In the mid-nineteenth century, the United States had tremendous natural
resources
that could be exploited in order to develop heavy industry. Most
of the raw materials
that are valuable in the manufacture of machinery, transportation
facilities, and consumer
Line goods lay ready to be worked into wealth. Iron, coal, and oil ― the basic ingredients of
(5) industrial growth ― were plentiful and needed
only the application of technical expertise,
organizational skill, and labor.
One crucial development in this
movement toward industrialization was the growth
of the railroads. The railway network expanded rapidly until the
railroad map of the
United States looked like a spider's web, with the steel filaments
connecting all important
(10) sources of raw materials, their places of manufacture, and their
centers of distribution.
The railroads contributed to the industrial growth not only by
connecting these major
centers, but also by themselves consuming enormous amounts of
fuel, iron, and coal.
Many factors influenced
emerging modes of production. For example, machine
tools, the tools used to make goods, were steadily improved in the
latter part of the
(15) nineteenth century ― always with an eye to
speedier production and lower unit costs.
The products of the factories were rapidly absorbed by the growing
cities that sheltered
the workers and the distributors. The increased urban population
was nourished by the
increased farm production that, in turn, was made more productive
by the use of the
new farm machinery. American agricultural production kept up with
the urban demand
(20) and still had surpluses for sale to the industrial centers of
Europe.
The labor that ran the
factories and built the railways was recruited in part from
American farm areas where people were being displaced by farm
machinery, in part
from Asia, and in part from Europe. Europe now began to send tides
of immigrants
from eastern and southern Europe ― most of whom were originally poor farmers but
(25) who settled in American industrial cities. The money to finance
this tremendous
expansion of the American economy still came from European
financiers for the most
part, but the Americans were approaching the day when their
expansion could be
financed in their own “money market”.
Questions
30. What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) The history of railroads in
the United States
(B) The major United States
industrial centers
(C) Factors that affected
industrialization in the United States
(D) The role of agriculture in
the nineteenth century
31. Why does the author mention “a spider's web” in line 9?
(A) To emphasize the railroad's
consumption of oil and coal
(B) To describe the complex
structure of the railway system
(C) To explain the problems
brought on by railway expansion
(D) To describe the
difficulties involved in the distribution of raw materials
32. The word “themselves” in line 12 refers to
(A) sources
(B) centers
(C) railroads
(D) places
33. According to the passage, what was one effect of the
improvement
of machine tools?
(A) Lower manufacturing costs
(B) Better distribution of
goods
(C) More efficient
transportation of natural resources
(D) A reduction in industrial
jobs
34. Which of the following is NOT true of United States farmers in
the
nineteenth century?
(A) They lost some jobs because
of mechanization
(B) They were unable to produce
sufficient food for urban areas.
(C) They raised their
productivity by using new machinery.
(D) They sold food to European
countries
35. The word “ran” in line 21 is closest in meaning to
(A) operated
(B) hurried
(C) constructed
(D) owned
Please tally your answer with the below provided answers and
then comment here how much you got!
Answers
30. C 31.
B 32.
C 33. A 34. B 35 A
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