washingtonians

Question

The 19th century group known popularly as the Martha Washingtonians was a temperance society composed of wives, mothers, sisters, and other female relatives of drunken men. Though some historians would say that the women in this society were progressive simply because they often behaved in ways uncommon to women of the time – taking to the streets to hand out flyers or to publicly exhort individuals – it is more appropriate to consider them a conservative group. They had no desire to change America in any way besides alcohol consumption.

According to its use in the passage above, which of the following is the best synonym for the word “conservative”?

A. opposed to alcohol
B. affectionate toward the suffering
C. politically active
D. averse to change
E. respectful of tradition

Amar

Raffie · Answer

It has to be either D or E. I'll go for E because it's less extreme - also "aversion to change" is a bit wider than the social aversion to change referred to in the text.

GK_Gmat · Answer

A.

I was a bit confused b/w A and D. But it seems like D is the conclusion that the author is reaching rather than a fact. Perhaps, I am very wrong.

Never seen a question like this before. What's the source?

Amardeep Sharma · Answer

Well OA is D and the source is Challenge- Gmatclub.

Sorry for disclosing the answer so soon, however, we may still work on why its D

Amar

ault123 · Answer

The reason I came up with D is because the paragraph said,

"it is more appropriate to consider them a conservative group. They had no desire to change America in any way besides...."

The last sentence is the authors support for the statement that it is more appropriate to consider them a conservative group. They were "conservative" because they had no desire to change America in any way with only 1 exception...the boos...

Hence my choice of "averse to change"

Sorry if my reasoning doesn't make sense. I am new here so hopefully my reasoning/explanations improve!

eschn3am · Answer

D for sure.

"progressive because they behaved in ways uncommon to women of the time"
"conservative because they had no desire to change America in any way"

alcohol consumption is completely unrelated to them being conservative here

the part about being progressive may not have any direct significance, but it is set up as the antonym of conservative and it doesn't mention anything about them loving alcohol :-D

marcodonzelli · Answer

A. opposed to alcohol
B. affectionate toward the suffering
C. politically active
D. averse to change
E. respectful of tradition

I would say D. A,B,C and E are out of scope

asdert · Answer

Welcome ault, grat way to do your first post.

--

I agree on A, B, and C being out of scope, but I strongly disagree with D. The passage is not talking about how opposed they are to change. Nothing in the passage suggest that. However, author suggests they are respectful of tradition when he points out that they intend to change nothing but the drinking habits of their male relatives.

Needless to say, I like E.

IMO, that's the problem with questions from unofficial sources. Gmat questions lack of ambiguity: there's only one answer, and you can never find an argument against it.

marcodonzelli · Answer

What is the OA? D or E?

washingtonians

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