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Rudolph Flesch - RC - CAT-3 - Doubt

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prashasthp
 Post subject: Rudolph Flesch - RC - CAT-3 - Doubt
 Post Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2009 12:15 pm 
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Students


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In the 1950s, reading was taught to young children primarily through the use of simple primers depicting the middle-class non-adventures of “Dick and Jane.” Rudolph Flesch’s bestselling 1955 book Why Johnny Can’t Read attacked these primers, calling them “horrible, stupid, insipid, … tasteless little readers” and asserting that such boring stories gave no incentive for children to read on their own and learn to “sound out” each word phonetically. Flesch also bemoaned the fact that there was not a single book in bookstores that first and second graders could read by themselves.
In response, a publisher commissioned Theodore Geisel, who wrote children’s books under the pen name “Dr. Seuss,” to write a book that “a first grader can’t put down.” Geisel was given a list of a few hundred words considered important and asked to make a book out of them. Nine months later, Geisel, using only 220 different words, delivered The Cat in the Hat, a whimsical story about two bored children left at home with their talking fish who are suddenly visited by a havoc-creating six-foot-tall talking cat. In addition, Geisel wrote the entire book in a rhyming verse, making it fun to read aloud. The Cat in the Hat was a tremendous success and vaulted Geisel into instant celebrity. Another publisher bet Geisel that he could not write an entire book using only 50 different words. Geisel won the bet by publishing the classic Green Eggs and Ham.
The Dr. Seuss books revolutionized the children’s book industry by proving that it was possible to create engaging books with a limited vocabulary. Geisel has been credited with killing off “Dick and Jane,” replacing them with clever rhymes, plot twists and rebellious heroes who do the unexpected. Now one in four American children receives a Dr. Seuss title as his or her first book.

Which of the following can be inferred about Rudolph Flesch based on the information presented in the passage?
He did not like children’s books.
He was an advocate of phonetic reading.
He was a children’s book critic.
He believed that parents should read to their children often.
He believed that the primers of the 1950s were too advanced for young children.

My Doubt:
----------------
The OA is B.

However, I chose C, since in the 1st paragraph, there are two instances where Rudolph Flesch criticizes children's books :
1st instance - Rudolph Flesch’s bestselling 1955 book Why Johnny Can’t Read attacked these primers, calling them “horrible, stupid, insipid, … tasteless little readers”

2nd instance - Flesch also bemoaned the fact that there was not a single book in bookstores that first and second graders could read by themselves

So I decided upon C. Pls help. Can someone clarify why this is not so ?

Many thanks.

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Cheers,
Prash
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JonathanSchneider
 Post subject: Re: Rudolph Flesch - RC - CAT-3 - Doubt
 Post Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 11:54 am 
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ManhattanGMAT Staff


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Location: Durham, NC
True, but there is a difference between criticizing children's books and being a "children's book critic." The latter implies that this is his career.
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bernardofrancomillan
 Post subject: Re: Rudolph Flesch - RC - CAT-3 - Doubt
 Post Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 10:42 pm 
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Hello -
I actually chose "E" because the passage says:
"Flesch also bemoaned the fact that there was not a single book in bookstores that first and second graders could read by themselves."
Since the passages talks about books "In the 1950s", wouldn't this implies answer "E"?

Thx!
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Ben Ku
 Post subject: Re: Rudolph Flesch - RC - CAT-3 - Doubt
 Post Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 3:10 am 
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ManhattanGMAT Staff


Posts: 823
Quote:
I actually chose "E" because the passage says:
"Flesch also bemoaned the fact that there was not a single book in bookstores that first and second graders could read by themselves."
Since the passages talks about books "In the 1950s", wouldn't this implies answer "E"?


Answer choice (E) states that he thought the PRIMERS were too advanced. However, the proof text you used does not refer to primers; it instead refers to books in the bookstores.

In relationship to primers, the passage states: "Rudolph Flesch ... attacked these primers, calling them “horrible, stupid, insipid ... asserting that such boring stories gave no incentive for children to read." His opinion was that these primers were not interesting to read, not that they were too advanced.

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Ben Ku
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