December 2nd, 2009 | 
Author: Since Would War II considerable advances have been made in the area of health-care services. These include better access to health care (particularly for the poor and minorities), improvements in physical plants, and increased numbers of physicians and other health personnel. All have played a part in the recent improvement in life expectancy. But there is mounting criticism of the large remaining gaps in access, unbridled cost inflation, the further fragmentation of service, excessive indulgence in wasteful high-technology “gadgeteering,” and a breakdown in doctor-patient relationships. In recent years proposed panaceas and new programs, small and large, have proliferated at a feverish pace and disappointments multiply at almost the same rate. This has led to an increased pessimism—“everything has been tried and nothing works”—which sometimes borders on cynicism or even nihilism.
It is true that the automatic “pass through” of rapidly spiraling costs to government and insurance carriers, which was set in a publicized environment of “the richest nation in the world,” produced for a time a sense of unlimited resources and allowed to develop a mood whereby every practitioner and institution could “do his own thing” without undue concern for the “Medical Commons.” The practice of full-cost reimbursement encouraged capital investment and now the industry is overcapitalized. Many cities have hundreds of excess hospital beds; hospitals have proliferated a superabundance of high-technology equipment; and structural ostentation and luxury were the order of the day. In any given day, one-fourth of all community beds are vacant; expensive equipment is underused or, worse, used unnecessarily. Capital investment brings rapidly rising operating costs.
Yet, in part, this pessimism derives from expecting too much of health care. It must be realized that care is, for most people, a painful experience, often accompanied by fear and unwelcome results. Although there is vast room for improvement, health care will always retain some unpleasantness and frustration. Moreover, the capacities of medical science are limited. Humpty Dumpty cannot always be put back together again. Too many physicians are reluctant to admit their limitations to patients; too many patients and families are unwilling to accept such realities. Nor is it true that everything has been tried and nothing works, as shown by the prepaid group practice plans of the Kaiser Foundation and at Puget Sound. In the main, however, such undertakings have been drowned by a veritable flood of public and private moneys which have supported and encouraged the continuation of conventional practices and subsidized their shortcomings on a massive, almost unrestricted scale. Except for the most idealistic and de
dicated, there were no incentives to seek change or to practice self-restraint or frugality. In this atmosphere, it is not fair to condemn as failures all attempted experiments; it may be more accurate to say many never had a fair trial.
1. The author implies that the Kaiser Foundation and Puget Sound plans differed from other plans by
(A) encouraging capital investment
(B) requiring physicians to treat the poor
(C) providing incentives for cost control
(D) employing only dedicated and idealistic doctors
(E) relying primarily on public funding
2. The author mentions all of the following as consequences of full-cost reimbursement EXCEPT
(A) rising operating costs
(B) underused hospital facilities
(C) overcapitalization
(D) overreliance on expensive equipment
(E) lack of services for minorities
3. The tone of the passage can best be described as
(A) light-hearted and amused
(B) objective but concerned
(C) detached and unconcerned
(D) cautious but sincere
(E) enthusiastic and enlightened
4. According to the author, the “pessimism” mentioned at line 35 is partly attributable to the fact that
(A) there has been little real improvement in health-care services
(B) expectations about health-care services are sometimes unrealistic
(C) large segments of the population find it impossible to get access to health-care services
(D) advances in technology have made health care service unaffordable
(E) doctors are now less concerned with patient care
5. The author cites the prepaid plans in lines 46-48 as
(A) counterexamples to the claim that nothing has worked
(B) examples of health-care plans that were over-funded
(C) evidence that health-care services are fragmented
(D) proof of the theory that no plan has been successful
(E) experiments that yielded disappointing results
6. It can be inferred that the sentence “Humpty Dumpty cannot always be put back together again” means that
(A) the cost of health-care services will not decline
(B) some people should not become doctors
(C) medical care is not really essential to good health
(D) illness is often unpleasant and even painful
(E) medical science cannot cure every ill
7. With which of the following descriptions of the system for the delivery of health-care services would the author most likely agree?
(A) It is biased in favor of doctors and against patients.
(B) It is highly fragmented and completely ineffective
(C) It has not embraced new technology rapidly enough
(D) It is generally effective but can be improved
(E) It discourages people from seeking medical care
8. Which of the following best describes the logical structure of the selection?
(A) The third paragraph is intended as a refutation of the first and second paragraphs.
