In the eighteenth century, Japans feudal overlords, from

Question

In the eighteenth century, Japan's feudal 
 overlords, from the shogun to the humblest 
 samurai, found themselves under financial 
 stress. In part, this stress can be attributed to
 
(5) 
 
the overlords' failure to adjust to a rapidly ex-
 panding economy, but the stress was also due to 
 factors beyond the overlords' control. Concen-
 tration of the samurai in castle-towns had acted 
 as a stimulus to trade. Commercial efficiency, in
 
(10) 
 
turn, had put temptations in the way of buyers.
 Since most samurai had been reduced to idleness
 by years of peace, encouraged to engage in 
 scholarship and martial exercises or to perform 
 administrative tasks that took little time, it is
 
(15) 
 
not surprising that their tastes and habits grew 
 expensive. Overlords' income, despite the in-
 crease in rice production among their tenant 
 farmers, failed to keep pace with their expenses.
 Although shortfalls in overlords' income re-
 
(20) 
 
sulted almost as much from laxity among their 
 tax collectors (the nearly inevitable outcome of 
 hereditary officeholding) as from their higher 
 standards of living, a misfortune like a fire or 
 flood, bringing an increase in expenses or a drop

(25) 
 
in revenue, could put a domain in debt to the 
 city rice-brokers who handled its finances. Once 
 in debt, neither the individual samurai nor the 
 shogun himself found it easy to recover.
 It was difficult for individual samurai over-
 
(30) 
 
lords to increase their income because the 
 amount of rice that farmers could be made to 
 pay in taxes was not unlimited, and since the in-
 come of Japan's central government consisted in
 part of taxes collected by the shogun from his
 
(35) 
 
huge domain, the government too was con-
 strained. Therefore, the Tokugawa shoguns
 began to look to other sources for revenue.
 Cash profits from government-owned mines
 were already on the decline because the most
 
(40) 
 
easily worked deposits of silver and gold had
 been exhausted, although debasement of the 
 coinage had compensated for the loss. Opening 
 up new farmland was a possibility, but most of
 what was suitable had already been exploited
 
(45) 
 
and further reclamation was technically unfeasi-
 ble. Direct taxation of the samurai themselves
 would be politically dangerous. This left the 
 shoguns only commerce as a potential source of 
 government income.
 
(50) 
 
Most of the country's wealth, or so it seemed,
 was finding its way into the hands of city mer-
 chants. It appeared reasonable that they should 
 contribute part of that revenue to ease the 
 shogun's burden of financing the state. A means

(55) 
 
of obtaining such revenue was soon found by 
 levying forced ioans, known as goyo-kin;
 although these were not taxes in the strict sense,
 since they were irregular in timing and arbitrary
 in amount, they were high in yield. Unfortunately,
 
(60) 
 
they pushed up prices. Thus, regrettably, the 
 Tokugawa shoguns' search for solvency for the 
 government made it increasingly difficult for
 individual Japanese who lived on fixed stipends 
 to make ends meet.
 
   1 
 1.The passage is most probably an excerpt from

(A) an economic history of Japan
(B) the memoirs of a samurai warrior
(C) a modern novel about eighteenth-century Japan
(D) an essay contrasting Japanese feudalism with its Western counterpart
(E) an introduction to a collection of Japanese folktales

2 
 2. Which of the following financial situations is most analogous to the financial situation in which Japan’s Tokugawa shoguns found themselves in the eighteenth century?

(A) A small business borrows heavily to invest in new equipment, but is able to pay off its debt early when it is awarded a lucrative government contract.
(B) Fire destroys a small business, but insurance covers the cost of rebuilding.
(C) A small business is turned down for a loan at a local bank because the owners have no credit history.
(D) A small business has to struggle to meet operating expenses when its profits decrease.
(E) A small business is able to cut back sharply on spending through greater commercial efficiency and thereby compensate for a loss of revenue.

3 
 3. Which of the following best describes the attitude of the author toward the samurai discussed in lines 11-16?

(A) Warmly approving
(B) Mildly sympathetic
(C) Bitterly disappointed
(D) Harshly disdainful
(E) Profoundly shocked

4 
 4. According to the passage, the major reason for the financial problems experienced by Japan’s feudal overlords in the eighteenth century was that

(A) spending had outdistanced income
(B) trade had fallen off
(C) profits from mining had declined
(D) the coinage had been sharply debased
(E) the samurai had concentrated in castle-towns

5 
 5. The passage implies that individual samurai did not find it easy to recover from debt for which of the following reasons?

