissions by extrapolating from data on the number of dead rats aboard Nile sailing vessels in 1912.

I made the following 3 inferences with the above line in red
  • there were dead rats on ships (ships, that sailed the river : Nile)
  • Based on the number of dead rats on these ships specifically, the plague could not have originated from these trade-ships
  • If the rats survived instead on these trade ships -- the traditional explanation (that the plague originated from trade-ships) would be more a **bit more likely** to be true.

So i selected (B)
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jabhatta2
AndrewN
^^
Is (b) wrong because

(i) we cant assume that these rats succumbed to the plague themselves - Maybe the rats died on these ships based on sea sickness or lack of food

(ii) (B) makes logical sense but isnt mentioned or inferred per the passage per se
Show more
Hello, jabhatta2. If I had taken this passage before, it was not through this site, so I saw your query and did the only responsible thing I could think to do: I read the passage and completed the question set. If you are curious, I went six for six, but my timing is by no means superhuman: 3:26 (including reading), 1:13, 0:52, 0:24, 1:57, 2:34. Those last two questions I wanted to really think through before committing to an answer, based on some of my earlier experiences blowing through a set of questions and missing one, typically toward the end. Anyway, since the passage is fresh on my mind, I feel primed to answer your queries. How about we look at the question for context?

Quote:
3) The passage suggests that Twigg believes that rats could not have spread the Black Death unless which of the following were true?

(A) The rats escaped from ships that had been in Asia.
(B) The rats were immune to the diseases that they carried.
(C) The rat population was larger in medieval Europe than Twigg believes it actually was.
(D) The rat population primarily infested densely populated areas.
(E) The rats interacted with other animals that Twigg believes could have carried plague.
Show more
We need to determine why Twigg does not believe that rats spread the Black Death. Our answer must come from paragraph three. What information do we find on rats, in relation to the question?

Quote:
zoologist Graham Twigg employs urban case studies suggesting that the rat population in Europe was both too sparse and insufficiently migratory to have spread plague. Moreover, Twigg disputes the traditional trade-ship explanation for plague transmissions by extrapolating from data on the number of dead rats aboard Nile sailing vessels in 1912. The Black Death, which he conjectures was anthrax instead of bubonic plague, therefore caused far less havoc and fewer deaths than historians typically claim.
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Okay, so I can see a few reasonable answers, based on just how closely the GMAT™ likes an inference to stem from stated information:

1) if the rat population in Europe was... too sparse, then it would need to have been larger;

2) if the rat population in Europe was... insufficiently migratory, then it would need to have been more migratory;

3) if data on the number of dead rats... were different (although we cannot say how, exactly, even if we would want to keep 1) and 2) in mind), then the traditional trade-ship explanation for plague transmissions would be more tenable.

From where would we glean any information on rats and immunity to diseases? I see nothing of the sort in paragraph three. So, your reservations above are warranted. Indeed, we cannot speculate on the cause(s) of death of the rats in question, and we need to have textual evidence, not speculation with a dash of logic, to back up our answer. Meanwhile, option (C) touches directly on 1) above, and we should have a much harder time disputing it than any other option.

Of course, I see that GMATNinja has written much of the same above, in this post. But I do not feel as though I have wasted my time. Sometimes it is good for the community to see the same lines of reasoning repeated, and sometimes it is good to see a slightly different take on the same material, even if the thought process leads to the same conclusion.

Thank you for thinking to ask, and good luck with your studies.

- Andrew
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The Black Death, a severe epidemic that ravaged fourteenth century Eur 14 Apr 2023, 10:38
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Question 4


mysteriouswoman
4. The author's attitude toward Twigg's work is best characterized as which of the following?

(A) Dismissive
(B) Indifferent
(C) Vindictive
(D) Cautious
(E) Ambivalent

I chose Option E- ambivalent. I don't understand how the correct answer is option a- dismissive?
To understand the author's attitude toward Twigg's work, look for clues in the passage.

In the third paragraph, the author says one positive thing about Twigg: he "correctly [cites] the exacting conditions needed to start or spread bubonic plague."

