Writing of the Iroquois nation, Smith has argued that through the

Question

Writing of the Iroquois nation, Smith has argued that through the chiefs’ council, tribal chiefs traditionally maintained complete control over the political affairs of both the Iroquois tribal league and the individual tribes belonging to the league, whereas the sole jurisdiction over religious affairs resided with the shamans. According to Smith, this division was maintained until the late nineteenth century, when the dissolution of the chiefs’ council and the consequent diminishment of the chiefs’ political power fostered their increasing involvement in religious affairs.

However, Smith fails to recognize that this division of power between the tribal chiefs and shamans was not actually rooted in Iroquois tradition; rather, it resulted from the Iroquois’ resettlement on reservations early in the nineteenth century. Prior to resettlement, the chiefs’ council controlled only the broad policy of the tribal league; individual tribes had institutions—most important, the longhouse—to govern their own affairs. In the longhouse, the tribe’s chief influenced both political and religious affairs.   1 
 1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

(A) question the published conclusions of a scholar concerning the history of the Iroquois nation
(B) establish the relationship between an earlier scholar’s work and new anthropological research
(C) summarize scholarly controversy concerning an incident from Iroquois history
(D) trace two generations of scholarly opinion concerning Iroquois social institutions
(E) differentiate between Iroquois political practices and Iroquois religious practices

2 
 2. It can be inferred that the author of the passage regards Smith’s argument as

(A) provocative and potentially useful, but flawed by poor organization
(B) eloquently presented, but needlessly inflammatory
(C) accurate in some of its particulars, but inaccurate with regard to an important point
(D) historically sound, but overly detailed and redundant
(E) persuasive in its time, but now largely outdated

3 
 3. The author of the passage implies that which of the following occurred after the Iroquois were resettled on reservations early in the nineteenth century?

(A) Chiefs became more involved in their tribe’s religious affairs.
(B) The authority of the chief’s council over the affairs of individual tribes increased.
(C) The political influence of the Iroquois shamans was diminished.
(D) Individual tribes coalesced into the Iroquois tribal league.
(E) The longhouse because a political rather than a religious institution.

4 
 4. Which of the following best expresses an opinion presented by the author of the passage?

(A) Smith has overstated the importance of the political role played by Iroquois tribal chiefs in the nineteenth century.
(B) Smith has overlooked the fact that the Iroquois rarely allowed their shamans to exercise political authority.
(C) Smith has failed to explain why the chief’s council was dissolved late in the nineteenth century.
(D) Smith has failed to acknowledge the role prior to the nineteenth century of the Iroquois tribal chiefs in religious affairs.
(E) Smith has failed to recognize that the very structure of Iroquois social institutions reflects religious beliefs.

RC Butler 2021  -  Practice Two RC Questions Everyday.   
Passage # 55 Date: 09-Feb-2021
 This question is a part of RC Butler 2021 .  Click here for Details

road740 · Answer

My personal answer solutions   (Please feel free to correct me!)

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to 
 
 (A) question the published conclusions of a scholar concerning the history of the Iroquois nation  
--> "Writing of the Iroquois nation, Smith has argued..." "Smith fails to recognize..."

(B) establish the relationship between an earlier scholar’s work and new anthropological research
--> Nothing is said about a new anthropolocial research; rather it seems to be the author´s opinion / finding

(C) summarize scholarly controversy concerning an incident from Iroquois history
--> Similar to (B)

(D) trace two generations of scholarly opinion concerning Iroquois social institutions
--> Similar to (B) and (C)

(E) differentiate between Iroquois political practices and Iroquois religious practices
--> He does not differentiate between practices themselves, but rather who had  control  over political affair / religious practices

2. It can be inferred that the author of the passage regards Smith’s argument as

(A) provocative and potentially useful, but flawed by poor organization
--> He does not imply that it is provocative, nor names a reason for his flaws

(B) eloquently presented, but needlessly inflammatory
--> Similar to (A)

(C) accurate in some of its particulars, but inaccurate with regard to an important point  
--> Most fitting answer

(D) historically sound, but overly detailed and redundant
--> Nothing is mentioned about details or redundancy

(E) persuasive in its time, but now largely outdated
--> Smith´s findings are not outdated; according to the author they are in general incorrect or not completely accurate

3. The author of the passage implies that which of the following occurred  after  the Iroquois were resettled on reservations early in the nineteenth century?

"...that this  division of power  between the tribal chiefs and shamans was not actually rooted in Iroquois tradition..."

Here you have to be careful, because the author´s folowing sentences are about the time  prior  to the resettlement. 
So let´s have a look at what is said in the first passage:

"According to Smith, this division was maintained until the late nineteenth century, when the dissolution of the chief’s council and the consequent diminishment of the chief’s political power  fostered their increasing involvement in religious affairs ."

(A) Chiefs became more involved in their tribe’s religious affairs.  
--> Most fitting answer

(B) The authority of the chief’s council over the affairs of individual tribes increased.
"...dissolution of the chief’s council and the consequent diminishment of the chief’s political power"

(C) The political influence of the Iroquois shamans was diminished.
--> They never had policital influence: "whereas the sole jurisdiction over religious affairs resided with the shamans"; nothing is said about their diminishment of political power

(D) Individual tribes coalesced into the Iroquois tribal league.
--> No information about that

(E) The longhouse because a political rather than a religious institution.
-->  Weird answer choice, seems gramatically incorrect?    Sajjad1994

4. Which of the following best expresses an opinion presented by the author of the passage?

"...fails to recognize that this  division of power  between the tribal chiefs and shamans  was not actually rooted in Iroquois tradition ; rather, it resulted from the Iroquois resettlement on reservations early in the nineteenth century."