(A) Agricultural production had increased.
(B) Taxes were irregular in timing and arbitrary in amount.
(C) The Japanese government had failed to adjust to the needs of a changing economy.
(D) The domains of samurai overlords were becoming smaller and poorer as government revenues increased.
(E) There was a limit to the amount in taxes that farmers could be made to pay.

6 
 6. The passage suggests that, in eighteenth-century Japan, the office of tax collector

(A) was a source of personal profit to the officeholder
(B) was regarded with derision by many Japanese
(C) remained within families
(D) existed only in castle-towns
(E) took up most of the officeholder’s time

7 
 7. Which of the following could best be substituted for the word “This” in line 47 without changing the meaning of the passage?

(A) The search of Japan’s Tokugawa shoguns for solvency
(B) The importance of commerce in feudal Japan
(C) The unfairness of the tax structure in eighteenth-century Japan
(D) The difficulty of increasing government income by other means
(E) The difficulty experienced by both individual samurai and the shogun himself in extricating themselves from debt

8 
 8. The passage implies that which of the following was the primary reason why the Tokugawa shoguns turned to city merchants for help in financing the state?

(A) A series of costly wars had depleted the national treasury.
(B) Most of the country's wealth appeared to be in city merchants' hands.
(C) Japan had suffered a series of economic reversals due to natural disasters such as floods.
(D) The merchants were already heavily indebted to the shoguns.
(E) Further reclamation of land would not have been economically advantageous.

9 
 9. According to the passage, the actions of the Tokugawa shoguns in their search for solvency for the government were regrettable because those actions

(A) raised the cost of living by pushing up prices
(B) resulted in the exhaustion of the most easily worked deposits of silver and gold
(C) were far lower in yield than had originally been anticipated
(D) did not succeed in reducing government spending
(E) acted as a deterrent to trade

Nikhil · Accepted Answer

1.The passage is most probably an excerpt from

(A) an economic history of Japan 
(B) the memoirs of a samurai warrior
(C) a modern novel about eighteenth-century Japan
(D) an essay contrasting Japanese feudalism with its Western counterpart
(E) an introduction to a collection of Japanese folktales

The best answer is A. This question requires you to make two judgments: what is the general nature of the style and content of the passage and in what kind of publication would a passage of that nature appear? The passage is a somewhat technical discussion of the economic situation of a certain class of eighteenth-century Japanese, focusing on an analysis of then-prevalent economic practices and trends. Thus, an economic history of Japan (choice A) is certainly a probable source for such material. Although any of the works in the
other choices could conceivably contain such material, it is not probable, and there is no internal evidence to suggest that this excerpt could be appropriately placed in the types of works listed in choices B, C, D, or E.

2. Which of the following financial situations is most analogous to the financial situation in which Japan’s Tokugawa shoguns found themselves in the eighteenth century?

(A) A small business borrows heavily to invest in new equipment, but is able to pay off its debt early when it is awarded a lucrative government contract.
(B) Fire destroys a small business, but insurance covers the cost of rebuilding.
(C) A small business is turned down for a loan at a local bank because the owners have no credit history.
 (D) A small business has to struggle to meet operating expenses when its profits decrease. 
(E) A small business is able to cut back sharply on spending through greater commercial efficiency and thereby compensate for a loss of revenue.

The best answer is D. In order to answer this question you must first determine what were the essential elements of the shoguns' financial situation and then decide which of the choices presents a situation with the same basic elements. Lines 16-18 indicate that the overlords' income failed to keep pace with their expenses. Lines 19-26 describe some of the reasons expenses rose while income declined. Choice D is the only choice that contains these two critical elements. With the exception of E, the other choices describe situations in which one of the elements is analogous to critical elements in the shoguns' situation, but the other is not. Choice E is not
analogous in either of its elements.

3. Which of the following best describes the attitude of the author toward the samurai discussed in lines 11-16?

(A) Warmly approving
 (B) Mildly sympathetic 
(C) Bitterly disappointed
(D) Harshly disdainful
(E) Profoundly shocked

The best answer is B. This question asks about the attitude of the author toward a particular group as that attitude is revealed in the language of the passage. To answer this question, you should first re-examine the lines cited. The samurai are described as idle and given to expensive pursuits. The author, however, does not dismiss them; rather, it is implied that their idleness is not totally a matter of choice: they were "reduced to idleness," (line 11) and their response seems to the author "not surprising." Thus, the author's attitude can
be described as "mildly sympathetic."

