Tamfel
Tamfel
Tamfel
1. In 1793, Charles Newbold designed a cast iron plow that ______ than the wooden plows then
in use.
2. ______ think of metallurgy as a modern field of science, but it is actually one of the oldest.
B. Many people
3. Part of Jane Coldens work involved collecting plant specimens, cataloguing plants, and
______with other botanists.
A. exchanging correspondence
C. correspondence exchanging
A. they divide
B. dividing
C. to be divided
D. are divided
B. old as
C. as old as
D. old
A. or
B. whether
C. both
D. either
7. Centuries of erosion have exposed ______ rock surfaces in the Painted Desert of northern
Arizona.
A. rainbow-colored
D. a rainbows coloring
8. Nellie Ross of Wyoming was the first woman ______ governor in the United States.
A. who elected
B. to be elected
C. was elected
D. her election as
9. Dry farming is a type of agriculture used in areas ______ less than 20 inches of rainfall.
A. there are
B. in which is
C. where there is
D. which has
10. Once known as the Golden State because of its gold mines, ______.
11. Indoor heating systems have made ______ for people to live and work comfortably in
temperate climates.
A. possible that
B. it possible
C. possible
D. it is possible
13. Honey is the only form of naturally occurring sugar that ______ to be refined before it can be
eaten.
A. has not
C. not having
D. does not
14. ______ species of wild goats, only one, the Rocky Mountain goat, is native to North
America.
A. The ten
B. Ten of the
C. Of the ten
A. as striking
C. struck
D. when struck
ANSWER KEY
1. A 6. D 11. B
2. B 7. A 12. C
3. A 8. B 13. B
4. D 9. C 14. C
5. C 10. A 15. D
16. Much (A) superstitious (B) and symbols are (C) connected with (D) Halloween.
17. Luray Caverns in northern (A) Virginia contain acres (B) of colourful (C) rock formations
illumination (D) by electric lights.
18. Furniture makers use glue to hold (A) joints together (B) and sometimes (C) to reinforce
it(D).
19. Anthracite contains (A) a higher (B) percent (C) of carbon (D) than bituminous.
20. Sheep (A) have been domesticated (B) for over (C) 5.000 years ago (D).
21. The hard, out (A) surface of (B) the tooth (C) is called (D) enamel.
22. Aneroid barometers are (A) smaller than (B) mercury barometers and are more easy (C) to
carry (D).
23. Liquids take the shape (A) of any container which in (B) they (C) are placed (D).
24. The earliest form of artificial (A) lighting (B) was fire, which also (C) provided warm (D)
and protection.
25. Publishers of modern encyclopaedias (A) employ hundreds (B) of specialists (C) and large
editorials (D) staffs.
ANSWER KEY
18. D 22. C
19. C 23. B
Clipper ships were the swiftest sailing ships that were ever put to sea and the most
beautiful. These ships had their days of glory in the 1840s and 1850s. The first were built in
Baltimore, but most was constructed in the shipyards of New England. It was Chinese tea that
brought them into existence. Tea loses its flavour quickly when stored in the hold of a vessel, and
merchants were willing to pay top prices for fast delivery. American ship-builders designed
clippers to fill this need. Then came the California Gold Rush of 1849, when clippers took gold
seekers from the East Coast to the West by way of Cape Horn.
Clippers were built for speed, and considerations of large carrying capacity and
economical operation were sacrificed for this purpose. They had long, slender hulls with sharp
bows. Their three slanted masts carried a huge cloud of canvas sail, including topgallants and
royal sails, and sometimes skysails and moonrakers, to capture the power of the winds. They
required a hard driving captain and a large, experienced crew.
Many records were set by clippers. Sovereign of the Seas made it from San Francisco to
New York in eighty-two days. Flying cloud did 374 miles in one day. Lightning travelled from
New York to Liverpool in thirteen days, and Ino made it from New York to Singapore in eighty-
six days.
Some 500 clippers were built in American shipyards. British yards turned out some
twenty-seven tea clippers, as the British ships were called. Unlike the wooden American ships,
British clippers were composites with iron frames and wooden planking. The most famous tea
clipper was the Cutty Sark.
By 1860, the age of the clippers was fading Gold diggings in California were nearly exhausted.
American investors found railroad building more profitable than clippers. Most importantly,
there was a technological innovation that doomed the clipper, and in fact, the entire age of sail;
the development of the steamship.
A. Fastest
B. Best armed
C. Largest
D. Most expensive
3. According to the passage, where were the majority of clipper ships built?
A. California
B. Baltimore
C. New England
D. Great Britain
4. In line 4, the word vessel could be best be replaced by which of the following?
A. Container
B. Ship
C. Cargo
D. Merchant
5. According to the passage, how did the California Gold Rush affect clipper ships?
A. It encouraged the development of railroads, which completed directly with clipper ships.
B. The newly discovered gold was used to finance the construction of new ships.
D. People who wanted to participate in the Gold Rush became passengers on clipper
ships.
6. According to the passage, which of the following considerations was the most importance to
the owners of clipper ships?
