one question from OG Passage 21

Qiongwang01

Although genetic mutations in bacteria and viruses

can lead to epidemics, some epidemics are caused by

bacteria and viruses that have undergone no significant

genetic change. In analyzing the latter, scientists have

(5) discovered the importance of social and ecological fac-

tors to epidemics. Poliomyelitis, for example, emerged

as an epidemic in the United States in the twentieth

century; by then, modern sanitation was able to delay

exposure to polio until adolescence or adulthood, at

(10) which time polio infection produced paralysis. Previ-

ously, infection had occurred during infancy, when it

typically provided lifelong immunity without paralysis.

Thus, the hygiene that helped prevent typhoid epidemics

indirectly fostered a paralytic polio epidemic. Another

(15) example is Lyme disease, which is caused by bacteria

that are transmitted by deer ticks. It occurred only spo-

radically during the late nineteenth century but has

recently become prevalent in parts of the United States,

largely due to an increase in the deer population that

(20) occurred simultaneously with the growth of the suburbs

and increased outdoor recreational activities in the

deer’s habitat. Similarly, an outbreak of dengue hemor-

rhagic fever became an epidemic in Asia in the 1950’s

because of ecological changes that caused Aedes aegypti,

(25) the mosquito that transmits the dengue virus, to proliferate

The stage is now set in the United States for a

dengue epidemic because of the inadvertent introduction

and wide dissemination of another mosquito, Aedes

albopictus.

126. The passage suggests that the author of the passage

believes which of the following?

(A) The predominance of individualist feminism in

English-speaking countries is a historical

phenomenon, the causes of which have not yet

been investigated.

(B) The individualist and relational feminist views are

irreconcilable, given their theoretical differences

concerning the foundations of society.

(C) A consensus concerning the direction of future

feminist politics will probably soon emerge, given

the awareness among feminists of the need for

cooperation among women.

(D) Political adversaries of feminism often misuse

arguments predicated on differences between the

sexes to argue that the existing social system

should be maintained.

(E) Relational feminism provides the best theoretical

framework for contemporary feminist politics, but

individualist feminism could contribute much

toward refining and strengthening modern feminist

thought.

The answer is D. I choose B. Is it wrong because of " foundations of society" or other reasons.What is the meaning for "foundation of society" in the passage?

fair_sword

OG上有解释, foundation of society.: 社会基础. 除此之外你不觉得are irreconcilable 相对于这篇文章太绝对了吗?

tony6

楼主的文章贴错了吧。

Passage 21

Two modes of argumentation have been used on

behalf of women’s emancipation in Western societies.

Arguments in what could be called the “relational”

feminist tradition maintain the doctrine of “equality in

(5) difference,” or equity as distinct for equality. They

posit that biological distinctions between the sexes

result in a necessary sexual division of labor in the

family and throughout society and that women’s pro-

creative labor is currently undervalued by society, to

(10) the disadvantage of women. By contrast, the individual-

ist feminist tradition emphasizes individual human rights

and celebrates women’s quest for personal autonomy,

while downplaying the importance of gender roles and

minimizing discussion of childbearing and its attendant

(15) responsibilities.

Before the late nineteenth century, these views

coexisted within the feminist movement, often within

the writings of the same individual. Between 1890 and

1920, however, relational feminism, which had been the

(20) dominant strain in feminist thought, and which still pre-

dominates among European and non-Western feminists,

lost ground in England and the United States. Because

the concept of individual rights was already well estab-

lished in the Anglo-Saxon legal and political tradition,

(25) individualist feminism came to predominate in English-

speaking countries. At the same time, the goals of the

two approaches began to seem increasingly irreconcil-

able. Individualist feminists began to advocate a totally

gender-blind system with equal rights for all. Relational

(30) feminists, while agreeing that equal educational and

economic opportunities outside the home should be avail-

able for all women, continued to emphasize women’s

special contributions to society as homemakers and

mothers; they demanded special treatment

(35) including protective legislation for women workers,

state-sponsored maternity benefits, and paid compensa-

tion for housework.

Relational arguments have a major pitfall: because

they underline women’s physiological and psychological

(40) distinctiveness, they are often appropriated by political

adversaries and used to endorse male privilege. But the

individualist approach, by attacking gender roles, deny-

ing the significance of physiological difference, and

condemning existing familial institutions as hopelessly

(45) patriarchal, has often simply treated as irrelevant the

family roles important to many women. If the individu-

alist framework, with its claim for women’s autonomy,

could be harmonized with the family-oriented concerns

of relational feminists, a more fruitful model for con-

(50) temporary feminist politics could emerge.