Question

Read the excerpt from We Shall Not Be Moved. Everywhere in the garment district, by the front gates of little shops and big ones, picketers marched and sang. "O Dubinushka," they sang, and "Tortured and Enslaved," and other Russian folk and revolutionary airs. Icy rains poured down on them, some were in danger of frostbite — a winter of record-breaking cold had already begun — but there they were and there they stayed. The union men were amazed. "There never was anything like it," one ILGWU official declared. "An equal number of men never would hold together under what these girls are enduring.” How would a careful rereading of this excerpt help a reader understand who made up the ILGWU?

A. The reader could make a connection between the quote by one ILGWU official and the author’s reference to “union men” just before it.
B. The reader could make a connection between the quote by one ILGWU official and the reference to “these girls” in the same quote.
. C. The reader could make a connection between the quote by one ILGWU official and the author’s description of “other Russian folk” in the first paragraph.
D. The reader could make a connection between the quote by one ILGWU official and the descriptive phrase “they sang” in the first paragraph.

Answer 1

A careful rereading of the excerpt reveals that the ILGWU was predominantly made up of female workers, as indicated by the distinction between 'union men' (observers) and 'these girls' (active participants).

Step-by-step explanation:

A careful rereading of the excerpt from "We Shall Not Be Moved" would allow a reader to understand that the ILGWU (International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union) was primarily composed of female workers. This is based on the statement in the quote that "these girls" are doing something remarkable that even men might not be able to endure. The term "union men" further reinforces the distinction between the male officials and observers, and the primarily female membership who were active participants in the picketing described.