1. In colonial Connecticut between 1670 and 1719, women participated in one of every six civil cases, the vast majority of which were debt related. Women's participation dropped to one in ten cases after 1719, and to one in twenty by the 1770's. however, as Cornelia Hughes Dayton notes in Women Before the Bar: Gender, Law, and Society in Connecticut, 1639-1789, these statistics are somewhat deceptive: in fact, both the absolute numbers and the percentage of adult women participating in civil cases grew steadily throughout the eighteenth century, but the legal activity of men also increased dramatically, and at a much faster rate. Single, married, and widowed women continued to pursue their own and their husbands' debtors through legal action much as they had done in the previous century, but despite this continuity, their place in the legal system shifted dramatically. Men's commercial interests and credit networks became increasingly far-flung, owing in part to the ability of creditors to buy and sell promissory notes (legal promises to pay debts). At the same time, women's networks of credit and debt remained primarily local and personal. Dayton contends that, although still performing crucial economic services in their communities¡ªservices that contributed to the commercialization of the colonial economy¡ªwomen remained for the most part outside the new economic and legal culture of the eighteenth century.
Q1:
The passage is primarily concerned with
A. reporting an author's view of a phenomenon
B. disputing the reasons usually given for an unexpected change
C. evaluating the conclusions reached by an author
D. assessing the impact of certain legal decisions
E. defending a controversial point of view
Q2:
According to the passage, compared with women in eighteenth-century Connecticut, men were
A. more likely to rely on credit and go into debt
B. more likely to pursue their families' debtors
C. more likely to participate in economic transactions outside their own communities
D. less likely to perform economic services in their own communities
E. less likely to participate in civil cases that were not debt-related
Q3
The passage suggests that which of the following best compares the economic concerns of women with those of men toward the close of the eighteenth Century in colonial Connecticut?
(A) Both men and women had more economic responsibilities at the end of the century than they had had at the beginning of the century.
(B) Women's economic activities had become less varied by the end of the century; men's economic activities had become more varied.
(C) Women's economic activities at the end of the century were similar to their activities at the beginning; men's economic activities changed considerably.
(D) Women's economic concerns at the end of the century were primarily familial; men's economic concerns were primarily political.
(E) Women's economic concerns at the end of the century were primarily personal; men's economic needs were primarily familial.
Connecticut
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C, C, C
Can somebody pinpoint why (C) is wrong for the first question. I saw, few guys have marked (A). IMO, the whole passage is not reporting an author's view point. The passage writer's views are interspersed with Cornelia Hughes Dayton's views.
Correct me if I am wrong.
Can somebody pinpoint why (C) is wrong for the first question. I saw, few guys have marked (A). IMO, the whole passage is not reporting an author's view point. The passage writer's views are interspersed with Cornelia Hughes Dayton's views.
Correct me if I am wrong.
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The author has just cited Cornelia Hughes’s notes to assert that absolute numbers and the percentage of men/women participating in civil cases grew steadily throughout the eighteenth century. He is not evaluating the conclusion reached by Cornelia Hughes.
I think A, C and C should be the answers.
I think A, C and C should be the answers.
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The author introduces a phenomenon that occurred between 1670 and 1719
- The author then provides an author's view on the phenomenon
1. A
2. "Men's commercial interests and credit networks became increasingly far-flung"
The above suggests that men started to participate in economic transactions outside their communities. Hence option (C ).
3. "both the absolute numbers and the percentage of adult women participating in civil cases grew steadily throughout the eighteenth century, but the legal activity of men also increased dramatically, and at a much faster rate"
Option (C ) is a word justification of the above and is hence correct.
- The author then provides an author's view on the phenomenon
1. A
2. "Men's commercial interests and credit networks became increasingly far-flung"
The above suggests that men started to participate in economic transactions outside their communities. Hence option (C ).
3. "both the absolute numbers and the percentage of adult women participating in civil cases grew steadily throughout the eighteenth century, but the legal activity of men also increased dramatically, and at a much faster rate"
Option (C ) is a word justification of the above and is hence correct.