READING PRACTICE DRILL 7 CRACKING TOEFL IBT 2019

 

CRACKING TOEFL IBT 2019 READING PRACTICE DRILL 7

 

SUBURBANIZATION IN THE UNITED STATES   The term suburb commonly refers to an urban district on the outskirts of a city that grows more   rapidly than its interior. The process of suburbanization began within the second quarter of the   nineteenth century. The emergence of the industrial city at that time was spurred largely by   developments in transportation. Until then the typical city had been a compact cluster of small 5 buildings. People traveled primarily on foot, and goods were moved by horse and cart.       The early factories of the industrial age, built in the 1830's and 1840's, were located along   waterways and near railheads at the edges of cities. Housing was needed for the thousands of   people drawn by the prospect of employment, so within a short time, the factories were surrounded 10 by mill towns of apartments and row houses that abutted the older, central cities. In response, many   cities annexed these suburbs. In 1854, for example, the city of Philadelphia legally took over mos   of the county around it, and the governments of Chicago and New York followed suit. Indeed, most   great cities of the United States grew as they did only by incorporating the suburban communities   along their borders. 15     → With the acceleration of industrial growth came crowding and social stresses. When the first   commercially successful electric traction line was developed in Boston, it revolutionized urban   transportation by alleviating these problems. Transportation had previously been provided by a   large network of horse-drawn lines that had many disadvantages. First, caring for the horses was 20 expensive and labor-intensive. Additionally, the large amounts of waste left on the roads were a   public health hazard. The benefits of a new form of transportation based not on horsepower but   electric power were immediately obvious.       Not only were electric streetcars cleaner, cheaper, and more efficient, but they were also much 25 faster than horse-drawn cars, averaging 10-15 miles per hour (compared to 5-6 miles per hour).   Moreover, cities were able to offer cheap fares, since each car was capable of holding more people   than a horse-drawn car. Finally, businesses were quick to support local lines in their area because   of increased business prospects; and local governments were eager to support the development of   such lines, because long-term maintenance costs were very low once the initial expenditures had 30 been made. Within a few years every major urban area had an electric streetcar network, which   made quick, easy movement between distant points possible for large numbers of people. This new   mobility encouraged people to look for housing farther out from the crowded urban core.       By the end of the 1950's, the American landscape had been completely transformed. The development 35 of suburban tract houses had brought even more former city-dwellers outward into the suburbs. Like   the streets of identical row houses that went up as cities expanded, suburban tract houses tended to   be similar in design. This standardization made the houses low in cost. However, unlike city row houses,   suburban tract houses were detached, often with sizable yards and on winding streets.     40 The post-war prosperity of the 1950's had given the urban middle class the desire and means   to own single-family houses, and detached, suburban tract houses met this desire nicely. Most   also had garages. Storage space for the family automobile had become a necessity as the car   rapidly became the primary mode of transportation. Both because of and as a result of this shift   towards private transportation, public facilities were built farther from each other and from public 45 transportation. In an ironic twist of fate, the suburbs, which had originally been spawned by   advances in public transportation, effectively killed it off in many major cities as people became   almost entirely reliant on the private car to get around.   1 With which factor in suburbanization is the passage primarily concerned? A Manufacturing B Transportation C Job markets D Economic problems 2 Areas along the edges of cities have grown in response to A the building of factories B new goods C new building materials D city policies 3 The word emergence in the passage is closest in meaning to A spreading B history C problems D formation 4 The word acceleration in the passage is closest in meaning to A construction B understanding C increase D transportation 5 Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as a factor in nineteenth-century suburbanization? A Cheaper housing B Urban crowding C The advent of an urban middle class D The invention of the electric streetcar 6 The traction line mentioned in paragraph 3 enabled travel by (Paragraph 3 is marked with an arrow →) A automobile B cart C horse-drawn trolley D electric streetcar 7 The word mobility in the passage refers to the ability to A travel B buy a house C find work D enjoy life 8 The phrase went up in the passage is closest in meaning to A were built B were bought C increased in size D attracted interest 9 The word Most in the passage refers to A city row houses B suburban tract houses C sizable yards D winding streets 10 The passage implies that before the electric streetcar A only a few major urban areas had horse-drawn cars B few mill towns were incorporated into cities C city transportation was slow and difficult D city crowding was not a problem 11 The word spawned in the passage is closest in meaning to A signaled B renewed C restricted D begun 12 Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor details in the passage. This question is worth 2 points. Suburbanization, the phenomenon of rapid growth from the edges of a city outward, has been helped by several factors. ·         ________________________________________ ·         ________________________________________ ·         ________________________________________

 

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