(B) The second and third paragraphs explain and put into perspective the points made in the first paragraph.
(C) The second and third paragraphs explain and put into perspective the points made in the first paragraph.
(D) The first paragraph describes a problem, and the second and third paragraphs present two horns of a dilemma.
(E) The first paragraph describes a problem, the second its causes, and the third a possible solution.
9. The author’s primary concern is to
(A) criticize physicians and health-care administrators for investing in techno¬logically advanced equipment
(B) examine some problems affecting delivery of health-care services and assess their severity
(C) defend the medical community from charges that health-care has not improved since World War II
(D) analyze the reasons for the health-care industry’s inability to provide quality care to all segments of the population
(E) describe the peculiar economic features of the health-care industry that are the causes of spiraling medical costs
Highlight to see answers: 1. C 2. E 3. B 4. B 5. A 6. E 7. D 8. C 9. B
Please post your explanations in the comments below!
Posted in Reading Comprehension | 
Tags: gmat, gmat review, practice problems, Reading Comprehension | 
No Comments »
Behavior is one of two general responses available to endothermic (warm-blooded) species for the regulation of body temperature, the other being innate (reflexive) mechanisms of heat production and heat loss. Human beings rely primarily on the first to provide a hospitable thermal microclimate for themselves, in which the transfer of heat between the body and the environment is accomplished with minimal involvement of innate mechanisms of heat production and loss. Thermoregulatory behavior anticipates hyperthermia, and the organism adjusts its behavior to avoid becoming hyperthermic: it removes layers of clothing, it goes for a cool swim, etc. The organism can also respond to changes in the temperature of the body core, as is the case during exercise; but such responses result from the direct stimulation of thermoreceptors distributed widely within the central nervous system, and the ability of these mechanisms to help the organism adjust to gross changes in its environment is limited.
Until recently it was assumed that organisms respond to microwave radiation in the same way that they respond to temperature changes caused by other forms of radiation. After all, the argument runs, microwaves are radiation and heat body tissues. This theory ignores the fact that the stimulus to a behavioral response is normally a temperature change that occurs at the surface of the organism. The thermoreceptors that prompt behavioral changes are located within the first millimeter of the skin’s surface, but the energy of a microwave field may be selectively deposited in deep tissues, effectively bypassing these thermoreceptors, particularly if the field is at near-resonant frequencies. The resulting temperature profile may well be a kind of reverse thermal gradient in which the deep tissues are warmed more than those of the surface. Since the heat is not conducted outward to the surface to stimulate the appropriate receptors, the organism does not “appreciate” this stimulation in the same way that it “appreciates” heating and cooling of the skin. In theory, the internal organs of a human being or an animal could be quite literally cooked well-done before the animal even realizes that the balance of its thermomicroclimate has been disturbed.
Until a few years ago, microwave irradiations at equivalent plane-wave power densities of about 100 mW/cm2 were considered unequivocally to produce “thermal” effects; irradiations within the range of 10 to 100 mW/cm2 might or might not produce “thermal” effects; while effects observed at power densities below 10 mW/cm2 were assumed to be “nonthermal” in nature. Experiments have shown this to be an oversimplification, and a recent report suggests that fields as weak as 1 mW/cm2 can be thermogenic. When the heat generated in the tissues by an imposed radio frequency (plus the heat generated by metabolism) exceeds the heat-loss capabilities of the organism, the thermoregulatory system has been compromised. Yet surprisingly, not long ago, an increase in the internal body temperature was regarded merely as “evidence” of a thermal effect.
1. The author is primarily concerned with
(A) showing that behavior is a more effective way of controlling bodily temperature than innate mechanisms
(B) criticizing researchers who will not discard their theories about the effects of microwave radiation on organisms
(C) demonstrating that effects of microwave radiation are different from those of other forms of radiation
(D) analyzing the mechanism by which an organism maintains its bodily temperature in a changing thermal environment
(E) discussing the importance of thermoreceptors in the control of the internal temperature of an organism
2. The author makes which of the following points about innate mechanisms for heat production?
I. They are governed by thermoreceptors inside the body of the organism rather than at the surface.
II. They are a less effective means of compensating for gross changes in temperature than behavioral strategies.
III. They are not affected by microwave radiation.
(A) I only
(B) I and II only
(C) I and III only
(D) II and III only
(E) I, II, and III
3. Which of the following would be the most logical topic for the author to take up in the paragraph following the final paragraph of the selection?
