Readings Test 32

 

 

           Staggering tasks confronted the people of the United States, North and South, when

            the Civil War ended. About a million and a half soldiers from both sides had to be

            demobilized, readjusted to civilian life, and reabsorbed by the devastated economy.

 Line     Civil government also had to be put back on a peacetime basis and interference from

 (5)       the military had to be stopped.

                 The desperate plight of the South has eclipsed the fact that reconstruction had to be

            undertaken also in the North, though less spectacularly. Industries had to adjust to

            peacetime conditions; factories had to be retooled for civilian needs.

                 Financial problems loomed large in both the North and the South. The national debt

 (10)      had shot up from a modest $65 million in 1861, the year the war started, to nearly $3

            billion in 1865, the year the war ended. This was a colossal sum for those days but one

            that a prudent government could pay. At the same time, war taxes had to be reduced to

            less burdensome levels.

                 Physical devastation caused by invading armies, chiefly in the South and border

 (15)      states, had to be repaired. This herculean task was ultimately completed, but with

            discouraging slowness.

                 Other important questions needed answering. What would be the future of the four

            million black people who were freed from slavery? On what basis were the Southern

            states to be brought back into the Union?

 (20)           What of the Southern leaders, all of whom were liable to charges of treason? One

            of these leaders, Jefferson Davis, president of the Southern Confederacy, was the

            subject of an insulting popular Northern song, "Hang Jeff Davis from a Sour Apple

            Tree," and even children sang it. Davis was temporarily chained in his prison cell

            during the early days of his two-year imprisonment. But he and the other Southern

 (25)      leaders were finally released, partly because it was unlikely that a jury from Virginia, a

            Southern Confederate state, would convict them. All the leaders were finally pardoned

            by President Johnson in 1868 in an effort to help reconstruction efforts proceed with as

            little bitterness as possible.

 

 

 

Questions

 

 

            42. What does the passage mainly discuss?

                (A) Wartime expenditures

                (B) Problems facing the United States after the war

                (C) Methods of repairing the damage caused by the war

                (D) The results of government efforts to revive the economy

 

            43. The word " Staggering" inline 1 is closest in meaning to

                (A) specialized

                (B) confusing

                (C) various

                (D) overwhelming

 

            44. The word "devastated" in line 3 is closest in meaning to

                (A) developing

                (B) ruined

                (C) complicated

                (D) fragile

 

            45. According to the passage, which of the following statements about the

                damage in the South is correct?

                (A) It was worse than in the North.

                (B) The cost was less than expected. 

                (C) It was centered in the border states.

                (D) It was remedied rather quickly.

 

            46. The passage refers to all of the following as necessary steps following

                the Civil War EXCEPT

                (A) helping soldiers readjust

                (B) restructuring industry

                (C) returning government to normal

                (D) increasing taxes

 

            47. The word "task" in line 15 refers to

                (A) raising the tax level

                (B) sensible financial choices

                (C) wise decisions about former slaves

                (D) reconstructions of damaged areas

 

            48. Why does the author mention a popular song in lines 22-23?

                (A) To give an example of a Northern attitude towards the South

                (B) To illustrate the Northern love of music

                (C) To emphasize the cultural differences between the North and South

                (D) To compare the Northern and Southern presidents

 

            49. The word "them" in line 26 refers to

                (A) charges

                (B) leaders

                (C) days

                (D) irons

 

            50. Which of the following can be inferred from the phrase "...it was unlikely

                that a jury from Virginia, a Southern Confederate state, would convict

                them"(lines 25-26)?

                (A) Virginians felt betrayed by Jefferson Davis.

                (B) A popular song insulted Virginia.

                (C) Virginians were loyal to their leaders.

                (D) All of the Virginia military leaders had been put in chains. 

 

Please tally your answer with the below provided answers and then comment here how much you got!

 

 

Answers

  42. B      43. D      44. B     45. A     46. D     47. D    48. A     49. B     50. C