Socialists are always difficult people! - EXPERTS?

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In mid-February 1917, a women's movement independent of political affiliation erupted in New York City, the strong holder of the socialist party in the United States. Protesting against the high cost of living, thousands of women refused to buy chickens, fish, and vegetables. The boycott shut down much of the cities?foodstuff marketing for two week, riveting public attention on the issues of food prices, which had increased partly as a result of increased of exports of food to Europe that had been occurring since the outbreak of First World War.

By 1917 the socialist party had established itself as a major political presence in New York City. New York Socialists, whose customary sphere of struggle electoral work and trade union organizing, seized the opportunity and quickly organized struggle was valuable insofar as it moved United States on step closer to socialism.

Although the New York Socialists saw the cost-of-living issue as, at best, secondary to tertiary to the real task at hand, the boycotters, by sharp contrast, joined the price protest to movement out of an urgent and deeply felt commitment to the cost-of-living issue. A shared experience of swiftly declining living standards caused by rising food price drove these women to protest. Consumers organizing spoke directly to their daily lives and concerns; they saw cheaper food as a valuable end in itself. Food price protests were these women's way of organizing at their own workplace, as workers whose occupation was shopping and preparing food for their families.

(Q1)

The author suggests which of the following about
the New York Socialists' commitment to the costof-
living movement?
A. It lasted for a relatively short period of time.
B. It was stronger than their commitment to the
Suffrage struggle.
C. It predated the cost-of-living protests that
Erupted in 1917.
D. It coincided with their attempts to bring more
Women into union organizing.
E. It explained the popularity of the Socialist
party in New York City.

OA is D.
I chose A since it is very clearly given in the passage that "socialist's brief commitment".

(Q3)
Which of the following best states the function of the
passage as a whole?
A. To contrast the views held by the Socialist party
and by the boycotting women of New York City
on the cost-of-living issue
B. To analyze the assumptions underlying opposing
viewpoints within the New York Socialist
party of 1917
C. To provide a historical perspective on different
approaches to the resolution of the cost-ofliving
issue.
D. To chronicle the sequence of events that led
to the New York Socialist party's emergence
as a political power
E. To analyze the motivations behind the Socialist
party's involvement in the women's suffrage
movement
OA is C
I chose A, did they not have contrasting view points?

(Q4)
According to the passage ,most New York
Socialists believed which of the following about
the cost-of-living movement?
A. It was primarily a way to interest women
in joining the Socialist party.
B. It was an expedient that was useful only
insofar as it furthered other goals.
C. It would indirectly result in an increase in
the number of women who belonged to
labor unions.
D. It required a long-term commitment but
Inevitably represented a direct step
Toward socialism.
E. It served as an effective complement to
union organizing

OA is B.
I chose E. Socialists believed that union organizing was the best method through with to combat the cost of living issue and they sought to divert the cost of living movement into alternate channels of protest. So in effect doesn't it complement union organizing . (Lines 35-40).

The above questions look tricky to me. Please give a detailed explanation as to why you chose an answer as opposed to just providing the answer option.
A kudos or thanks would do great if my answer has helped you :)

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by Anaira Mitch » Tue Jul 04, 2017 6:35 am
-The author talks about the emergence of a women's movement in New York in 1917
-The author then talks about the motives held by the socialist party to support the women's movement

1 . "Underneath the Socialists' brief commitment to cost-of-living organizing lay a basic indifference to the issue itself"
The word brief in the excerpt above suggests that it lasted for a relatively short period of time . Answer A

2. "the boycotters, by sharp contrast, joined the price protest movement out of an urgent and deeply felt commitment to the cost-of-living issue"
The word urgent in the above excerpt suggests that option (A) is the right answer choice.

3. The passage's basic function is to analyze the motives held by the socialist party in supporting the women's movement that erupted in New York in 1917. Hence option (E) is the correct answer choice.

4. "most Socialists ultimately sought to divert the cost-of-living movement into alternative channels of protest"
Option (B) is a word justification of the above and is hence correct.