西北民族大学学位英语真题
A rapid means of long-distance transportation became a necessity for the United States as ttlement(新拓居地)spread ever farther westward. The early trains were impractical curiosities, and for a long time the railroad companies met with troublesome mechanical problems. The most rious ones were the construction of rails able to bear the load, and the development of a safe, effective stopping system. Once the were solved, the railroad was established as the best means of land transportation.By 1860 there were thousands of miles of railroads crossing the eastern mountain ranges and reaching westward to the Mississippi. There were also regional southern and western lines.
The high point in railroad building came with the construction of the first transcontinental, system. In 1862 Congress authorized two western railroad companies to build lines from Nebraska westward and from California eastward to a meeting point, so as to complete a transcontinental crossing linking the Atlantic aboard with the Pacific. The Government helped the railroads generously with money and land.Actural work on this project began f
our years later. The Central Pacific Company, starting from California, ud Chine labor, while the Union Pacific employed crews of Irish labourers. The two groups worked at remarkable speed, each trying to cover a greater distance than the other. In 1869 they met at a place called Promontory in what is now the state of Utah.Many visitors came there for the great occasion.There were joyous celebrations all over the country, with parades and the ringing of church bells to honor the great achievement.
The railroad was very important in encouraging Westward Movement. It also helped build up industry and farming by moving raw materials and by distributing products rapidly to distant markets. In linking towns and people to one another it helped unify the United States.
1.The major problems with America‘s railroad system in the mid 19th century lay in _______.
A. lack of financial support for development
B. poor quality rails and unreliable stopping systems
C. limited railroad lines
D. lack of a transcontinental railroad
2.The building of the first transcontinental system ________.
A. brought about a rapid growth of industry and farming in the west.
B. attracted many visitors to the construction sites
C. attracted labourers from Europe
D. encouraged people to travel all over the country
3.The best title for this passage would be ________.
A. Settlements Spread Westward
B. The Importance of Railroads in the American Economy形容人的成语
C. American Railroad History
D. The Coast-to-Coast Railroad： A Vital Link喝酒后能洗澡吗
4.The construction of the transcontinental railroad took ________.
A. 3 years
B. 7 years
C. 4 years
D. 9 years
5.What most likely made people think about a transcontinental railroad?
A. The possibility of government support for such a task.
B. The need to explore Utah.南瓜面条
C. The need to develop the railroad industry in the west.
D. The need to connect the east coast with the west.
年终岁末
If you look cloly at some of the early copies of the Declaration of Independence, beyond the flourished signature of John Hancock and the other 55 men who signed it, you will also find the name of one woman, Mary Katherine Goddard. It was she, a Baltimore printer, who published the first official copies of the Declaration, the first copies that included the names of its signers and therefore heralded(宣布，预示)the support of all thirteen colonies.
Mary Goddard first got into printing at the age of twenty-four when her brother opened a printing shop in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1762. When her proceeded to get into trouble with his partners and creditors, it was Mary Goddard and her mother who were left to run the shop. In 1765 they began publishing The Providence Gazette, a weekly newspaper. Similar problems emed to follow her brother as he opened business in Philadelphia and again in Baltimore. Each time Ms. Goddard was brought in to run the newspapers. After starting Baltimore‘s first newspaper, The Maryland Journal, in 1773, her brother went broke trying to organize a colonial postal rvice. While he was in debtor’s prison, Mary Katherine Goddard‘s name appeared in the newspaper’s masthead
(报头) for the first time.
When the Continental Congress fled there from Philadelphia in 1776, it commissioned Ms. Goddard to print the first official version of the Declaration of Independence in January 1777. After printing the documents, she herlf paid the post riders to deliver the Declaration throughout the colonies.
During the American Revolution, Mary Goddard continued to publish Baltimore‘s only newspaper, which one historian claimed was "cond to none among the colonies."She was also the city’s postmaster from 1775 to 1789 —— appointed by Benjamin Franklin –and is considered to be the first woman to hold a federal position.
干部在线6.With which of the following subjects is the passage mainly concerned?
A. The accomplishment of a female publisher.
B. The weakness of the newspaper industry.
C. The rights of a female publisher.
D.The publishing system in colonial America.
7.Mary Goddard‘s name appears on the Declaration of Independence becau____.
A. She helped write the original document
B. She published the document
C. She paid to have the document printed
啃老是什么意思D.Her brother was in prison
卡住8.According to the passage, Mary Goddard first became involved in publishing when she ____.
