The experience of British business in Iran between the 1860's and the

Question

The experience of British business in Iran between the 1860's and the 1970's is one example of the changing importance of British enterprise in Asia as a whole. Before 1914 British business established and dominated Iran's modern industrial and financial sector; in the 1920's this domination began to wane; by the 1960's British enterprise was of little importance in the Iranian economy. While in Japan and India the decline of British business was primarily a function of the rise of strong indigenous business groups, in Iran, by contrast, the government played a large role in both challenging British commercial interests and stimulating locally owned enterprise. Periodic surges of intense Iranian economic nationalism must be understood partly as a reaction to the close relations between British business in Iran and the British government. In retrospect, it is possible to see the uneasy and ambiguous nature of this relationship. It is true that the British Imperial Bank in Iran was never entirely a tool of the British government, and that the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company did not take its orders from the British government, despite the 51 percent government shareholding. However, the relationship between British business and the British government was sufficiently close that many Iranians understandably viewed the oil company and the bank as symbols of a British imperialist policy.    1  
 1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

A. evaluate a country's solution to a problem 
B. describe differing perceptions of a historical event 
C. contrast historical events in two countries 
D. provide an explanation for a historical phenomenon 
E. challenge an accepted explanation for a historical change

2  
 2. The passage suggests which of the following about British business in Japan and India as compared to British business in Iran?

A. British business in Japan and India received less support from the British government than did British business in Iran. 
B. During the early twentieth century, British business played less of a role in the Japanese and Indian economy than it did in the Iranian economy. 
C. The governments of Japan and India played less of a role in the changing status of British business than did the government of Iran. 
D. The types of enterprises conducted by the British in Japan and India were significantly different from the enterprises conducted by the British in Iran. 
E. British business in Japan and India declined more gradually than did British business in Iran.

3  
 3. The author of the passage mentions the British government's shares in the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company most probably in order to 
 
A. demonstrate the British enterprise in Iran was controlled by the British government 
B. contrast British-run businesses in Iran with Iranian-run businesses in Iran 
C. show how joint British and Iranian enterprises were encouraged by the British government 
D. illustrate a point about the financial difficulties faced by British businesses in Asia 
E. suggest a reason for Iranians' perception of the role British government played in British busines

4  
 4. According to the passage, which of the following is true of the relationship between the British government and the British businesses in Iran?

A. It deteriorated as the Iranian government challenged British commercial interests.
B. It was uneasy because the British government sought to exert control over business decisions
C. It was highly profitable for the government because the government owned such a large share of the industries.
D. It contributed to occasional surges of Iranian economic nationalism
E. It was largely responsible for the creation of Iranian market for British goods before 1914

CrackverbalGMAT · Accepted Answer

Let us read the passage -
the first sentence states that experience of British businesses in Asia is an example of changing importance of British enterprise in Asia. The second sentence expands on this by giving a brief timeline. The third sentence talks about how the situation in Iran was different from that in Japan and India. The fourth, fifth and the sixth sentences all explain why the situation in Iran was different.
Note that the entire passage expands on the first sentence - the experience of British businesses in Iran and the reasons for it.

Let us look at the first question -
A - the passage does not talk about any "problem", just the experience of British businesses in Iran.
B - the author only talks about his/her opinion. No other "perceptions" are mentioned.
C - this is not the object of the passage. the purpose is to discuss the experience of British businesses and the reasons for it. Also, note that the passage compares Japan and India to Iran, not two countries.
D - correct answer. the passage talks about the reasons for experience of British businesses in Iran.
E - the author does not challenge any explanation. We do not whether the views mentioned are "accepted" or not.

Q2.
this is talked in this sentence - "  While in Japan and India the decline of British business was primarily a function of the rise of strong indigenous business groups, in Iran, by contrast, the government played a large role in both challenging British commercial interests and stimulating locally owned enterprise. "
What is the simplest inference that can be drawn from this? Iranian government played a larger role in challenging British commercial interests/the governments of India and Japan played a lesser role in challenging British commercial interests.
Only option C states this.

Q3.
this is talked about in this sentence - " It is true that the British Imperial Bank in Iran was never entirely a tool of the British government, and that the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company did not take its orders from the British government, despite the 51 percent government shareholding. However,  the relationship between British business and the British government was sufficiently close  that many Iranians understandably viewed the oil company and the bank as symbols of a British imperialist policy." 
A - goes against the passage.
B - the passage does not talk about "Iranian run businesses in Iran".
C - the passage does not talk about "joint British and Iranian businesses"
D - Not relevant to the question. See the above sentences from the passage - they do not talk about financial difficulties.
E - correct answer.

oasis90 · Answer

Hi, I got this RC on my exam. The question I got wrong is not on there. The question is:

According to the passage, which of the following is true of the relationship between the British government and the British businesses in Iran?