4. According to the passage, the major reason for the financial problems experienced by Japan’s feudal overlords in the eighteenth century was that

(A) spending had outdistanced income 
(B) trade had fallen off
(C) profits from mining had declined
(D) the coinage had been sharply debased
(E) the samurai had concentrated in castle-towns

The best answer is A. This question requires you to identify the major reason stated in the passage for the problems of the feudal overlords. To answer the question, it is ne~essary to distinguish between the major reason and the factors that contributed to, but alone do not completely account for, the problem. Lines 16-18 state that the overlords' income "failed to keep pace with their expenses." The rest of the paragraph goes on to explain the various factors that contributed to the problem. Notice that choices C, D, and E are discussed in the passage as factors influencing the economic situation; they are not, however, the major reason for the problems of the overlords.

5. The passage implies that individual samurai did not find it easy to recover from debt for which of the following reasons?

(A) Agricultural production had increased.
(B) Taxes were irregular in timing and arbitrary in amount.
(C) The Japanese government had failed to adjust to the needs of a changing economy.
(D) The domains of samurai overlords were becoming smaller and poorer as government revenues increased.
 (E) There was a limit to the amount in taxes that farmers could be made to pay.

The best answer is E. This question asks you to identify the reason that individual samurai, once they had become indebted, could not extricate themselves from debt. Lines
16-18 suggest that individual samurai d·rew their income from rice production among tenant farmers, and lines 30-32 indicate that this income could not be increased indefinitely. Thus, it can be concluded that the samurai could not raise enough money to recover from debt because they could not increase the income derived from tenant farms. Choice E
is a statement of this idea.

6. The passage suggests that, in eighteenth-century Japan, the office of tax collector

(A) was a source of personal profit to the officeholder
(B) was regarded with derision by many Japanese
 (C) remained within families 
(D) existed only in castle-towns
(E) took up most of the officeholder’s time

The best answer is C. This question asks for a specific supporting detail presented in the passage. To answer the question, it is necessary to locate the reference in the passage to the office of tax collector. Lines 21-22 contain a parenthetical reference to the office of tax collector. It is indicated there that the office of tax collector is hereditary. Choice C presents a paraphrase of this idea: the office "remained within families." There is no evidence to support any of the statements made in the other choices.

7. Which of the following could best be substituted for the word “This” in line 47 without changing the meaning of the passage?

(A) The search of Japan’s Tokugawa shoguns for solvency
(B) The importance of commerce in feudal Japan
(C) The unfairness of the tax structure in eighteenth-century Japan
 (D) The difficulty of increasing government income by other means 
(E) The difficulty experienced by both individual samurai and the shogun himself in extricating themselves from debt

The best answer is D. This question requires you to determine the referent of the pronoun " This" in line.47. You should first reread the paragraph containing the sentence, and decide what "This" refers to. The paragraph discusses ways in which the Tokugawa shogun and the government attempted to increase revenues and explains why each of the attempts fell short of solving the problem. The pronoun " This" in line 47 introduces a sentence that draws a conclusion based on the fact that most means of increasing government revenue had been exhausted; "This" can only refer to the difficulty they experienced. Choice D contains a phrase that conveys this idea and that can be substituted for the pronoun " This" with- out altering the meaning of the sentence.

8. The passage implies that which of the following was the primary reason why the Tokugawa shoguns turned to city merchants for help in financing the state?

(A) A series of costly wars had depleted the national treasury.
 (B) Most of the country's wealth appeared to be in city merchants' hands. 
(C) Japan had suffered a series of economic reversals due to natural disasters such as floods.
(D) The merchants were already heavily indebted to the shoguns.
(E) Further reclamation of land would not have been economically advantageous.

The best answer is B. This question requires you to identify the major reason why the Tokugawa shoguns began to require city merchants to contribute to the state revenues. The second paragraph indicates that the shoguns had exhausted most sources of revenue for the government. Lines 50-54 indicate that the shoguns believed that city merchants had acquired most of the country 's wealth. Because of that belief, they deemed it " reasonable" to turn to the city merchants. Thus, choice 8 is the best answer.

