Once American men returned from the World War II battlefields, they quickly displaced the women who had temporarily filled jobs otherwise reserved for men. With many women reverting to their domestic role, the dramatic increase in birth rate is perhaps not too surprising. Yet such factors alone cannot explain the increase in the number of births from 1946– 1951. Murray suggests that both women’s and men’s perspectives changed, mostly because of America’s success in the war, leading to rapid population growth. However, this position ignores the many middle- and lower-middle-class women who continued working in factories and who contributed to the dramatic surge in population. Regarding this subset, the more plausible view is that couples were more likely to conceive based on the fact that they considered themselves parts of dual-income households— if necessary, the woman of the home could work.

According to the author, middle- and lower-middle-class women were more likely to conceive based on which of the following?

A. Positive attitude
B. Sense of patriotism
C. Ability to return to former jobs
D. Financial outlook
E. Overall level of health



As used in the final sentence, “plausible” most nearly means

A. accepted
B. common
C. credible
D. praiseworthy
E. controversial



The passage implies that the main shortcoming in Murray’s view is that it

A. ignores the role women play in dual-income households
B. fails to account for a particular segment of society
C. relies too much on people’s perception of their wealth
D. overemphasizes women who continued working in factories
E. only considers women’s perspectives