(A) A suggestion for new research to be done on the effects of microwaves on animals and human beings
(B) An analysis of the differences between microwave radiation
(C) A proposal that the use of microwave radiation be prohibited because it is dangerous
(D) A survey of the literature on the effects of microwave radiation on human beings
(E) A discussion of the strategies used by various species to control hyperthermia
4. The author’s strategy in lines 39-42 is to
(A) introduce a hypothetical example to dramatize a point
(B) propose an experiment to test a scientific hypothesis
(C) cite a case study to illustrate a general contention
(D) produce a counterexample to disprove an opponent’s theory
(E) speculate about the probable consequences of a scientific phenomenon
5. The author implies that the proponents of the theory that microwave radiation acts on organisms in the same way as other forms of radiation based their conclusions primarily on
(A) laboratory research
(B) unfounded assumption
(C) control group surveys
(D) deductive reasoning
(E) causal investigation
6. The tone of the passage can best be described as
(A) genial and conversational
(B) alarmed and disparaging
(C) facetious and cynical
(D) scholarly and noncommittal
(E) scholarly and concerned
7. The author is primarily concerned with
(A) pointing out weaknesses in a popular scientific theory
(B) developing a hypothesis to explain a scientific phenomenon
(C) reporting on new research on the effects of microwave radiation
(D) criticizing the research methods of earlier investigators
(E) clarifying ambiguities in the terminology used to describe a phenomenon
Highlight to see answers: 1. C 2. B 3. A 4. A 5. B 6. E 7. A
Please post your explanations in the comments below!
The National Security Act of 1947 created a national military establishment headed by a single Secretary of Defense. The legislation had been a year-and-a-half in the making—beginning when President Truman first recommended that the armed services be reorganized into a single department. During that period the President’s concept of a unified armed service was torn apart and put back together several times, the final measure to emerge from Congress being a compromise. Most of the opposition to the bill came from the Navy and its numerous civilian spokesmen, including Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal. In support of unification (and a separate air force that was part of the unification package) were the Army air forces, the Army, and, most importantly, the President of the United States.
Passage of the bill did not bring an end to the bitter interservice disputes. Rather than unify, the act served only to federate the military services. It neither halted the rapid demobilization of the armed forces that followed World War II nor brought to the new national military establishment the loyalties of officers steeped in the traditions of the separate services. At a time when the balance of power in Europe and Asia was rapidly shifting, the services lacked any precise statement of United States foreign policy from the National Security Council on which to base future programs. The services bickered unceasingly over their respective roles and missions, already complicated by the Soviet nuclear capability that for the first time made the United States subject to devastating attack. Not even the appointment of Forrestal as First Secretary of Defense allayed the suspicions of naval officers and their supporters that the role of the U.S. Navy was threatened with permanent eclipse. Before the war of words died down, Forrestal himself was driven to resignation and then suicide.
By 1948, the United States military establishment was forced to make do with a budget approximately 10 percent of what it had been at its wartime peak. Meanwhile, the cost of weapons procurement was rising geometrically as the nation came to put more and more reliance on the atomic bomb and its delivery systems. These two factors inevitably made adversaries of the Navy and the Air Force as the battle between advocates of the B-36 and the supercarrier so amply demonstrates. Given severe fiscal restraints on the one hand, and on the other the nation’s increasing reliance on strategic nuclear deterrence, the conflict between these two services over roles and missions was essentially a contest over slices of an ever-diminishing pie.
Yet if in the end neither service was the obvious victor, the principle of civilian dominance over the military clearly was. If there had ever been any danger that the United States military establishment might exploit, to the detriment of civilian control, the goodwill it enjoyed as a result of its victories in World War II, that danger disappeared in the interservice animosities engendered by the battle over unification.
1. The author makes all of the following points about the National Security Act of 1947 EXCEPT
(A) It provided for a single Secretary of Defense.
(B) The legislation that came out of Congress was a compromise measure.
(C) The legislation was initially proposed by President Truman.
(D) The Navy opposed the bill that eventually became law.
(E) The bill was passed to help the nation’s demobilization effort.
