-modified.png?h=56&w=56&mode=stretch)
Reading Passage Question
So many accounts of this continent’s past begin with Europeans striding ashore, claiming this “new found land” and its human inhabitants for their respective empires. These arrogant assertions always have been challenged by native peoples, but nonetheless jurists and scholars have inscribed them in American law and in the written histories from which the law springs. And with heads bowed, or with a bounteous welcome, too many native peoples in too many of these accounts prepare to greet their colonizers as saviors, whatever their initial misgivings. When the Algonquian-speaking peoples of the Carolina Sounds first saw the English colonists sent to occupy Roanoke Island in 1585, for instance, the astute English observer Thomas Harriot reported that they “began to make a great and horrible crye as people which never before had seen men appareled like us.” Confused and savage, “they made out,” Harriot continued, “cries like wild beasts or men out of their wits.” Soon they calmed themselves, in Harriot’s eyes, and stopped acting like beasts, and regained their wits, but only after the newcomers presented them with gifts that demonstrated and confirmed their benevolent intent. These native peoples soon would debate amongst themselves, as they considered the great power these newcomers seemed to possess, whether they were “gods or men.”
That is how Harriot saw it, yet today many Americans still believe that it is with the arrival of Europeans that their nation’s history begins. We could find, if we looked, dozens of accounts of “discovery” that differed from Harriot’s only in their details. These moments of encounter, depicted so often over the years in the work of American artists, historians, and myth-makers, represent the opening of a grand story — the growth and development of the United States. All that happened before these seminal moments, as a result, has been ignored or trivialized by earlier generations of American historians, who celebrated the progress of a new nation.
“So many accounts of this continent’s past begin with Europeans striding ashore”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.
This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 4 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analyzing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.
Solution and Explanation
Question 1
The author of this passage is primarily concerned with
(A) discussing the impact the arrival of European settlers to the North American continent had on existing native peoples
(B) disputing the claims made by many jurists and scholars that the native inhabitants of North America welcomed European settlers with open arms
(C) verifying the accuracy of Harriot’s account of the 1585 English arrival on Roanoke Island
(D) demonstrating how Harriot’s account of the 1585 English arrival on Roanoke Island differed from those of other English historians and scholars
(E) distinguishing myth from reality in regard to the reception early European settlers received from North America’s native peoples
Answer: E
Explanation: The author of the passage has a clear opinion and point. He wishes to expose the fallacies in accounts of Europeans’ first arrival to North America. He challenges early descriptions that suggest that the native inhabitants looked on the settlers as saviours. And have been used to project the idea that the history of the continent didn’t begin until the Europeans arrived. The author’s concern about the accuracy of the depictions of how native peoples received the settlers. The author isn’t concerned with just the accounts of jurists and scholars but also the works of artists, historians, and mythmakers. Choice (E) justifies the answer.
Question 2
Upon whom does the author place blame for perpetuating the inaccuracies in the depictions of the arrival of European settlers on the land that is now North America?
(A) Harriot
(B) American historians
(C) Europeans
(D) Algonquin-speaking peoples
(E) English colonizers
Answer: B
Explanation: As stated. Native peoples have consistently contested these arrogant claims. However, historians and jurists have incorporated them into written histories that form the basis of American law. And in too many of these reports, local peoples prepare with their heads down or with a kind welcome. Despite their initial reservations, to welcome their colonisers as saviours.
Question 3
It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s primary issue with early accounts of the arrival of European settlers on the North American continent is that
(A) they fail to accurately depict the way the native people reacted to the European settlers after the settlers showed their benevolence
(B) despite being disputed by native peoples, they still influence American art, written history, and law
(C) they create the image that native peoples welcomed the English colonists ashore and viewed them as saviors without reporting how the colonists felt about seeing the native inhabitants
(D) much of what has made its way into American law and history books strays substantially from the accounts of English settlers who were present to observe the events
(E) they largely ignore the native peoples’ initial response to the arrival of European settlers
Answer: B
Explanation:. The author gives just one example of an English colonist (Harriot) whose report differs from the general myth. He doesn’t imply that all English colonists reported different accounts of the native peoples’ reaction. The author does stress, however, that the accounts differed from the reports of the native inhabitants. The best answer is Choice (B).
Question 4
Which of the following is not a description Harriot used to depict the native peoples’ initial reaction to him and other settlers of Roanoke Island?
(A) witless
(B) bewildered
(C) savage
(D) benevolent
(E) beast-like
Answer: D
Explanation: As mentioned. ”Confused and savage, “they made out,” Harriot continued, “cries like wild beasts or men out of their wits.” Soon they calmed themselves, in Harriot’s eyes, and stopped acting like beasts, and regained their wits. But only after the newcomers presented them with gifts that demonstrated and confirmed their benevolent intent. These native peoples soon would debate amongst themselves. As they considered the great power these newcomers seemed to possess, whether they were “gods or men.” Choice D justifies the answer, as “benevolent” isn’t used by Harriot.
Suggested GMAT Reading Comprehension Samples
- A mysterious new material is surprising scientists with its ability to conduct electricity without resistance GMAT Reading Comprehension
- On the eve of New Year, almost every Japanese cleans his or her house. GMAT Reading Comprehension
- This year was horrible for many technology firms, but the last one was particularly dismal for Microsoft GMAT Reading Comprehension
- In the eighth century, cities in the southern Mayan lowlands began to decline, and were soon abandoned. GMAT Reading Comprehension
- Over the past century, the United States population has continued to grow GMAT Reading Comprehension
- Mitochondrial DNA from both ancient and modern chicken specimens may provide evidence GMAT Reading Comprehension
- It is perhaps not surprising that debate has arisen over bioluminescence-based biotechnologies GMAT Reading Comprehension
- During the twelfth century, the Indian author Bhaskara published a drawing of a wheel GMAT Reading Comprehension
- A supernova is a brief stellar explosion so luminous that it can briefly outshine an entire galaxy GMAT Reading Comprehension
- The largest part of the brain, which is what you actually see when you look at a brain from above or the side GMAT Reading Comprehension
- James Joyce revolutionized the novel, the short story, and modern literature as we know it. GMAT Reading Comprehension
- ”Proverbial wisdom states that “birds of a feather flock together.”GMAT Reading Comprehension
- VO2 max is more than merely a trendy buzzword for workout aficionados to bandy about GMAT Reading Comprehension
- What does laughter mean? GMAT Reading Comprehension
- The sloth bear, an insect-eating animal native to Nepal, GMAT Reading Comprehension
- Homing pigeons can be taken from their lofts and transported hundreds of kilometers in covered cages GMAT Reading Comprehension
- The ultimate pendulum clock, indeed the ultimate mechanical clock of any kind GMAT Reading Comprehension
- Structural unemployment—the unemployment that remains even at the peak of the economy’s upswings GMAT Reading Comprehension
- The most common metal in the Earth’s crust, aluminum (or aluminium) was not discovered until 1825 GMAT Reading Comprehension
- In response to a recent survey conducted by a newspaper in Quantos city. GMAT Reading Comprehension
Comments