Then, the author goes on a long rant about all of the stuff that Twigg got wrong:

  • "Twigg ignores virtually a century of scholarship contradictory to his findings"
  • Twigg also "employs faulty logic in his single-minded approach to the Black Death."
  • Twigg's "speculative generalizations about the numbers of rats in medieval Europe are based on isolated studies unrepresentative of medieval conditions," and finally,
  • "his unconvincing trade-ship argument overlooks land-based caravans, the overland migration of infected rodents, and the many other animals that carry plague."

Yikes! The author really doesn't think that Twigg's research deserves much respect. So, in looking for an answer choice for question 4, we want a word that captured the author's disdain for Twigg's work.

(A) fits the bill. The author dismisses Twigg's work, calling it faulty, speculative, and unconvincing. So, we can say that the author's attitude is dismissive.

(B), on the other hand, is a bit off: "ambivalent" means that you have mixed feelings about something. While the author throws in a few words about something that Twigg got right, he/she then goes on to thoroughly bash Twigg's work. The author thinks that Twigg's work is not worthy of respect, so we can't say that the author was ambivalent toward that work.

(A) is the correct answer to question 4.

I hope that helps!
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GMATNinja MartyTargetTestPrep

The author does talk about one positive aspect(correct exacting conditions) before the negative ones. So won't this be ambivalent as he has both positive and negative feelings? Hence, option E
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The Black Death, a severe epidemic that ravaged fourteenth century Eur 07 May 2023, 13:06
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GMATNinja

Question 4



mysteriouswoman
4. The author's attitude toward Twigg's work is best characterized as which of the following?

(A) Dismissive

(B) Indifferent

(C) Vindictive

(D) Cautious

(E) Ambivalent

I chose Option E- ambivalent. I don't understand how the correct answer is option a- dismissive?

To understand the author's attitude toward Twigg's work, look for clues in the passage.

In the third paragraph, the author says one positive thing about Twigg: he "correctly [cites] the exacting conditions needed to start or spread bubonic plague."

Then, the author goes on a long rant about all of the stuff that Twigg got wrong:

  • "Twigg ignores virtually a century of scholarship contradictory to his findings"
  • Twigg also "employs faulty logic in his single-minded approach to the Black Death."
  • Twigg's "speculative generalizations about the numbers of rats in medieval Europe are based on isolated studies unrepresentative of medieval conditions," and finally,
  • "his unconvincing trade-ship argument overlooks land-based caravans, the overland migration of infected rodents, and the many other animals that carry plague."

Yikes! The author really doesn't think that Twigg's research deserves much respect. So, in looking for an answer choice for question 4, we want a word that captured the author's disdain for Twigg's work.

(A) fits the bill. The author dismisses Twigg's work, calling it faulty, speculative, and unconvincing. So, we can say that the author's attitude is dismissive.

(B), on the other hand, is a bit off: "ambivalent" means that you have mixed feelings about something. While the author throws in a few words about something that Twigg got right, he/she then goes on to thoroughly bash Twigg's work. The author thinks that Twigg's work is not worthy of respect, so we can't say that the author was ambivalent toward that work.

(A) is the correct answer to question 4.

I hope that helps!

GMATNinja MartyTargetTestPrep

The author does talk about one positive aspect(correct exacting conditions) before the negative ones. So won't this be ambivalent as he has both positive and negative feelings? Hence, option E
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The word "ambivalent" implies roughly equal positive feelings and negative feelings. If I feel ambivalent about having pizza for dinner tonight, then I could really go either way -- maybe my positive feelings about the cheesy deliciousness are equally balanced with my negative feelings about the heartburn that is sure to follow.

The author has more negative than positive feelings about Twigg's work. Even if he/she throws in one token positive thing, his/her overall impression of Twigg is definitely negative. So, "dismissive" is a better fit than "ambivalent," even though the author says one nice thing.

