Woodrow Wilson was referring to the liberal idea of the

It can be inferred from the passage that the author most probably thinks that giving the disenfranchised “a piece of the action” is

(A) a compassionate, if misdirected, legislative measure
(B) an example of Americans’ resistance to profound social change
(C) an innovative program for genuine social reform
(D) a monument to the efforts of industrial reformers
(E) a surprisingly “Old World” remedy for social ills


could someone explain this question please, how is the answer B

(A) a compassionate, if misdirected, legislative measure

(B) an example of Americans’ resistance to profound social change

(C) an innovative program for genuine social reform

(D) a monument to the efforts of industrial reformers

(E) a surprisingly “Old World” remedy for social ills

No sarcasm at all,Icandy
you are the Guru in RC.
I am just learning the tricks

Are you asking abt this one?which I got right too

6. Which of the following metaphors could the author most appropriately use to summarize his own assessment of the American economic system (lines 35-60)?

(A) A windmill
(B) A waterfall
(C) A treadmill
(D) A gyroscope
(E) A bellows

I opted for treadmill because "its in continuously running" mode resembling "American economic system "
check the last line--#60
"There is no honor but in the Wonderland race we must all run, all trying to win, none winning in the end (for there is no end)."
sent PM to you,pls check,icandy

Woodrow Wilson was referring to the liberal idea of the economic market when he said that the free enterprise system is the most efficient economic system. Maximum freedom means maximum productiveness; our “openness” is to be the measure of our stability. Fascination with this ideal has made Americans defy the “Old World” categories of settled possessiveness versus unsettling deprivation, the cupidity of retention versus the cupidity of seizure, a “status quo” defended or attacked. The United States, it was believed, had no status quo ante. Our only “station” was the turning of a stationary wheel, spinning faster and faster. We did not base our system on property but opportunity—which meant we based it not on stability but on mobility. The more things changed, that is, the more rapidly the wheel turned, the steadier we would be. The conventional picture of class politics is composed of the Haves, who want a stability to keep what they have, and the Have-Nots, who want a touch of instability and change in which to scramble for the things they have not. But Americans imagined a condition in which speculators, self-makers, runners are always using the new opportunities given by our land. These economic leaders (front-runners) would thus be mainly agents of change. The nonstarters were considered the ones who wanted stability, a strong referee to give them some position in the race, a regulative hand to calm manic speculation; an authority that can call things to a halt, begin things again from compensatorily staggered “starting lines.”
“Reform” in America has been sterile because it can imagine no change except through the extension of this metaphor of a race, wider inclusion of competitors, “a piece of the action,” as it were, for the disenfranchised. There is no attempt to call off the race. Since our only stability is change, America seems not to honor the quiet work that achieves social interdependence and stability. There is, in our legends, no heroism of the office clerk, no stable industrial work force of the people who actually make the system work. There is no pride in being an employee (Wilson asked for a return to the time when everyone was an employer). There has been no boasting about our social workers—they are merely signs of the system’s failure, of opportunity denied or not taken, of things to be eliminated. We have no pride in our growing interdependence, in the fact that our system can serve others, that we are able to help those in need; empty boasts from the past make us ashamed of our present achievements, make us try to forget or deny them, move away from them. There is no honor but in the Wonderland race we must all run, all trying to win, none winning in the end (for there is no end).
1. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) criticize the inflexibility of American economic mythology
(B) contrast “Old World” and “New World” economic ideologies
(C) challenge the integrity of traditional political leaders
(D) champion those Americans whom the author deems to be neglected
(E) suggest a substitute for the traditional metaphor of a race
2. According to the passage, “Old World” values were based on
(A) ability
(B) property
(C) family connections
(D) guild hierarchies
(E) education
3. In the context of the author’s discussion of regulating change, which of the following could be most probably regarded as a “strong referee” (line 30) in the United States?
(A) A school principal
(B) A political theorist
(C) A federal court judge
(D) A social worker
(E) A government inspector
4. The author sets off the word “Reform” (line 35) with quotation marks in order to
(A) emphasize its departure from the concept of settled possessiveness
(B) show his support for a systematic program of change
(C) underscore the flexibility and even amorphousness of United States society
(D) indicate that the term was one of Wilson’s favorites
(E) assert that reform in the United States has not been fundamental
5. It can be inferred from the passage that the author most probably thinks that giving the disenfranchised “a piece of the action” (line 38) is
(A) a compassionate, if misdirected, legislative measure
(B) an example of Americans’ resistance to profound social change
(C) an innovative program for genuine social reform
(D) a monument to the efforts of industrial reformers
(E) a surprisingly “Old World” remedy for social ills
6. Which of the following metaphors could the author most appropriately use to summarize his own assessment of the American economic system (lines 35-60)?
(A) A windmill
(B) A waterfall
(C) A treadmill
(D) A gyroscope
(E) A bellows
7. It can be inferred from the passage that Woodrow Wilson’s ideas about the economic market
(A) encouraged those who “make the system work” (lines 45-46)
(B) perpetuated traditional legends about America
(C) revealed the prejudices of a man born wealthy
(D) foreshadowed the stock market crash of 1929
(E) began a tradition of presidential proclamations on economics
8. The passage contains information that would answer which of the following questions?
I. What techniques have industrialists used to manipulate a free market?
II. In what ways are “New World” and “Old World” economic policies similar?
III. Has economic policy in the United States tended to reward independent action?
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) III only
(D) I and II only
(E) II and III only
9. Which of the following best expresses the author’s main point?
(A) Americans’ pride in their jobs continues to give them stamina today.
(B) The absence of a status quo ante has undermined United States economic structure.
(C) The free enterprise system has been only a useless concept in the United States.
(D) The myth of the American free enterprise system is seriously flawed.
(E) Fascination with the ideal of “openness” has made Americans a progressive people.


