During the heyday of the railroads,when Ameria's rail system provided the bulk of the country's passenger and freight transportation,various types of railroad cars were in servive to accomplish the varied tasks handled by the railroads.One type of car that was not available for public use prior to the civil War,however,was a sleeping car,ideas for sleeping cars abounded at the time, but these ideas were unworkable.It unfortunately took the death of a president to make the sleeping car a viable reality.
Cabinet-maker George M.Pullman had recognized the demand for sleeping cars and had worked on developing experimental models of sleeping cars in the decade leading up to the Civil War.However,in spite of the fact that he had made successful test runs on the chicago and Alton Railroads with his models,he was unable to sell his idea because his models were too wide and too high for existing train stations and bridges.In 1863,after spending time working as a storekeeper in a Colorado mining town,he invested his savings of twenty thousand dollars,a huge fortune at that time and all the money that he had in the world,in a luxurious sleeping car that he named the Pioneer,Pullman and friend Ben Field built the pioneer on the site of the present-day Chicago Union Station.For two years,however,the Pioneer sat on a railroad siding,useless because it could not fit through train stations and over bridges.
Following President Lincoln's assassination in 1865,the state of Illnois,Lincoln's birthplace,wanted to transport the presidential casket in the finest fashion possible.The Pullman Pioneer was the most elegant car around;in order to make the Pullman part of the presidential funeral train in its run from Springfield to Chicago,the state cut down station platforms and raised bridges in order to included Lincoln's successor as president,General Ulysses S.Grant later requested the Pioneer for a trip from Detroit to Chicago.To satisfy Grant's request for the pioneer,the Michigan Central Railroad made improvements on its line to accommodate the wide car,and soon other railroads followed.George Pullman founded the Pullman Palace Car Company in partnership with financier Andrew Carnegie and eventually become a millionaire.
1.Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?
a.America's railroads used to provide much of the country's transportation.
b.President Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the nation.
c.George Pullman was the only one to come up with the idea for a sleeping car.
d.Pullman's idea for a sleeping car became workable after Lincoln's death.
2.A"heyday"in line 1 is most probably a
a.time for harvest
b.a period with low prices
c.a period of great success
d.a type of railroad schedute
3.It can be inferred from the passage that before the Civil War,sleeping cars
a.were used abundantly
b.were thought to be a good idea
c.were only used privately
d.were used by presidents
4.The word"test"in line 9 could best be replaced by which of the following?
a.Exam
b.Trial
c.Inspection
d.Scientific
5.What was the initial problem that made Pullman's cars unusable?
a.They were too large
b.They were too expensive
c.They were too slow
d.They were too unusual
6.What is stated in the passage about George Pullman?
a.He once had a job in a store
b.He always lived in Chicago
c.He worked in a mine
d.He saved money for his project
7.The word"site"in line 14 is closest in meaning to which of the following?
a.Factory
b.View
c.Location
d.Foundation
8.Why did the state of Illnois want to use the Pullman in Lincoln's funeral train?
a.It was superior to other cars
b.It was the only railroad car that could make it from Springfield to Chicago
c.Ulysses S..Grant requested it
d.The Pullman Palace Car Company was a major Illnois bussiness
9.It can be inferred from the passage that the Michigan Central Railroad
a.was owned by George Pullman
b.controlled the railroad tracks between Detroit and Chicago
c.was the only railroad company to accommodate wide cars
d.was the sole manufacturer of the Pioneer
10.This passage would most likey be assigned in which of the following courses?
a.Engineering
b.Political science
c.Finance
d.History
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soal soal toefl dan pembahasannya 2