Read the paragraph below from the section "Impossible To Find An American."
Those who live in the tenements are very poor. But they are not beggars. Most of them are workers who simply have no other place to live. They are poor because there are no better homes. And they are growing poorer as their rents keep rising.
Which question is answered in the paragraph?
A
What do the tenements look like?
B
How do people feel about living in the tenements?
C
Why do people live in the tenements?
D
How much rent do people in the tenements have to pay?
C
Why do people live in the tenements?
are you sure
Yes, I am sure that the question answered in the paragraph is "Why do people live in the tenements?" It explains that people live in the tenements because they are very poor and have no other place to live, despite being workers.
_Editor's Note: The late 1800s were known as the
Gilded Age
. This was a time of big fortunes and big businesses. It was also a time when many people were poor. During the Gilded Age, New York was a city of divided worlds. Uptown, businessmen were building fancy apartments. Downtown, millions of European
immigrants
were crowding into
slums
. They shared apartment buildings called
tenements
. These buildings were very crowded and dirty. The people living there led difficult lives. Much of what we know about them comes from the work of Jacob A. Riis. He was a writer and photographer. Riis recorded the lives of the poorest people in New York City. In 1890, he wrote a book called "How the Other Half Lives." A selection from the book appears below._
A close up of a map.Zoom in
These 1870 maps of New York City show the division of the city into wards. Jacob Riis studied lower Manhattan, which are the wards on the left side of the map. Image: John Hardy/Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. [click to expand]
"Impossible To Find An American"
I once asked an agent how many people were living in a certain alley. She told me there were 140 families there. This included 100 Irish, 38 Italian and two German. They were all immigrants. Only the agent had been born in America. Most of lower New York is like this alley. It is easy to find an Italian, German, African or Chinese neighborhood. But it is impossible to find an American one. Where have the old Americans gone?
They are not here. Instead, there is this strange group of immigrants. The Irish have been followed by the Italian, the Jewish and the Chinese. Together, they are filling the tenements across lower New York.
Those who live in the tenements are very poor. But they are not beggars. Most of them are workers who simply have no other place to live. They are poor because there are no better homes. And they are growing poorer as their rents keep rising.
"More Stripes Than A Zebra"
Indeed, there is still a desire to work toward better things. The German rag-picker of 30 years ago is today a businessman or farmer. The Italian rag-pickers of today are moving up, too. Many now control the corner fruit stands. The poorest immigrant comes here with the purpose and ambition to better himself. Given half a chance, he might be reasonably expected to make the most of it.
A vintage photo of a group of people in a room.Zoom in
Lodgers in a crowded Bayard Street tenement, a photo taken by Jacob Riis in 1889. Via Wikimedia. [click to enlarge]
One can imagine a map of New York City. Different colors would show where different groups live. A map like this would have more stripes than a zebra. It would have more colors than a rainbow. The city would be split in two halves. On the West Side would be green for the Irish. On the East Side would be blue for the Germans. There would be many other colors in between. These would show the Italian and the Chinese. They would show the Finnish and the Greek. All of these colors would make the map look like a crazy quilt.
Read the section "More Stripes Than A Zebra."
Which sentence gives an example of an immigrant who has been able to do better?
A
Indeed, there is still a desire to work toward better things.
B
The German rag-picker of 30 years ago is today a businessman or farmer.
C
The poorest immigrant comes here with the purpose and ambition to better himself.
D
On the East Side would be blue for the Germans.
B
The German rag-picker of 30 years ago is today a businessman or farmer.
According to the author, what is one problem that immigrants faced in New York City?
A
rising rents
B
being alone
C
not wanting to work
D
not having a purpose in life
A
rising rents
Which sentence BEST supports the idea that many types of immigrants lived in New York City?
A
She told me there were 140 families there.
B
It is easy to find an Italian, German, African or Chinese neighborhood.
C
Together, they are filling the tenements across lower New York.
D
On the West Side would be green for the Irish.
B
It is easy to find an Italian, German, African or Chinese neighborhood.