TOEFL COMPLETE COURSE READING 4

TOEFL COMPLETE COURSE

READING 4

Questions 41-50

Whereas literature in the first half of the eighteenth century in America had been largely religious and moral in tone, by the latter half of the century the revolutionary fervor that was coming to life in the colonies began to be reflected in the literature of the time, which in turn served to further influence the population. Although not all writers of this period supported the Revolution, the two best-known and most influential writers, Ben Franklin and Thomas Paine, were both strongly supportive of that cause.

Ben Franklin first attained popular success through his writings in his brother’s newspaper, the New England Current. In these articles he used a simple style of language and common sense argumentation to defend the point of view of the farmer and the Leather Apron man. He continued with the same common sense practically and appeal to the common man with his work on poor Richard’s Almanac from 1733 until 1758. Firmly established in his popular acceptance by the people, Franklin wrote a variety of extremely effective articles and pamphlets about the colonists’ revolutionary cause against England.

Thomas Paine was an Englishman working as a magazine editor in Philadelphia at the time of the Revolution. His pamphlet Common Sense, which appeared in 1776, was a force in encouraging the colonists to declare their independence from England. Then throughout the long and desperate war years he published a series of Crisis papers (from 1776 until 1783) to encourage the colonists to continue on with the struggle. The effectiveness of his writing was probably due to his emotional yet oversimplified depiction of the cause of the colonists against England as a classic struggle of good and evil.

41	The paragraph preceding this passage most likely discusses A.       how literature influences the population B.       religious and moral literature C.       literature supporting the cause of the American Revolution D.       what made Thomas Paine’s literature successful	46	The expression “point of view” in line 9 could best be replaced by A.       perspective B.       sight C.       circumstance D.       trait
42	The word “fervor”  in line 2 is closest in meaning to a A.       war B.       anxiety C.       spirit D.       action	47	According to the passage, the tone of Poor Richard’s Almanac is A.      pragmatic B.      erudite C.      theoretical D.      scholarly
43	The word “time” in line 3 could be best be replaced by A.       hour B.       period C.       appointment D.       duration	48	The word “desperate” in line 17 could most easily be replaced by A.      unending B.      hopeless C.      strategic D.      scholarly
44	It is implied in the passage that A.       some writers in the American colonies supported England during the Revolution B.       Franklin and Paine were the only writers to influence the Revolution C.       because Thomas Paine was an Englishman, he supported England against the colonies D.       authors who supported England did not remain in the colonies during the Revolution	49	Where in the passage does the author describe Thomas Paine’s style of writing A.      Lines 4-6 B.      Lines 8-9 C.      Lines 14-15 D.      Lines 18-20
45	The pronoun “he” in line 8 refers to A.       Thomas Paine B.       Ben Franklin C.       Ben Franklin’s brother D.       Poor Richard	50	The purpose of the passage is to A.      discuss American literature in the first half of the eighteenth century B.      give biographical data on two American writers C.      explain which authors supported the Revolution D.      describe the literary influence during revolutionary America

 

ANSWER KEY

41.    B

42.    C

43.    B

44.    A

45.    B

46.    A

47.    A

48.    B

49.    D

50.    D