Steinem and Parton’s Deaths Leave Feminists Grieving Two Influential Voices

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

B2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the passage for its main idea, then return to the relevant sentence or paragraph for each question. Base answers on the passage.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What is the main idea of the article?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Two entertainers competed for influence within one public movement.
   2. Two deaths created grief and reflection about women’s rights leadership.
   3. Feminists rejected the different public worlds represented by both women.
   4. Women’s rights organizations announced a single replacement leader.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Two deaths created grief and reflection about women’s rights leadership.

   The article connects shared grief with concerns about future movement leadership.

   The deaths of Gloria Steinem and Dolly Parton eight days apart have brought an unusual sense of shared loss to feminists.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article mention that the women represented different public worlds?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To show that their careers had completely identical goals.
   2. To explain why only one woman influenced public discussion.
   3. To emphasize that different figures could create a shared emotional response.
   4. To prove that their supporters belonged to separate generations.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To emphasize that different figures could create a shared emotional response.

   This contrast shows why their shared impact was unexpected despite different backgrounds.

   Although the two women represented different public worlds, their deaths arrived so close together that many people experienced them as a single, powerful moment of grief.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does “That question” refer to in paragraph two?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Whether the deaths occurred eight days apart
   2. Whether public worlds should remain separate
   3. Who might take the women’s places in rights leadership
   4. Why some men joined women’s discussions
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Who might take the women’s places in rights leadership

   The phrase points back to concerns about future replacements and leadership.

   That question reflects more than sadness about two individual deaths.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What can be inferred about losing two figures within just over a week?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It can make a movement’s leadership concerns more noticeable.
   2. It guarantees that a movement will immediately lose public support.
   3. It proves that one person can replace both influential figures.
   4. It eliminates differences between generations and national groups.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It can make a movement’s leadership concerns more noticeable.

   The timing makes existing concerns about leadership succession harder to ignore.

   Losing two within just over a week can make that uncertainty more visible, especially when both people have been connected to conversations about women’s rights and public influence.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How is the article organized overall?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It presents a biography, then compares two political programs.
   2. It describes shared grief, develops its meaning, and considers continuity.
   3. It lists organizations, then reports their financial difficulties.
   4. It begins with criticism and ends by dismissing public leadership.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It describes shared grief, develops its meaning, and considers continuity.

   The article moves from grief, to leadership concerns, to broader reflection.

   Their deaths have encouraged people to consider who will speak with similar authority and who will help keep women’s rights at the center of public discussion.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What relationship does the article establish between grief and leadership?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Grief prevents people from discussing future responsibilities.
   2. Grief encourages reflection about replacing influential public voices.
   3. Leadership concerns reduce admiration for the two women.
   4. Public influence makes personal grief impossible for supporters.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Grief encourages reflection about replacing influential public voices.

   The shared loss leads people to question who will continue public advocacy.

   That question reflects more than sadness about two individual deaths.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What limitation does the final paragraph place on replacing leaders?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. New leaders cannot speak about women’s rights publicly.
   2. No individual can perfectly duplicate another person’s role.
   3. Movements cannot continue after prominent leaders die.
   4. Public figures should avoid taking responsibility for movements.
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   No individual can perfectly duplicate another person’s role.

   The article recognizes leadership needs while rejecting exact personal substitution.

   No single person can simply occupy another person’s place.

What to review next

Find the words that support each answer. For a mistake, compare the question with the evidence and identify the detail or inference you missed.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Look for evidence in the text. Separate what the writer says from what you already know about the topic.

The library normally closes at six, but on Fridays it stays open until eight. When does it close on Friday?

The answer is eight. But introduces an exception to the normal closing time, so the first time mentioned is not the answer.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.