please help me with the explanations for Question 2 ,3 ,6,7 ,8.

See if that helps you tackle questions 7 and 9!

To post additional questions not already addressed in this thread, feel free to use the request verbal experts' reply button. Try to be as specific as possible and to let us know your thoughts so far. Thanks, and welcome to GMAT Club!!

Hi GMATNinja,

7. It can be inferred from the passage that Woodrow Wilson’s ideas about the economic market
(A) encouraged those who “make the system work” (lines 45-46)
(B) perpetuated traditional legends about America
(C) revealed the prejudices of a man born wealthy
(D) foreshadowed the stock market crash of 1929
(E) began a tradition of presidential proclamations on economics

Initially i picked C for Q7, but in the second passage:

"....There is no pride in being an employee (Wilson asked for a return to the time when everyone was an employer).... "
hence the Ans
(B) perpetuated traditional legends about America.

Please let me know if my reasoning is correct.

Thanks and regadrs

For question 3, why C is a better answer over E?

Thank you so much!

By Far one of the toughest passages that I have come across , didn't understand a thing in the passage .
Left reading the passage half way in between as I realized it was a waste of time coz I was not registering anything.

Obviously , Questions took more time.
Took 15 minutes to complete the passage , though got 2 Questions incorrect.( including the one with Treadmill as the asnwer option )

GMATNinja , any thoughts on the strategy used for such tough passages ?

oh.
my.
lord.

whoever wrote this passage should immediately step away from the keyboard, and should never again attempt to write a GMAT passage.
this looks like something written by one of the 1950's beat generation poets.

in fact, this passage is so un-GMAT-like that i am seriously inclined to believe that it's a practical joke -- i.e., that someone actually wrote it while thinking, "haha i'm going to write this ridiculous thing and see whether anyone on the forums actually takes it seriously."

ignore.
no, really, guys -- ignore this passage. it is not worth discussing, at all, in any way.

does anyone have the link to the document from which this problem came?
i'd like to look at it -- i really, really, really hope that all one thousand problems aren't as worthless as this one.
yikes