2. Which of the following best describes the tone of the selection?
(A) Analytical and confident
(B) Resentful and defensive
(C) Objective and speculative
(D) Tentative and skeptical
(E) Persuasive and cynical
3. According to the passage, the interservice strife that followed unification occurred primarily between the
(A) Army and Army air forces
(B) Army and Navy
(C) Army air forces and Navy
(D) Navy and Army
(E) Air Force and Navy
4. It can be inferred from the passage that Forrestal’s appointment as Secretary of Defense was expected to
(A) placate members of the Navy
(B) result in decreased levels of defense spending
(C) outrage advocates of the Army air forces
(D) win Congressional approval of the unification plan
(E) make Forrestal a Presidential candidate against Truman
5. According to the passage, President Truman supported which of the following?
I. Elimination of the Navy
II. A unified military service
III. Establishment of a separate air force
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) I and II only
(D) II and III only
(E) I, II, and III
6. With which of the following statements about defense unification would the author most likely agree?
(A) Unification ultimately undermined United States military capability by inciting interservice rivalry.
(B) The unification legislation was necessitated by the drastic decline in appropriations for the military services.
(C) Although the unification was not entirely successful, it had the unexpected result of ensuring civilian control of the military.
(D) In spite of the attempted unification, each service was still able to pursue its own objectives without interference from the other branches.
(E) Unification was in the first place unwarranted and in the second place ineffective.
7. According to the selection, the political situation following the passage of the National Security Act of 1947 was characterized by all of the following EXCEPT
(A) a shifting balance of power in Europe and in Asia
(B) fierce interservice rivalries
(C) lack of strong leadership by the National Security Council
(D) shrinking postwar military budgets
(E) a lame-duck President who was unable to unify the legislature
8. The author cites the resignation and suicide of Forrestal in order to
(A) underscore the bitterness of the interservice rivalry surrounding the passage of the National Security Act of 1947
(B) demonstrate that the Navy eventually emerged as the dominant branch of service after the passage of the National Security Act of 1947
(C) suggest that the nation would be better served by a unified armed service under a single command
(D) provide an example of a military leader who preferred to serve his country in war rather than in peace
(E) persuade the reader that Forrestal was a victim of political opportunists and an unscrupulous press
9. The author is primarily concerned with
(A) discussing the influence of personalities on political events
(B) describing the administration of a powerful leader
(C) criticizing a piece of legislation
(D) analyzing a political development
(E) suggesting methods for controlling the military
Highlight to see answers: 1. E 2. A 3. E 4. A 5. B 6. C 7. E 8. A 9. D
Please post your explanations in the comments below!
Public general hospitals originated in the almshouse infirmaries established as early as colonial times by local governments to care for the poor. Later, in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the infirmary separated from the almshouse and became an independent institution supported by local tax money. At the same time, private charity hospitals began to develop. Both private and public hospitals provided mainly food and shelter for the impoverished sick, since there was little that medicine could actually do to cure illness, and the middle class was treated at home by private physicians.
Late in the nineteenth century, the private charity hospital began trying to attract middle-class patients. Although the depression of 1890 stimulated the growth of charitable institutions and an expanding urban population became dependent on assistance, there was a decline in private contributions to these organizations which forced them to look to local government for financial support. Since private institutions had also lost benefactors; they began to charge patients. In order to attract middle-class patients, private institutions provided services and amenities that distinguished between paying and non-paying patients and made the hospital a desirable place for private physicians to treat their own patients. As paying patients became more necessary to the survival of the private hospital, the public hospitals slowly became the only place for the poor to get treatment. By the end of the nineteenth century, cities were reimbursing private hospitals for their care of indigent patients and the public hospitals remained dependent on the tax dollars.
The advent of private hospital health insurance, which provided middle-class patients with the purchasing power to pay for private hospital services, guaranteed the private hospital a regular source of income. Private hospitals restricted themselves to revenue-generating patients, leaving the public hospitals to care for the poor. Although public hospitals continued to provide services for patients with communicable diseases and outpatient and emergency services, the Blue Cross plans developed around the needs of the private hospitals and the inpatients they served. Thus, reimbursement for ambulatory care has been minimal under most Blue Cross plans, and provision of outpatient care has not been a major function of the private hospital, in part because private patients can afford to pay for the services of private physicians. Additionally, since World War II, there has been a tremendous influx of federal money into private medical schools and the hospitals associated with them. Further, large private medical centers with expensive research equipment and programs have attracted the best administrators, physicians, and researchers. As a result of the greater resources available to the private medical centers, public hospitals have increasing problems attracting highly qualified research and medical personnel. With the mainstream of health care firmly established in the private medical sector, the public hospital has become a “dumping ground.”
