Economist GMAT Reading Comprehension Challenge #36

Read Economist articles to boost your GMAT Reading Comprehension skills! Need some help making the most of these? Here are tips for reading the Economist articles.

Economist Article

Economist Article: Reviled to Revered: China has given up trying to eradicate wolves

Link: https://www.economist.com/china/2021/02/27/china-has-given-up-trying-to-eradicate-wolves

Paragraph Summaries

Conservationists had much to cheer about…

This February, China unexpectedly reversed course on a 70+ year history of treating wolves as pests when the common wolf was added to the country’s list of protected animals.

In Chinese, as in other languages…

Aspects of Chinese language and culture (as is the case in other countries) give the wolf a negative connotation of collusion and cruelty.

A bestseller released in 2004…

A 2004 Chinese bestseller called Wolf Totem, which associated the wolf with vigor and strong will, began to change the connotation associated with wolves as the book became popular with national officials.

Such lupine imagery remains in vogue…

Today, the imagery associated with wolves in China is still the positive one made popular by Wolf Totem, now with various uses in patriotic imagery.

Wolf Totem gave rise to many new stories…

The book’s impact has also spilled over to other elements of pop culture, and the legal protection recently given to wolves is likely the result of this change in the cultural consciousness in addition to the conservationists who pushed for their inclusion on list.

Primary Purpose

To discuss the means by which a cultural shift occurred and laid the groundwork for a corresponding shift in policy.

Main Idea

A change in the national attitude and imagery associated with wolves was a major factor in their gaining legal protection status in China.

Happy Studies

Hope you found this Economist GMAT RC Challenge interesting and helpful. Good luck on your GMAT verbal – keep reading!