9. According to the passage, the actions of the Tokugawa shoguns in their search for solvency for the government were regrettable because those actions

(A) raised the cost of living by pushing up prices 
(B) resulted in the exhaustion of the most easily worked deposits of silver and gold
(C) were far lower in yield than had originally been anticipated
(D) did not succeed in reducing government spending
(E) acted as a deterrent to trade

The best answer is A. To answer this question, you must determine why the author of the passage judges the actions of the shoguns as " regrettable," a judgment rendered in the conclusion of the passage. The passage indicates that the forced loans demanded of city merchants by the shoguns (lines 54-60) had the ultimate effect of driving up prices. The next sentence discusses the effects of the rise in prices on the cost of living, an effect that the author finds unfortunate ("Thus, regrettably," line 60). Therefore, choice A is the best answer.

vedprakashchauhan · Answer

1. A ( tried Elimination )
1.The passage is most probably an excerpt from
(A) an economic history of Japan
--> Passage talks of economic elements like tax, Trade, commerce, tax collectors etc. As well, it points to sscenario in past covering economic shape at that time.

(B) the memoirs of a samurai warrior
--> The passage is not only limited to samurai warriors but all the feudal overlords. refre Line 1.
(C) a modern novel about eighteenth-century Japan
--> The passage discuss the condition as it was in 18th century without any comparision with modern activities.
(D) an essay contrasting Japanese feudalism with its Western counterpart
->No mention of western counterpart
(E) an introduction to a collection of Japanese folktales
--> The passage accounts for actual economic condition in 18th century rather than folktales.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. D -- > Levying forced loan was supposed to increase the revenue so that economic situation could be better. However, loan increased the prices while the income was fixed and hence purchasing power decreased and thus nullifying the positive impact of the remedial effort. Its a kind of deadloack situation.

(A) A small business borrows heavily to invest in new equipment, but is able to pay off its debt early when it is awarded a lucrative government contract.
--> If small business can pay its debts, they would find themself in better condition.

(B) Fire destroys a small business, but insurance covers the cost of rebuilding.
--> Insurance covers for the loss and hence small business can survive and getting insurnace has no adverse impact on the business rather it would boost it up.

(C) A small business is turned down for a loan at a local bank because the owners have no credit history.
-> It shows a circular or deadlock situation ie if you dont have a credit history then you dont get loan but if you dont have money how would have a credit history. But its more of a trap. The situation described in situation wants a remedial effort which nullyfied by one of the consequences of that effort.

(D) A small business has to struggle to meet operating expenses when its profits decrease.
--> This seems best. Small businees takes some action to grow its business but ultimately the profit is decreasing. Similar to sitution where efforts were taken to increase the revenue but in reality profit was descresing because of rising prices and fixed income.

(E) A small business is able to cut back sharply on spending through greater commercial efficiency and thereby compensate for a loss of revenue.
-->if the remedial effort can lead to the solution , then its not analogous to the situation mentioned in the passage.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3.Which of the following best describes the attitude of the author toward the samurai discussed in lines 11-16?
(A) Warmly approving
(B) Mildly sympathetic
--> Just picked based on the tone of the passage.
(C) Bitterly disappointed
(D) Harshly disdainful
(E) Profoundly shocked
------------------------------------------------------
4.A
4.According to the passage, the major reason for the financial problems experienced by Japan’s feudal overlords in the eighteenth century was that
(A) spending had outdistanced income
-->income, despite the increase in rice production among their tenant farmers, failed to keep pace with their expenses. Rest are the reasons/evidences why couldn't they keep up with growing economy.
(B) trade had fallen off
(C) profits from mining had declined
(D) the coinage had been sharply debased
(E) the samurai had concentrated in castle-towns
-----------------------
5 .(E) There was a limit to the amount in taxes that farmers could be made to pay
based on --> "It was difficult for individual samurai overlords to increase their income because the amount of rice that farmers could be made to pay in taxes was not unlimited"
The taxes were not unlimited meaning there was a limit to it.
--------------------

6.The passage suggests that, in eighteenth-century Japan, the office of tax collector
-->based on "the nearly inevitable outcome of hereditary office-holding"

7. D. 'This' refers to a situation of economic condition where overlords were not able to raise the income levels

Which of the following could best be substituted for the word “This” in line 47 without changing the meaning of the passage?
(A) The search of Japan’s Tokugawa shoguns for s
lvency --> Just a specific situation and it has been mentioned in passage later.
(B) The importance of commerce in feudal Japan
--> Importance of commerce is higlighted beacuse of situaation pointed by 'This'.

(C) The unfairness of the tax structure in eighteenth century Japan
--> Tax structure never said to be unfair

(D) The difficulty of increasing government income by other means
--> Author discusses many options which failed to increas the income. And this led to looking for commerce as viable option. Best Answer
(E) The difficulty experienced by both individual samurai and the shogun himself in extricating themselves from debt
--> Just a specific case

sleepynut · Answer

Hi expert,
I couldn't find any clue to the answer of question#3
In my 2 cents,
Options C,D,and E could be eliminate since the excerpt in lines 11-16 emanates the sense of moderation,not so negative as presented in those options.However,I couldn't sense any sympathy from the author,but plain acknowledge of the samurais' situation from "it is not surprising".