1. According to the passage, the very first private hospitals
(A) developed from almshouse infirmaries
(B) provided better care than public infirmaries
(C) were established mainly to service the poor
(D) were supported by government revenues
(E) catered primarily to the middle-class patients
2. It can be inferred that the author believes the differences that currently exist between public and private hospitals are primarily the result of
(A) political considerations
(B) economic factors
(C) ethical concerns
(D) legislative requirements
(E) technological developments
3. It can be inferred that the growth of private health insurance
(A) relieved local governments of the need to fund public hospitals
(B) guaranteed that the poor would have access to medical care
(C) forced middle-class patients to use public hospitals
(D) prompted the closing of many charitable institutions
(E) reinforced the distinction between public and private hospitals
4. Which of the following would be the most logical topic for the author to introduce in the next paragraph?
(A) A plan to improve the quality of public hospitals
(B) An analysis of the profit structure of health insurance companies
(C) A proposal to raise taxes on the middle class
(D) A discussion of recent developments in medical technology
(E) A list of the subjects studied by students in medical school
5. The author’s primary concern is to
(A) describe the financial structure of the healthcare industry
(B) demonstrate the importance of government support for health-care institutions
(C) criticize wealthy institutions for refusing to provide services to the poor
(D) identify the historical causes of the division between private and public hospitals
(E) praise public hospitals for their willingness to provide health care for the poor
6. The author cites all of the following as factors contributing to the decline of public hospitals EXCEPT.
(A) Government money was used to subsidize private medical schools and hospitals to the detriment of public hospitals.
(B) Public hospitals are not able to compete with private institutions for top flight managers and doctors.
(C) Large private medical centers have better research facilities and more extensive research programs than public hospitals.
(D) Public hospitals accepted the responsibility for treating patients with certain diseases.
(E) Blue Cross insurance coverage does not reimburse subscribers for medical expenses incurred in a public hospital.
7. The author’s attitude toward public hospitals can best be described as
(A) contemptuous and prejudiced
(B) apprehensive and distrustful
(C) concerned and understanding
(D) enthusiastic and supportive
(E) unsympathetic and annoyed
8. The author implies that any outpatient care provided by a hospital is
(A) paid for by private insurance
(B) provided in lieu of treatment by a private physician
(C) supplied primarily by private hospitals
(D) a source of revenue for public hospitals
(E) no longer provided by hospitals, public or private
9. Which of the following titles best describes the content of the passage?
(A) Public versus Private Hospitals: A Competitive Mismatch
(B) Historical and Economic Factors in the Decline of the Public Hospital
(C) A Comparison of the Quality of Care Provided in Public and Private Hospitals
(D) A Proposal for Revamping the Health Delivery Services Sector of the Economy
(E) Economic Factors That Contribute to the Inability of the Poor to Get Adequate Care
Highlight to see answers: 1. C 2. B 3. E 4. A 5. D 6. E 7. C 8. B 9. B
Please post your explanations in the comments below!
The uniqueness of the Japanese character is the result of two seemingly contradictory forces: the strength of traditions and selective receptivity to foreign achievements and inventions. As early as the 1860s, there were counter movements to the traditional orientation. Yukichi Fukuzawa, the most eloquent spokesman of Japan’s “Enlightenment,” claimed: “The Confucian civilization of the East seems to me to lack two things possessed by Western civilization: science in the material sphere and a sense of independence in the spiritual sphere.” Fukuzawa’s great influence is found in the free and individualistic philosophy of the Education Code of 1872, but he was not able to prevent the government from turning back to the canons of Confucian thought in the Imperial Rescript of 1890. Another interlude of relative liberalism followed World War I, when the democratic idealism of President Woodrow Wilson had an important impact on Japanese intellectuals and, especially students: but more important was the Leninist ideology of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Again in the early 1930s, nationalism and militarism became dominant, largely as a result of failing economic conditions.
Following the end of World War II, substantial changes were undertaken in Japan to liberate the individual from authoritarian restraints. The new democratic value system was accepted by many teachers, students, intellectuals, and old liberals, but it was not immediately embraced by the society as a whole. Japanese traditions were dominated by group values, and notions of personal freedom and individual rights were unfamiliar.