A. Maximum speed
D. Small crews
A. Titled
B. Slanted
C. Strengthened
D. owered
8. What can be inferred from the passage about skysails and moonrakers?
A. Skysails were the highest sails on the mast, and moonrakers were the lowest.
9. According to the passage, the record for the fastest trip between New York and Liverpool was
set by
B. Flying Cloud
C. Lightning
D. Ino
10. It can be inferred for the passage that the tea clipper Cutty Sark
11. All the following are given in the passage as reasons for the decline of clipper ships EXCEPT
D. investment in railroads
12. In the next paragraph, the author will most likely discuss
ANSWER KEY
1. D 5. D 9. C
2. A 6. A 10. D
3. C 7. A 11. B
4. B 8. B 12. A
Ralph Earl was born into a Connecticut farm family in 1751. He chose early to become a
painter and looked for what training was available in his home state and in Boston. Earl was one
of the first American artists to paint landscapes. Among his first paintings were scenes from the
Revolutionary War battles of Lexington and Concord. In 1778 Earl went to London to study with
Benjamin West for four years.
When Earl returned to the United States, he was jailed for fourteen months for fourteen
months for outstanding debts. While still a prisoner, he painted portraits of some of New York
Citys most elegant society women and their husbands. After he release, he took up the trade of
itinerant portrait painter, working his way through southern New England and New York. Earl
didnt flatter his subjects, but his portraits show a deep understanding of them, perhaps because
he had sprung from the same roots.
Among Earls most famous paintings in his portrait of Justice Oliver Ellsworth and his
wife, Abigail. To provide counterpoint to the severity of the couple., he accurately details the
relative luxury of the Ellsworth's interior furnishings. The view through the window behind them
shows sunlit fields, well-kept fences, and a bend of the Connecticut River. One of the Earls
paintings is something of an anomaly. Reclining Hunter, which for many years was attributed to
Thomas Gainsborough, shows a well-dressed gentleman resting beneath a tree. In the
foreground, he displays a pile of birds, the result of a days hunt. The viewer can also see a
farmers donkey lying in the background, another of the hunters victims. This outrageously
funny portrait couldnt have been commissioned-no one would have wanted to be portrayed in
such an absurd way. However, this painting uncharacteristically shows Earls wit as well as his
uncommon technical skills.
D. To describe the art scene in New York in the late eighteenth century
2. Which of the following NOT given in the passage as a subject of one of Earls paintings?
A. People
B. Landscapes
C. Battle scenes
A. Subject.
B. Teacher.
C. Student.
D. Rival.
4. Which of the following could be substituted for outstanding (line 7) without changing the
meaning of the sentence?
A. Excellent
B. Shocking
C. Unpaid
D. Illegal
A. Traveling
B. Successful
C. Talented
D. Innovative
6. The author uses the phrase sprung from the same roots (line 11) to indicate that Ralph Earl and
his subjects
7. According to the passage, one of the distinguishing features of the portrait of Oliver and
Abigail Ellsworth is the contrast between
8. Why does the author refer to Reclining Hunter as something of an anomaly in line 16?
A. It is so severe.
B. It is quite humorous.
D. It was commissioned.
A. Ralph Earl
B. the farmer
C. the hunter
D. Thomas Gainsborough
A. Admiring
B. Antagonistic
C. Neutral
D. unflattering
ANSWER KEY
1. A 5. A 9. C
2. D 6. D 10. A
3. B 7. A
4. C 8. B
For centuries, sky watchers have reported seeing mysterious flashes of light on he surface
of the Moon. Modern astronomers have observed the same phenomenon, but no one has been
able to satisfactorily explain how or why the Moon sporadically sparks. However, researchers
now believe they have found the cause.
Researchers have examined the chemical content of Moon rocks retrieved by astronauts
during the Apollo missions and have found that they contain volatile gases such as helium,
hydrogen, and argon. The researchers suggest that stray electrons, freed when the rock cracks,
may ignite these gases. Indeed, lunar rock samples, when fractured in the lab, throw off sparks.
What causes these rocks to crack on the lunar surface? The flashes are most often seen at
the borders between sunlight and shade on the Moon, where the surface is being either intensely
heated or called. A sudden change in temperature may cause thermal cracking. Another
possibility is change in temperature may cause thermal cracking. Another possibility is that
meteors may strike the rocks and cause them to crack. Finally, lunar rocks may be fractured by
seismic events in other words, by tiny moon quakes.
2. According to the passage, how long have people been aware of the mysterious lights on the
moon?
A. Reputedly
B. Occasionally
C. Mysteriously
D. Constantly
4. According to the passage, the theory that Moon rocks give off sparks when they crack is
supported by
B. researchers
C. Apollo spacecraft
D. lunar rocks
A. Loose
B. Speeding
C. Fiery
D. Spinning
8. All of the following are given as reasons for Moon rocks cracking EXCEPT
A. seismic actions
ANSWER KEY
1. D 2. C 3. B
4. D
5. D
6. A
7. C
8. D