Please advise
In fact,I am having difficulty with this type of question.Any tips would be great :-)

Thanks

Thanks

sayantanc2k · Answer

I agree with you. Nothing in line 11-16 indicates the author's sympathy. You were absolutely on the right track, identifying that "it is not surprising" could lead to the right answer. This question does not seem to be from an authentic source.

aki001 · Answer

This is in reference to question 3 - the tone is such that the author acknowledges that the current condition of shoguns is kind of justified due to their lifestyle which they had developed due to reasons which are mentioned and is hence justified .So the answer should be (a) warmly approving.
Plz explain ?

LauraOrion · Answer

Hey  aki001 . You're on the right track in thinking about the fact that the author acknowledges that it's understandable that the samurais developed the way they did. But that doesn't necessarily mean that they're approving. (If someone didn't show to a job interview because they had a flat tire, you'd say it was "understandable" why they didn't show, but you wouldn't necessarily approve of the fact that they didn't show.) Whenever you see a word like "approving" (especially with an intensifier like "warmly"), you should look for anything that actually proves that the author approves. And in this case, there just isn't any evidence.

(C), (D) and (E) are all without support in the passage because the passage just isn't that extreme. But take another look at (B). If you claim that something is "understandable", it still means that you sympathize with the situation (think about the job interview example above). But since (again) the passage doesn't take a strong stance, the "mildly" there helps tone down the answer, keeping in line with the author's tone.

aragonn · Answer

P1 - samurai and the shogun - bad financial situation.
P2 - More on shogun - problems.
P3 - how all Japanese who lived on fixed stipends to make ends meet.

1.The passage is most probably an excerpt from

(A) an economic history of Japan --- Has to be this. others are out of the picture for sure.
------------------------------------------
2. Which of the following financial situations is most analogous to the financial situation in which Japan’s Tokugawa shoguns found themselves in the eighteenth century?

Shogun has nothing to do. all options were closed or on decline. Only D sounds like a struggle.

(D) A small business has to struggle to meet operating expenses when its profits decrease.
--------------------------------------------

3. Which of the following best describes the attitude of the author toward the samurai discussed in the highlighted text?

Gmat always stay in neutral tone. remove all extreme tones. find one in left choice.

(B) Mildly sympathetic

--------------------------------------------

4. According to the passage, the major reason for the financial problems experienced by Japan’s feudal overlords in the eighteenth century was that

Concentration of the samurai in castle-towns had acted as a stimulus to trade. Commercial efficiency, in turn, had put temptations in the way of buyers. Since most samurai had been reduced to idleness by years of peace, encouraged to engage in scholarship and martial exercises or to perform administrative tasks that took little time, it is not surprising that their tastes and habits grew expensive. Overlords’ income, despite the increase in rice production among their tenant farmers, failed to keep pace with their expenses.

(A) spending had outdistanced income
(E) the samurai had concentrated in castle-towns

From above abstract, I hv selected A and E. Now what is major reason. samurai did focused on E, but it was not the major thing for problem. "failed to keep pace with their expenses" this text points to A. which makes more sense.
---------------------------------------------

5. The passage implies that individual samurai did not find it easy to recover from debt for which of the following reasons?

It was difficult for individual samurai overlords to increase their income because the amount of rice that farmers could be made to pay in taxes was not unlimited,

(E) There was a limit to the amount in taxes that farmers could be made to pay.

--------------------------------------------

6. The passage suggests that, in eighteenth-century Japan, the office of tax collector

tax collectors (the nearly inevitable outcome of hereditary office-holding)
 
(C) remained within families

---------------------------------------------
7. Which of the following could best be substituted for the highlighted word “This” without changing the meaning of the passage?

(D) The difficulty of increasing government income by other means
---------------------------------------------

8. The passage implies that which of the following was the primary reason why the Tokugawa shoguns turned to city merchants for help in financing the state?

Most of the country’s wealth, or so it seemed, was finding its way into the hands of city merchants.

(B) Most of the country's wealth appeared to be in city merchants' hands.

----------------------------------------------

9. According to the passage, the actions of the Tokugawa shoguns in their search for solvency for the government were regrettable because those actions

Unfortunately, they pushed up prices.

(A) raised the cost of living by pushing up prices

VerbalBot · Answer

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