The technology of the North American colonies did not differ strikingly from that of Europe
, but in one respect, the colonists enjoyed a great advantage
. Especially by
comparison with Britain, Americans had a wonderfully plentiful supply of wood. The first colonists did not, as many people imagine, find an entire continent covered
by a climax forest. Even along the Atlantic seaboard, the forest was broken at many points
. Nevertheless. All sorts of fine trees abounded, and through the early colonial
period, those who pushed westward encountered new forests .
By the end of the colonial era, the price of wood had risen slightly in eastern cities. But wood was still extremely
abundant. The availability of wood brought advantages that have seldom been appreciated
. Wood was a foundation of the economy
. Houses and all manner of buildings were made
of wood to a degree unknown in Britain .
Secondly, wood was used as fuel for heating and cooking
. Thirdly, it was used as the source of important industr
i al compounds, such as
potash ,
an i
ndustrial alkali ;
charcoal, a component of gunpowder ;
and tann i
c acid, used for tanning leather
. The supply of wood conferred advantages but had some negative aspects as well.
Iron at that time was produced by heating iron ore with charcoal. Because Britain was so stripped of trees, she was unable to exploit her rich iron mines
. But the American
colonies had both iron ore and wood ;
iron production was encouraged and became
successful. However, when Britain developed coke smelting, the Colonies did not follow suit because they had plenty of wood and besides
, charcoal iron was stronger than coke
iron .
Coke smelting led to technologic innovations and was linked to the emergence of the Industrial Revolution
. In the early nineteenth century, the former colonies lagged
behind Britain in industrial development because their supply of wood led them to cling to charcoal iron.
Question 36: What does the passage mainly discuss? A. The advantages of using wood in the colonies
. B. The effects of an abundance of wood
on the colonies .
C. The roots of the Industrial Revolution. D. The difference between charcoal
iron and coke iron.
Question 37: The word strikingly
in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to_____________
.
A. realistically B
. dramatically
C .
completely D
. immediately
Question 38: Which of the following is a common assumption about the forests of North America during the colonial period?
A. They contained only a few types of trees .
B. They existed only along the Atlantic
seaboard .
C. They had little or no economic value .
D. They covered the entire continent. Question 39: According to the passage, by the end of the colonial period, the price
of wood in eastern cities ____________ .
A. rose quickly because wood was becoming so scarce B. was much higher than it was
in Britain
C.was slightly higher than in previous years D. decreased rapidly because of lower demand for wood
Question 40: Why was the use of coke smelting advantagous? A. It led to advances in technology
. B. It was less expensive than
wood smelting.
C. It produced a stronger type of iron than wood smelting. D. It stimulated the demand for wood
.
Question 41: Why does the author mention gunpowder in paragraph 3? A. To illustrate the negative aspects of some industrial processes
B.To give an example of a product made with wood compounds C. To remind readers that the colonial era ended in warfare
.
D.To suggest that wood was not the only important product of the colonies. Question 42: The phrase follow suit in paragraph 4 means
.
A. do the same thing B
. make an attempt C. have the opportunity
D .
take a risk
Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 43 to 50
.
There are desert plants which survive the dry season in the form of inactive seeds .
There are also desert insects which survive as inactive larvae .
In addition, difficult as it is to believe, there are desert fish which can survive through years of drought in the form of
inactive eggs .
These are the shrimps that live in the Mojave Desert, an intensely dry
region in the south-west of the United States where shade temperatures of over 50C are often recorded.
The eggs of the Mojave shrimps are the size and have the appearance of grains of sand
. When sufficient spring rain falls to form a lake, once every two to five years,
these eggs hatch .
Then the water is soon filled with millions of tiny shrimps about a millimetre long which feed on tiny plant and animal organisms which also grow in the
temporary desert lake .
Within a week ,
the shrimps grow from their original 1 millimeter to a length of about 1
. 5 centimetres
. Throughout the time that the shrimps are rapidly maturing, the water in
the lake equally rapidly evaporates .
Therefore, for the shrimps it is a race against time
. By the twelfth day, however, when they are about 3 centimetre long, hundreds of
tiny eggs form on the underbodies of the females .
Usually by this time, all that remains of the lake is a large, muddy patch of wet soil. On the thirteenth day and the next,
during the final hours of their brief lives, the shrimps lay their eggs in the mud .
Then, having ensured that their species will survive, the shrimps die as the last of the water
evaporates .
If sufficient rain falls the next year to form another lake, the eggs hatch ,
and once again the shrimps pass rapidly through their cycle of growth
, adulthood
, egg-
laying, and death .
Some years there is insufficient rain to form a lake :
in this case, the
eggs will remain dormant for another year, or even longer if necessary .
Very, very occasionally, perhaps twice in a hundred years, sufficient rain falls to form a deep lake
that lasts a month or more .
In this case, the species passes through two cycles of growth, egg-laying, and death
. Thus, on such occasions, the species multiplies
considerably, which further ensures its survival.
Question 43 :
Which is the best title for this passage?
A. Life in the Mojave Desert B. Life Cycle of the Mojave
