Passage 1
The settlement of the Unites States has occupied traditional historians since 1893 when Frederick Jackson Turner developed his Frontier Theses， a thesis that explained American development in terms of westward expansion. From the perspective of women's history， Turner's exclusively masculine assumptions constitute a major drawback； his defenders and critics alike have reconstructed men's， not women's， lives on the frontier. However， precisely because of this masculine on orientation， revising the Frontier Thesis by focusing on women's experience introduces new themes into women's history-women as lawmaker and entrepreneur-and， consequently， new interpretations of women's relationship to capital， labor， and statute.
Turner claimed that the frontier produced the individualism that is the hallmark of American culture， and that this individualism in turn promoted democratic institutions and economic equality. He argued for the frontier as an agent of social change. Most novelists and historians writing in the early to midtwentiech century who considered women in the West， when they considered women at all， fell under Turner's spell. In their works these authors tended to glorify women's contributions to frontier life. Western women， in Turnerian tradition， were a fiercely independent， capable， and durable lot， free from the constraints binding their eastern sisters. In their works these authors tended to glorify women's contributions to frontier life. Western women， in Turnerian tradition， were a fiercely independent， capable， and durable lot， free from the constraints binding their eastern sisters. This interpretation implied that the West provided a congenial environment where women could aspire to their own goals， free from constrictive stereotypes and sexist attitudes. In Turnerian terminology， the frontier had furnished “a gate of escape from the bondage of the past.”
By the middle of the twentieth century， the Frontier Thesis fell into disfavor among historians. Later， Reactionist writers took the view that frontier women were lonely， displaced persons in a hostile milieu that intensified the worst aspects of gender relations. The renaissance of the feminist movement during the 1970's led to the Stasist School， which sidestepped the good bad dichotomy and argued that frontier women lived lives similar to the lives of women in the East. In one nowstandard text， Faragher demonstrated the persistence of the “cult of true womanhood” and the illusionary quality of change on the westward journey. Recently the Stasist position has been revised but not entirely discounted by new research.
1. The primary purpose of the passage is to
（A） provide a framework within which the history of women in nineteenth-century America can be organized
（B） discuss divergent interpretations of women's experience on the western frontier
（C） introduce a new hypothesis about women's experience on the western frontier
（D） advocate an empirical approach to women's experience on the western frontier
（E） resolve ambiguities in several theories about women's experience on the western frontier
2. Which of the following can be inferred about the novelists and historians mentioned in lines 19-20？
（A） They misunderstood the powerful influence of constrictive stereotypes on women in the East
（B） They assumed that the frontier had offered more opportunities to women than had the East
（C） They included accurate information about women's experience on the frontier
（D） They underestimated the endurance and fortitude of frontier women
（E） They agreed with some of Turner's assumptions about frontier women， but disagreed with other assumptions that he made.
3.Which of the following， if true， would provide additional evidence for the Stasists' argument as it is described in the passage？
（A） Frontier women relied on smaller support groups of relatives and friends in the West than they had in the East
（B） The urban frontier in the West offered more occupational opportunity than the agricultural frontier offered
（C） Women participated more fully in the economic decisions of the family group in the West than they had in the East
（D） Western women received financial compensation for labor that was comparable to what women received in the East
（E） Western women did not have an effect on divorce laws， but lawmakers in the West were more responsive to women's concerns than lawmakers in the East were
4. According to the passage， Turner makes which of the following connections in his Frontier Thesis？
I. A connection between American individualism and economic equality
II. A connection between geographical expansion and social change
III. A connection between social change and financial prosperity
（A） I only
（B） II only
（C） III only
（D） I and II only
（E） I， II and III
5. It can be inferred that which of the following statements is consistent with the Reactionist position as it is described in the passage？
（A） Continuity， not change， marked women's lives as they moved from East to West
（B） Women's experience on the North American frontier has not received enough attention from modern historians
（C） Despite its rigors， the frontier offered women opportunities that had not been available in the East
（D） Gender relations were more difficult for women in the West than they were in the East
（E） Women on the North American frontier adopted new roles while at the same time reaffirming traditional roles.
6. Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage？
（A） A current interpretation of a phenomenon is described and then ways in which it was developed are discussed
（B） Three theories are presented and then a new hypothesis that discounts those theories is described.
（C） An important theory and its effects are discussed and then ways in which it has been revised are described
（D） A controversial theory is discussed and then viewpoints both for and against it are described
（E） A phenomenon is described and then theories concerning its correctness are discussed.
7. Which of the following is true of the Stasist school as it is described in the passage？
（A） It provides new interpretation of women's relationship to work and the law.
（B） It resolves some of the ambiguities inherent in Turnerian and Reactionist thought.
（C） It has recently been discounted by new research gathered on women's experience.
（D） It avoids extreme positions taken by other writers on women's history.
（E） It was the first school of thought to suggest substantial revisions to the Frontier Thesis.
Passage 2
Japanese firms have achieved the highest levels of manufacturing efficiency in the would automobile industry. Some observers of Japan have assumed that Japanese as United States firms but have benefited from the unique characteristics of Japanese employees and the Japanese culture. However， if this were true， then one would expect Japanese auto plants in the United States to perform no better than factories run by United States companies. This is not the case， Japanese-run automobile plants located in the United States and staffed by local workers have demonstrated higher levels of productivity when compared with factories owned by United States companies.
Other observers link high Japanese productivity to higher levels of capital investment per worker. But a historical perspective leads to a different conclusion. When the two top Japanese automobile makers matched and then doubled United States productivity levels in the mid-sixties， capital investment per employee was com-parable to that of United States firms. Furthermore， by the late seventies， the amount of fixed assets required to produce one vehicle was roughly equivalent in Japan and in the United States. Since capital investment was not higher in Japan， it had to be other factors that led to higher productivity.
A more fruitful explanation may lie with Japanese production techniques. Japanese auto-mobile producers did not simply implement conventional processes more effectively： they made critical changes in United States procedures. For instance ， the mass-production philosophy of United States auto-makers encouraged the production of huge lots of cars in order to utilize fully expensive， component specific equipment and to copy fully workers who have been trained to execute one operation efficiently. Japanese auto-makers chose to make small-lot production feasible by introducing several departures from United States practices， including the use of flexible equipment that could be altered easily to do several different production tasks and the training of workers in multiple jobs.
Automakers could schedule the production of different components or models on single machines， thereby eliminating the need to store the buffer stocks of extra components that result when specialized equipment and workers are kept constantly active.
1. The primary purpose of the passage is to
（A） present the major steps of a process
（B） clarify an ambiguity
（C） chronicle a dispute
（D） correct misconceptions
（E） defend an accepted approach
2. The author suggests that if the observers of Japan mentioned in line 3 were correct， which of the following would be the case？
（A）The equipment used in Japanese automobile plants would be different from the equipment used in United States plants.
（B） Japanese workers would be trained to do several different production jobs .
（C） Culture would not have an influence on the productivity levels of workers.
（D） The workers in Japanese-run plants would have higher productivity levels regardless of where they were located.
（E） The production levels of Japanese-run plants located in the United States would be equal to those of plants run by United States companies.
3. Which of the following statements concerning the productivity levels of automakers can be inferred from the passage？
（A） prior to the 1960's， the productivity levels of the top Japanese automakers were exceeded by those of United States auto-makers.
（B） The culture of a country has a large effect on the productivity levels of its automakers.
（C） During the late 1970's and early 1980's， productivity levels were comparable in Japan and the United States.
（D） The greater the number of cars that are produced in a single lot， the higher a plant's productivity level.
（E） The amount of capital investment made by automobile manufacturers in their factories determines the level of productivity.
4. According to the passage， which of the following statements is true of Japanese automobile workers？
（A） Their productivity levels did not equal those of United States automobile workers until the late seventies.
（B） Their high efficiency levels are a direct result of cultural influences.
（C） They operate component-specific machinery.
（D） They are trained to do more than one job.
（E） They produce larger lots of cars than do workers in United States factories.
