TOEFL 2 (PART 5) TOEFL READING PRACTICE WITH ANSWERS

 

TOEFL READING PRACTICE WITH ANSWERS TOEFL 2 (PART 5)

 

Questions 41-50 People in the United States in the nineteenth century were haunted by the prospect that unprecedented change in he nation's economy would bring social chaos. In the years following 1820, after several decades of relative stability, the economy entered a period of sustained and extremely rapid growth that continued to the end of the nineteenth century. Accompanying that growth that was a structural change that featured increasing economic diversification and a gradual shift in the nation's labor force from agriculture to manufacturing and other nonagricultural pursuits. Although the birth rate continued to decline from its high level of the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. The population roughly doubled every generation during the rest of the nineteenth centuries. As the population grew, its makeup also changed. Massive waves of immigration brought new ethnic groups into the country. Geographic and social mobility - downward as well as upward - touched almost everyone. Local studies indicate that nearly three - quarters of the population - in the North and South, in the emerging cities of the Northeast, and in the restless rural counties of the West - changed their residence each decade. As a consequence, historian David Donald has written, "Social atomization affected every segment of society," and it seemed to many people that "all the recognized values of orderly civilization were gradually being eroded." Rapid industrialization and increased geographic mobility in the nineteenth century had special implications for women because these tended to magnify social distinctions. As the roles men and women played in society became more rigidly defined, so did the roles they played in the home. In the context of extreme competitiveness and dizzying social change, the household lost many of its earlier functions and the home came to serve as a haven of tranquillity and order. As the size of families decreased, the roles of husband and wife became more clearly differentiated than ever before. In the middle class especially, men participated in the productive economy while women ruled the home and served as the custodians of civility and culture. The intimacy of marriage that was common in earlier periods was rent, and a gulf that at times seemed unbridgeable was created between husbands and wives.   41 What does the passage mainly discuss? (A) The economic development of the United States in the eighteenth century (B) Ways in which economic development led to social changes in the United States (C) Population growth in the western United States (D) The increasing availability of industrial jobs for women in the United States 42 The word "Prospect" in line 1 is closest in meaning to (A) regret (B) possibility (C) theory (D) circumstance 43 According to the passage, the economy of the United States between 1820 and 1900 was (A) expanding (B) in sharp decline (C) stagnate (D) disorganized 44 The word "roughly" in line 9 is closest in meaning to (A) harshly (B) surprisingly (C) slowly (D) approximately 45 The word "its" in line 10 refers to (A) century (B) population (C) generation (D) birth rate 46 According to the passage, as the nineteenth century progressed, the people of the United State (A) emigrated to other countries (B) often settled in the West (C) tended to change the place in which they lived (D) had a higher rate of birth than ever before 47 Which of the following best describes the society about which David Donald wrote? (A) A highly conservative society that was resistant to new ideas (B) A society that was undergoing fundamental change (C) A society that had been gradually changing since the early 1700's (D) A nomadic society that was starting permanent settlements 48 The word "magnify" in line 20 is closest in meaning to (A) solve (B) explain (C) analyse (D) increase 49 Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an example of the social changes occurring in the United States after 1820? (A) Increased social mobility (B) Increased immigration (C) Significant movement of population (D) Strong emphasis on traditional social values 50 The word " distinctions" in line 21 is closest in meaning to (A) Differences (B) Classes (C) Accomplishments (D) characteristics

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ANSWER KEY

41 B 42 B 43 A 44 D 45 B 46 C 47 C 48 D 49 D 50 A