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sid13791 take a look at this question .
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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.

Q1: 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
Q2:
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.
Q3:
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


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Source:GMATPREP COMPREHENSIVE RC

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

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.
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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
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hey !
question number 4 please
im unable to understand

thanks
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hey !
question number 4 please
im unable to understand

thanks
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.

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

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:

Quote:
D) It contributed to occasional surges of Iranian economic nationalism

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
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