I hope that clears things up!
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The Black Death, a severe epidemic that ravaged fourteenth century Eur 28 Aug 2025, 01:26
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Hello, I need some help on Question5 please.
While I understand the reason why all the other answer choices are wrong, I still do not understand why D is correct.
(D) presenting aspects of past and current debate on the historical importance of the Black Death

I dismissed D because of the word current since I don't see in the passage any signs that the author is addressing current opinions.

Any thoughts please? Thank you!
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The Black Death, a severe epidemic that ravaged fourteenth century Eur 11 Sep 2025, 12:38
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Question 5


Pixelm
Hello, I need some help on Question5 please.

While I understand the reason why all the other answer choices are wrong, I still do not understand why D is correct.

(D) presenting aspects of past and current debate on the historical importance of the Black Death

I dismissed D because of the word current since I don't see in the passage any signs that the author is addressing current opinions.

Any thoughts please? Thank you!
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Notice that Gasquet, Coulton, and Kosminsky are all referred to in the past tense: "The Black Death {...} has intrigued scholars ever since Francis Gasquet's 1893 study... Thirty-six years later, historian George Coulton agreed... In the 1930s, however, Evgeny Kosminsky and other Marxist historians claimed..."

We're told that the central role of the Black Death in history was restored after the Second World War. Then, in the third paragraph, the author tells us that this restored view has been recently challenged. The author then uses the present tense to describe that challenge: "Graham Twigg employs urban case studies... disputes the traditional trade-ship explanation..." The verb tenses suggest that Twigg's challenge remains a topic of debate and discussion.

The final sentence of the third paragraph seals the deal: "The Black Death, which [Twigg] conjectures was anthrax instead of bubonic plague, therefore caused far less havoc and fewer deaths than historians typically claim." The use of the present tense here highlights that the claims made by Twigg and historians are currently at odds and subject to debate.

In the final paragraph, the author continues to use the present tense when criticizing Twigg's ideas. This implies that Twigg's ideas are still up for debate, and the author is wading into the current debate by writing this passage.

I hope that helps!
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The Black Death, a severe epidemic that ravaged fourteenth century Eur 02 Oct 2025, 06:33
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Question 5- Since this is a primary purpose question that many students struggle with, I will give a detailed explanation as these can be tricky because you need to step back and see the big picture of what the author is really trying to accomplish throughout the entire passage.

Let's think about this systematically. When you're tackling a "primarily concerned with" question, you want to trace the overall structure and ask yourself: "What is the author fundamentally doing here?"

Here's how to approach this:

Step 1: Map the passage structure
Notice how this passage follows a clear chronological progression:
  • Early scholars (1890s-1920s): Gasquet and Coulton saw the Black Death as hugely important
  • Marxist historians (1930s): Argued it was relatively unimportant compared to economic factors
  • Post-WWII scholars: Restored its central role based on mortality data
  • Modern challenge (Twigg): Questions both the importance AND what disease it actually was
  • Author's response: Systematic critique of Twigg's arguments

Step 2: Identify the common thread
What connects all these different time periods and scholars? They're all debating the historical significance of the Black Death. The author isn't trying to resolve this debate - they're showing us how it has evolved over time.

Step 3: Eliminate systematically
  • Choice A is wrong because the passage actually questions the plague-Black Death connection (through Twigg's argument) rather than demonstrating it
  • Choice C focuses too narrowly on disease transmission when most of the passage deals with historical importance
  • Choice E overemphasizes the Marxist angle - they're just one viewpoint among many in this chronological survey

The key insight: The passage opens with "has intrigued scholars ever since" and then systematically presents different scholarly positions across more than a century. This clearly signals that we're looking at an ongoing academic debate about historical importance.

Answer: D - The passage presents aspects of both past debate (early scholars, Marxists, post-WWII historians) and current debate (Twigg's challenge), all focused on the Black Death's historical importance.

You can check out the step-by-step solution on Neuron by e-GMAT to master the systematic framework for all primary purpose questions and learn the pattern recognition techniques that work consistently. You can also explore other GMAT official questions with detailed solutions on Neuron for structured practice here.
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