Reading comprehension—best supported inference (technology and status as a leveller): In a highly industrialized society, there is no essential difference between castes or religions; all are equally useful and valuable because individual productivity determines pay, and pay determines social status. What does the passage best support?

Given data

• Industrial society bases status on productivity (pay cheque) rather than caste or religion.
• Hence, functional usefulness → value → status.

Concept / Approach
Pick the statement that summarises the equalising effect described.

Step-by-step reasoning
Step 1: The passage explicitly says there is “no essential difference” across caste/religion in industrial settings.Step 2: Option E (“industrial society is a great leveller of men”) captures this thesis.Step 3: Options A–D either over-attribute status to technology alone, change the topic, or assert birth equality rather than economic levelling.

Verification / Alternative
If status arises from productivity instead of identity markers, industrial society levels traditional hierarchies—hence E.

Common pitfalls

• Confusing “technology” with “industrial organisation of work” (the latter drives levelling in the passage).

Final Answer
Industrial society is a great leveller of men.