Today, democratic processes are clearly evident in the widespread participation of the Japanese people in social and political life: yet, there is no universally accepted and stable value system. Values are constantly modified by strong infusions of Western ideas, both democratic and Marxist. School textbooks expound democratic principles, emphasizing equality over hierarchy and rationalism over tradition; but in practice these values are often misinterpreted and distorted, particularly by the youth who translate the individualistic and humanistic goals of democracy into egoistic and materialistic ones.
Most Japanese people have consciously rejected Confucianism, but vestiges of the old order remain. An important feature of relationships in many institutions such as political parties, large corporations, and university faculties is the oyabun-kobun or parent-child relation. A party leader, supervisor, or professor, in return for loyalty, protects those subordinate to him and takes general responsibility for their interests throughout their entire lives, an obligation that sometimes even extends to arranging marriages. The corresponding loyalty of the individual to his patron reinforces his allegiance to the group to which they both belong. A willingness to cooperate with other members of the group and to support without qualification the interests of the group in all its external relations is still a widely respected virtue. The oyabun-kobun creates ladders of mobility which an individual can ascend, rising as far as abilities permit, so long as he maintains successful personal ties with a superior in the vertical channel, the latter requirement usually taking precedence over a need for exceptional competence. As a consequence, there is little horizontal relationship between people even within the same profession.
1. The author is mainly concerned with
(A) explaining the influence of Confucianism on modern Japan
(B) analyzing the reasons for Japan’s postwar economic success
(C) discussing some important determinants of Japanese values
(D) describing managerial practices in Japanese industry
(E) contrasting modern with prewar Japanese society
2. Which of the following is most like the relationship of the oyabun-kobun described in the passage?
(A) A political candidate and the voting public
(B) A gifted scientist and his protégé
(C) Two brothers who are partners in a business
(D) A judge presiding at the trial of a criminal defendant
(E) A leader of a musical ensemble who is also a musician in the group
3. According to the passage, Japanese attitudes are influenced by which of the following?
I. Democratic ideals
II. Elements of modern Western culture
III. Remnants of an earlier social structure
(A) I only
(B) II only
(C) I and II only
(D) II and III only
(E) I, II, and III
4. The author implies that
(A) decisions about promotions are often based on personal feelings
(B) students and intellectuals do not understand the basic tenets of Western democracy
(C) Western values have completely overwhelmed traditional Japanese attitudes
(D) respect for authority was introduced into Japan following World War II
(E) most Japanese workers are members of a single political party
5. In developing the passage, the author does which of the following?
(A) Introduce an analogy
(B) Define a term
(C) Present statistics
(D) Cite an authority
(E) Issue a challenge
6. It can be inferred that the Imperial Rescript of 1890
(A) was a protest by liberals against the lack of individual liberty in Japan
(B) marked a return in government policies to conservative values
(C) implemented the ideals set forth in the Education Code of 1872
(D) was influenced by the Leninist ideology of the Bolshevik Revolution
(E) prohibited the teaching of Western ideas in Japanese schools
7. Which of the following is the most accurate description of the organization of the passage?
(A) A sequence of inferences in which the conclusion of each successive step becomes a premise in the next argument
(B) A list of generalizations, most of which are supported by only a single example
(C) A chronological analysis of historical events leading up to a description of the current situation
(D) A statement of a commonly accepted theory that is then subjected to a critical analysis
(E) An introduction of a key term that is then defined by giving examples
8. Which of the following best states the central thesis of the passage?
(A) The value system of Japan is based upon traditional and conservative values that have, in modern times, been modified by Western and other liberal values.
(B) Students and radicals in Japan have Leninist ideology to distort the meaning of democratic, Western values.
(C) The notions of personal freedom and individual liberty did not find immediate acceptance in Japan because of the predominance of traditional group values.
(D) Modern Japanese society is characterized by hierarchical relationships in which a personal tie to a superior is often more important than merit.
(E) The influence on Japanese values of the American ideals of personal freedom and individual rights is less important than the influence of Leninist ideology.
9. The tone of the passage can best be described as
(A) neutral and objective
(B) disparaging and flippant
(C) critical and demanding
(D) enthusiastic and supportive
(E) skeptical and questioning
Highlight to see answers: 1. C 2. B 3. E 4. A 5. B 6. B 7. C 8. A 9. A
Please post your explanations in the comments below!
