Explanation

3) Choice C is correct. The question asks which of three statements about women cyclists are supported by the passage. Choice A is incorrect: The second sentence of the passage states that the new bicycle appealed to a few privileged women right away, but then implies that it quickly “attracted a greater cross section of the female population.” Choice B is incorrect: The third sentence of the passage explicitly states that
many women “had not taken up [bicycling] as an idle pastime.” Choice C is correct: The penultimate sentence of the passage implies that women bicyclists thought that cycling would “encourage healthy outdoor exercise.”

4) Choices A and C are correct. The question asks what the passage suggests about pioneer women cyclists. Choice A is correct: The passage states that pioneer women cyclists saw cycling “as a means to improve the general female condition” and believed that it “affirmed nothing less than the dignity and equality of women.” Choice B is incorrect: The passage states that bicycle pioneers saw cycling itself as a noble cause but does not mention any other noble causes to which cycling would lead. Choice C is correct. The passage mentions that pioneer women cyclists saw at least two independent reasons for all women to use bicycles: they believed that cycling would “encourage healthy outdoor exercise” as well as “hasten long-overdue dress reform.”

5) The second sentence implies that the bicycle appealed at first only to “a few privileged women” but then “attracted a greater cross section of the female population,” thus informing the reader that “the massive influx of women cyclists” mentioned in the previous sentence did not happen all at once. Since the influx of women cyclists is the social consequence of the cycling boom mentioned in the previous sentence, the highlighted sentence describes this consequence in more detail. Therefore, Choice B is correct. The second sentence does not correct any misconceptions (Choice A), provide help in understanding the appeal of the bicycle to privileged women (Choice C), explain the attraction cycling held for a significant cross section of women (Choice D), or describe demographic characteristics of the consumer market for bicycles (Choice E).