A) It deteriorated as the Iranian government challenged British commercial interests. 
B) It was uneasy because the British government sought to exert control over business decisions
C) It was highly profitable for the government because the government owned such a large share of the industries. 
D) It contributed to occasional surges of Iranian economic nationalism
E) It was largely responsible for the creation of Iranian market for British goods before 1914

sid13791 · Answer

sid13791  take a look at this question .

Poorvasha · Answer

Oasis90  The answer to this will be D. This can be inferred from this text of the passage :"Periodic surges of intense Iranian economic nationalism must be understood partly as a reaction to the close relations between British business in Iran and the British government". Why A is incorrect ? The relationship between the British government and British businesses did not deteriorate only the British businesses deteriorated after the government challenged British commercial interests.

Skywalker18 · Answer

Took 6 mins , including 2 mins 15 seconds to read . All correct .

Q1: The primary purpose of the passage is to 
A. evaluate a country's solution to a problem -- Incorrect -- there is evaluation of a solution 
B. describe differing perceptions of a historical event -- Incorrect -- no differing perceptions provided
C. contrast historical events in two countries -- Incorrect -- 2 countries-- we are only talking about Iran
D. provide an explanation for a historical phenomenon -- Correct
E. challenge an accepted explanation for a historical change -- Incorrect - no challenge

Q2: 
The passage suggests which of the following about British business in Japan and India as compared to British business in Iran? 
While in Japan and India the decline of British business was primarily a function of the rise of strong indigenous business groups,  in Iran, by contrast, the government played a large role in both challenging British commercial interests and stimulating locally owned enterprise.

C. The governments of Japan and India played less of a role in the changing status of British business than did the government of Iran. -- Correct

Q3: 
The author of the passage mentions the British government's shares in the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company most probably in order to 
It is true that the British Imperial Bank in Iran was never entirely a tool of the British government, and that the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company did not take its orders from the British government, despite the 51 percent government shareholding.  However, the relationship between British business and the British government was sufficiently close that many Iranians understandably viewed the oil company and the bank as symbols of a British imperialist policy.

A. demonstrate the British enterprise in Iran was controlled by the British government -- the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company did not take its orders from the British government, 
B. contrast British-run businesses in Iran with Iranian-run businesses in Iran -- Incorrect -- no contrast
C. show how joint British and Iranian enterprises were encouraged by the British government -- Incorrect
D. illustrate a point about the financial difficulties faced by British businesses in Asia -- No mention of financial difficulties 
E. suggest a reason for Iranians' perception of the role British government played in British business -- Correct

Anshuman0902 · Answer

hey !
question number 4 please
im unable to understand

thanks

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  Anshuman0902 . I would be happy to help. Remember, an  according to the passage  question is a detail question, so we should be able to find the answer directly in the passage. An effective method for such questions is to match keywords between the question stem and the passage. I will  boldface  the keywords I would zero in on below.

To find our answer, we need to look for a line that directly touches on a relationship between these two British entities  in Iran . The first few lines of the passage discuss British business, but not the government. We then hit the right keywords starting in sentence 3, in the middle of the paragraph (my  emphases ):

While in Japan and India the decline of  British business  was primarily a function of the rise of strong indigenous business groups, in Iran, by contrast,  the government  played a large role in both challenging British commercial interests and stimulating locally owned enterprise. Periodic surges of intense Iranian economic nationalism must be understood partly as a reaction to the  close relations between British business in Iran and the British government . In retrospect, it is possible to see the uneasy and ambiguous nature of  this relationship .

Notice how the first line above touches on both British entities, but how the end of the second line is nearly identical to what we see in the question stem. And what information do we find attached to this promising snippet of text? Well, the first half of the sentence aligns with choice (D) nicely:

Instead of  occasional  in the question stem, we see  periodic , but the other words are almost identical. In short, we have found an answer that fully agrees with the passage, just what we should be looking for in this question type. The other answers may sound reasonable, and that is what makes RC questions challenging without a lot of practice, but again,  according to the passage  questions lean on direct textual evidence to support one answer over the other, more interpretive answers.

I tell my students this often, but it bears repeating: stick to the surface of RC passages—i.e. do NOT read into them. You will be rewarded for such a simple approach, both in terms of timing and accuracy.

I hope that helps. Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

VerbalBot · Answer

Automated notice from GMAT Club VerbalBot:

A member just gave Kudos to this thread, showing it’s still useful. I’ve bumped it to the top so more people can benefit. Feel free to add your own questions or solutions.

This post was generated automatically.

The experience of British business in Iran between the 1860's and the

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards

GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

The experience of British business in Iran between the 1860's and the

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards