Example: Immediately after the Russian Civil War, fighting led to food scarcity, and a severe
drought led to a famine that was the worst disaster to strike Europe since the Middle
Ages. In July 1921, famed writer Maxim Gorky issued a plea for help to save millions of
Russian lives by providing food and medicine. Gorky's appeal did not mention the
Revolution or the Soviet government, emphasizing instead the plight of the Russian
people. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover read Gorky's statement in a newspaper
Hoover was already credited with saving more lives than anyone else in history as the
result of his work in Europe during and after World War I. Now he believed it was his
and America's duty to once again mount a massive relief effort to save Russian people.
Once aid started, eleven million people were fed each day out of nineteen thousand
kitchens. It was the largest relief effort in the world up to that point, surpassing even
the relief work during World War I. Hoover used the occasion to help American
farmers who were suffering from deflated prices and strike a blow against
international Communism by building goodwill for the United States.
1. It can be inferred from the passage that Hoover was
A. uninterested in the day-to-day suffering of ordinary people
B. an able administrator with a genuine concern for people
C. primarily a politician interested in running for president
D. a long-term supporter of the Russian government