Practice Test: Reading Comprehension - 34 | 100 RCs for GMAT PDF Download

This question asks which of the statements about Peter Parker is not true. Four of the statement can be verified in the text, allowing us to select the correct answer by process of elimination.
(A) In the last paragraph, the passage states that Parker "acquired a reputation as a surgeon of such skill that the hospital quickly became a general hospital."
(B) In the first paragraph, the passage states that Parker "offered free treatment for both rich and poor,” so he must have believe that all deserved quality medical treatment.
(C) CORRECT: While Parker did not feel that that nineteenth century Chinese medical practices were advanced, the passage never mentions an emotion similar to "disdain" in describing Parker's feelings towards these practices.
(D) In the second paragraph, the passage states that Parker "returned to the United States to raise money and interest in his operations." Additionally, Parker "and his British colleagues formed the Medical Missionary Society of China to coordinate the efforts of all the western hospitals springing up in the trading ports of Asia."

Hua T'o is mentioned in the following context: "In his talks, Parker described the state of medical and surgical knowledge--or, rather, scientific ignorance--in China. Despite the surgical feats of legendary ancient doctors such as Hua T'o of the third century A.D., surgery did not develop to any great extent in China."
(A) CORRECT: The fact that, by the nineteenth century, Chinese surgical knowledge had not developed beyond that of an "ancient" doctor underscores the need to modernize nineteenth century Chinese medicine.
(B) Hua T’o is the only Chinese medical figure mentioned in the passage, so the author does not mention him to trace the history of such figures.
(C) The topic sentence of the second paragraph concerns the lack of medical and surgical knowledge, not the lack of leading physicians in nineteenth century China.
(D) While the author recognizes Hua T’o’s achievements, citing “the surgical feats of legendary ancient doctors,” the overall context reveals that the point was not to celebrate such achievements, but to indicate how little had been achieved since.
(E) The author does not defend Chinese medicine against criticism; in fact, the author uses the example of Hua T’o to support Parker’s opinion about the state of scientific ignorance in China in the nineteenth century.

The question asks for the primary purpose of the passage. In other words, what was the author's agenda in writing the passage? The correct answer must take the entirety of the passage into account without misrepresenting the author's intent. Typically, the opening paragraph and the topic sentences of each paragraph will reveal the focus of the passage.

(A) The passage focuses primarily on the medical activities of Peter Parker in China and on behalf of China, not on the status of the medical profession in China before his arrival in the country.

(B) The author summarizes the contributions of Peter Parker, ending the passage with the statement that Parker “has thus been credited with bringing Western medicine to” China, but does not argue that China could not have gained modern medical knowledge without the influence of Peter Parker.

(C) The passage focuses on the introduction of Western medicine into China, not the state of medicine in China before the nineteenth century.

(D) The only view of nineteenth century Chinese medicine presented in the passage is that of Peter Parker, who spoke on the subject in his talks once back in the West. The passage does not challenge Parker’s view.

(E) CORRECT: The passage as a whole concerns the activities of Peter Parker and his influence in bringing Western medicine to China in the nineteenth century.