The profession of engineering—which, by the way, is merely the adaptin

Question

The profession of engineering—which, by the way, is merely the adapting of discoveries in science and art to the uses of mankind is a peculiarly isolated one. But very little is known about it among those outside of the profession. Laymen know something about law, a little about medicine, quite a lot—nowadays—about metaphysics. But laymen know nothing about engineering. Indeed, a source of common amusement among engineers is the peculiar fact that the average layman cannot differentiate between the man who runs a locomotive and the man who designs a locomotive. In ordinary parlance both are called engineers. Yet there is a difference between them—a difference as between day and night.

For one merely operates the results of the creative genius of the other. This almost universal ignorance as to what constitutes an engineer serves to show to what broad extent the profession of engineering is isolated. Yet it is a wonderful profession. I say this with due regard for all other professions. For one cannot but ponder the fact that, if engineers started the greatest war—the world war—the world has ever known—and engineers as a body freely admit that if they did not start it they at least made it possible—they also stopped it, thereby proving themselves possessed of a power greater than that of any other class of professional men—diplomats and lawyers and divinities not excepted.

That engineering is a force fraught with stupendous possibilities, therefore, nobody can very well deny. That it is a force generally exercised for good— despite the world war I myself, as an engineer, can truly testify. With some fifteen years spent on the creative end of the work—the drafting and designing end—I have yet to see, with but two or three rare exceptions, the genius of engineers turned into any but noble channels. Thus, engineering is not only a wonderful profession, with the activities of its followers of utmost importance, but also it is a profession the individual work of whose pioneers, from Watt to Westinghouse and from Eiffel to Edison, has been epoch-making.   1 
 1. What is the primary purpose of the author in writing the passage?

(A) To describe the contributions of engineering to improving the lives of mankind.
(B) To analyse why the layman knows more about other professions than he does about engineering.
(C) To evaluate the good and bad results made possible by the engineering profession.
(D) To explain how engineering is different from other professions.
(E) To discuss a unique aspect of the engineering profession and highlight the importance of engineering.

2  
 2. Which of the following assertions is supported by the information in the passage?

(A) A layman probably knows more about law than he does about engineering.
(B) Engineering has been put to as many noble uses as evil ones.
(C) A layman has considerable knowledge of subjects such as law and medicine.
(D) Engineers played no role in starting the world war.
(E) Had it not been for the efforts of engineers, the world war would have not ended.

3 
 3. In the passage, why does the author mention the man who runs a locomotive?

(A) To show how engineering has different possible uses
(B) To explain how his expertise is different from that of the engineer who designed the locomotive
(C) To highlight the differing nature of expertise required by different types of engineers
(D) To emphasise his point that the layman knows almost nothing about engineering
(E) To describe how certain classes of engineers are unaware of the achievements of other classes of engineers.

RC Butler 2021  -  Practice Two RC Questions Everyday.   
Passage # 105 Date: 16-Mar-2021
 This question is a part of RC Butler 2021 .  Click here for Details

tapasgupta · Answer

1. What is the primary purpose of the author in writing the passage?
 (A) To describe the contributions of engineering to improving the lives of mankind.  - Partial scope. Passage is about the profession.
 (B) To analyse why the layman knows more about other
professions than he does about engineering.  - Partial scope. The primary purpose was not specifice about the laymen
 (C) To evaluate the good and bad results made possible by
the engineering profession.  - Out of scope. No evaluation is done
 (D) To explain how engineering is different from other
professions.  - out of scope. No comparison is done
 (E) To discuss a unique aspect of the engineering profession and highlight the importance of engineering.  - This is the summary of whole passage

2. Which of the following assertions is supported by the information in the passage?
 (A) A layman probably knows more about law than he does about engineering.  - As stated in the passage
 (B) Engineering has been put to as many noble uses as evil ones. - Inconsistent. Cannot be concluded
 (C) A layman has considerable knowledge of subjects such as law and medicine.  - Insconsistent.
 (D) Engineers played no role in starting the world war.  - Inconsistent. Extreme 
 (E) Had it not been for the efforts of engineers, the world war would have not ended.  - opposite

3. In the passage, why does the author mention the man who runs a locomotive?
 (A) To show how engineering has different possible uses  - out of scope
 (B) To explain how his expertise is different from that of the engineer who designed the locomotive  - out of scope
 (C) To highlight the differing nature of expertise required by different types of engineers  - out of scope
 (D) To emphasise his point that the layman knows almost nothing about engineering  - That's what the author meant
 (E) To describe how certain classes of engineers are unaware of the achievements of other classes of engineers.  - out of scope

dcummins · Answer

Passage Map:
 p1: Discusses how few people know about engineering
p2: Provides an example of an likely unknown fact of engineering
P3: Elaborates further from P2 and point out good qualities
P4: To conclude on the importance of engineering

Purpose(tone):  discussion/ +ve

Question 1 
 A - No. We are discussing engineering as a whole, not the contributions to mankind
B - Author doesn't analyse 'why' people know little about engineering
C - only 1 example is given. The purpose of the whole passage isn't to evaluate good and bad.
D - No. The laymen is used as a data point for general awareness of engineering as compared with other professions, but we never explain how engineering is different.
E is correct because overall the author discusses the importance of engineering and provides examples of some of its feats. The "unique aspect" component surely throws people off, but this is the most correct.

Question 2
 A - Correct. Stated in the first para "very little is known about (engineering) among those outside (engineering). Layment know something about law..."
B - We can't support this. Thus, it is incorrect.
C - I don't know about "considerable" knowledge. We are told that layment know "a little about medicine" in P1, but that's it. Eliminate
D - P3 contradicts this by stating that they did. Eliminate
E - We don't know this. It's way out of scope. Eliminate

Question 3  --Pre-think this as much from memory as possible. The author gives the example of two classes of engineers when he is trying to point out that laymen don't know anything about engineering.
A - Way to vague. The author literally only talks about 1 possible use in this example.
B - He states that one is an operator, but that isn't the point of his example in the actual passage itself. The point is to support that, overall, laymen don't know much about engineering
C - No. Same reason as B.
D - Yes. Matches up with our memory. This is What this example is trying to achieve in the passage as a WHOLE. We need to ask WHY the author put it here.
E - No. Not even supported.

sanjitscorps18 · Answer

Para 1 - Engineering is an isolated profession.
Para 2 - Engineering profession has great power
Para 3 - Engineering has more likely made many good things possible than bad ones

Question 1
(E) To discuss a unique aspect of the engineering profession and highlight the importance of engineering.
Unique as it is very isolated while others do provide an idea to the layman and the next two paras show its importance

Question 2
(A) A layman probably knows more about law than he does about engineering.
Supported by para 1 - "Laymen know something about law, a little about medicine, quite a lot—nowadays—about metaphysics. But laymen know nothing about engineering."
 
Question 3
(D) To emphasise his point that the layman knows almost nothing about engineering
Supported by para 1 - "Indeed, a source of common amusement among engineers is the peculiar fact that the average layman cannot differentiate between the man who runs a locomotive and the man who designs a locomotive."

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 profession of engineering—which, by the way, is merely the adaptin

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 profession of engineering—which, by the way, is merely the adaptin

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