Text 1Alexander Graham Bell first demonstrated the telephone publicly in 1876, showcasing its ability to transmit voice across distances. However,...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Text 1
Alexander Graham Bell first demonstrated the telephone publicly in 1876, showcasing its ability to transmit voice across distances. However, public reception was mixed, with many viewing the device as an unnecessary luxury or even expressing suspicion about its safety. Newspapers frequently published articles questioning whether telephone conversations could be overheard by unauthorized parties. This widespread skepticism among potential users, rather than any technical limitations, was the primary barrier preventing telephone adoption until attitudes shifted in the 1890s.
Text 2
The telephone's delayed mass adoption resulted primarily from infrastructure constraints rather than public resistance to the technology itself. Building the extensive network of telephone lines, exchanges, and switching equipment necessary for widespread service required enormous capital investment and years of construction. Rural communities, in particular, lacked the population density to justify the costs of telephone infrastructure. Public interest in telephone service was actually quite strong from the beginning, but practical deployment challenges prevented expansion until technological improvements reduced installation costs in the 1890s.
Based on the texts, the author of Text 1 and the author of Text 2 would most likely disagree about which of the following?
Bell's initial telephone demonstrations were successful in proving the technology's capabilities.
The primary factor that delayed widespread telephone adoption in the late 1800s.
The telephone achieved broad public acceptance sometime during the 1890s.
Rural areas faced greater challenges in accessing telephone service than urban centers did.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Text 1: "Alexander Graham Bell first demonstrated the telephone publicly in 1876, showcasing its ability to transmit voice across distances." |
|
| "However, public reception was mixed, with many viewing the device as an unnecessary luxury or even expressing suspicion about its safety." |
|
| "Newspapers frequently published articles questioning whether telephone conversations could be overheard by unauthorized parties." |
|
| "This widespread skepticism among potential users, rather than any technical limitations, was the primary barrier preventing telephone adoption until attitudes shifted in the 1890s." |
|
Text 2 Analysis:
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "The telephone's delayed mass adoption resulted primarily from infrastructure constraints rather than public resistance to the technology itself." |
|
| "Building the extensive network of telephone lines, exchanges, and switching equipment necessary for widespread service required enormous capital investment and years of construction." |
|
| "Rural communities, in particular, lacked the population density to justify the costs of telephone infrastructure." |
|
| "Public interest in telephone service was actually quite strong from the beginning, but practical deployment challenges prevented expansion until technological improvements reduced installation costs in the 1890s." |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: The two texts present competing explanations for why telephone adoption was delayed - Text 1 blames public skepticism while Text 2 blames infrastructure limitations.
Argument Flow: Text 1 argues that despite Bell's successful demonstration, public suspicion about safety and privacy created the main barrier to adoption until attitudes changed in the 1890s. Text 2 directly counters this by claiming infrastructure constraints were the real problem, noting that public interest was actually strong but practical deployment challenges prevented expansion until technological improvements reduced costs in the 1890s.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? The question wants us to identify the point of disagreement between the two authors.
What type of answer do we need? We need to find the topic where Text 1 and Text 2 would take opposing positions.
Any limiting keywords? "Most likely disagree" tells us we're looking for the clearest, most direct disagreement between the texts.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The two texts directly oppose each other on what caused the delay in telephone adoption
- Text 1 says public skepticism was the primary barrier, while Text 2 says infrastructure constraints were the primary barrier
- Text 2 even explicitly states that "public resistance" was NOT the problem, directly contradicting Text 1's main claim
- Both texts seem to agree on some basic facts - Bell demonstrated the technology in 1876, and widespread adoption happened in the 1890s
- So the right answer should identify their core disagreement about what was the main cause of delayed telephone adoption
Bell's initial telephone demonstrations were successful in proving the technology's capabilities.
✗ Incorrect
- Both texts accept that Bell's demonstrations successfully proved the technology worked
- No disagreement here
The primary factor that delayed widespread telephone adoption in the late 1800s.
✓ Correct
- This is the central disagreement between the texts
- Text 1 claims "widespread skepticism among potential users...was the primary barrier" while Text 2 claims "infrastructure constraints rather than public resistance" were the primary cause
- They directly contradict each other on what was the MAIN factor
The telephone achieved broad public acceptance sometime during the 1890s.
✗ Incorrect
- Both texts agree that telephone adoption expanded in the 1890s
- They agree on the timing, just differ on what caused the change
Rural areas faced greater challenges in accessing telephone service than urban centers did.
✗ Incorrect
- Text 2 explicitly states rural areas "lacked the population density to justify the costs" but Text 1 doesn't address rural vs. urban differences specifically
- There's no disagreement here