"...the chief’s council controlled  only  the broad policy of the tribal league; individual tribes had institution’s most important, the longhouse to govern their own affairs. In the longhouse, the  tribe’s chief influenced both political and religious affairs ."

(A) Smith has overstated the importance of the political role played by Iroquois tribal chiefs in the nineteenth century.
--> "chief´s council controlled only" is about the time PRIOR to the resettlement, so before the 19th century

(B) Smith has overlooked the fact that the Iroquois rarely allowed their shamans to exercise political authority.
--> The main focus is not on the shamans.

(C) Smith has failed to explain why the chief’s council was dissolved late in the nineteenth century.
--> Not the focus

(D) Smith has failed to acknowledge the role prior to the nineteenth century of the Iroquois tribal chiefs in religious affairs.  
--> Most fitting answer, because "the tribe’s chief influenced  both  political  and  religious affairs.

(E) Smith has failed to recognize that the very structure of Iroquois social institutions reflects religious beliefs.
--> Not a fitting answer

Sajjad1994 
"...individual tribes  had institution’s most important , the longhouse to govern their own affairs."

This syntax of this sentence seems a bit odd to me, but maybe it´s just my fault.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

individual tribes had  institution’s  most important, the  longhouse  to govern their own affairs. In the longhouse,

the longhouse is used to refer the institutions. It is possible the institution might be known as longhouse.

Pankaj0901 · Answer

I am not able to comprehent the first sentence of the passage. It sounds a bit weird gramatically: "CHIEF'S" possessive form. Should it not be "CHIEFS". I am sure I missing out on something. Request you to please assist.

"Writing of the Iroquois nation, Smith has argued that through the chief???s council, tribal chief???s traditionally maintained complete control over the political affairs of both the Iroquois tribal league and the individual tribes belonging to the league, whereas the sole jurisdiction over religious affairs resided with the shamans."

Pankaj0901 · Answer

Hi  AndrewN 
I am not able to comprehend the first sentence of the passage. It sounds to me a bit weird grammatically: "CHIEF'S" possessive form. Should it not be "CHIEFS" (without possessive). I am sure I missing out on something. Request you to please help.

"Writing of the Iroquois nation, Smith has argued that through the chief’s council, tribal  chief’s  traditionally maintained complete control over the political affairs of both the Iroquois tribal league and the individual tribes belonging to the league, whereas the sole jurisdiction over religious affairs resided with the shamans."

AndrewN · Answer

No, you are not missing anything,  Pankaj0901 . The apostrophe in question is a typo, no doubt a carryover of the previous possessive "chief's." After the comma,  tribal chiefs  should be the subject of the embedded  that  clause that tells us what Smith has argued. (This entire extended clause is acting as the object of the main clause:  Smith has argued  . )

- Andrew

Pankaj0901 · Answer

Got it. Thank you so much!

Akarshkhan86 · Answer

Hello  Sajjad1994  can we have an OE of Question 3 & Question 4.

Thanks.

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

3. The author of the passage implies that which of the following occurred after the Iroquois were resettled on reservations early in the nineteenth century?

Difficulty Level:   700

Explanation

(A)  Chiefs became more involved in their tribes religious affairs.
 Wrong. "In the longhouse, the tribe’s chief influenced both political and religious affairs." That was before the settlement.

(B)  The authority of the chief’s council over the affairs of individual tribes increased.
 Correct. "Prior to resettlement, the chief’s council controlled only the broad policy of the tribal league;"

(C)  The political influence of the Iroquois shamans was diminished.
 The author has not discussed about shaman's political influence. The only thing the passage mentions about shaman was that they were said to have jurisdiction over religious affairs at one time.

(D)  Individual tribes coalesced into the Iroquois tribal league.
 We don't know when the individual tribes became united into a tribal league.

(E)  The longhouse became a political rather than a religious institution.
 We only know that prior settlement the long house was an institution for both political and religious issues. We have no info about the longhouse after settlement.

Answer: B

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

4. Which of the following best expresses an opinion presented by the author of the passage?

Difficulty Level:   650

Explanation

(A)  Smith has overstated the importance of the political role played by Iroquois tribal chiefs in the nineteenth century.
 The author mainly challenged Smith's opinion on the tribal chief’s religious role, not political role. Smith believed that tribal chiefs became more active in religious issues later, while the author believed that they have been governing both political and religious issues in the longhouse before settlement.

(B)  Smith has overlooked the fact that the Iroquois rarely allowed their shamans to exercise political authority.
 He did not challenge Smith's view on the shaman's political authority at all. It's not discussed. Not even mentioned.

(C)  Smith has failed to explain why the chief’s council was dissolved late in the nineteenth century.
 He did not challenge this point either, nor did he offer an idea himself.

(D)  Smith has failed to acknowledge the role prior to the nineteenth century of the Iroquois tribal chiefs in religious affairs.
 Yes. The tribal chiefs govern religious affairs in the longhouse prior to the settlement, but Smith didn't recognize that.

(E)  Smith has failed to recognize that the very structure of Iroquois social institutions reflects religious beliefs.
 It's out of scope. The author was not talking about social institutions.

Answer: D

VerbalBot · Answer

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Writing of the Iroquois nation, Smith has argued that through the

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Writing of the Iroquois nation, Smith has argued that through the

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