TOEFL 3 (READING PASSAGE 3) TOEFL READING PRACTICE WITH ANSWERS

 

TOEFL READING PRACTICE WITH ANSWERS TOEFL 3 (READING PASSAGE 3)

 

Questions 23-32 Nineteenth-century writers in the United States, whether they wrote novels, short stories, poems or plays were powerfully drawn to the railroad in its golden years. In fact, writers responded to the railroads as soon as the first were built in the 1830's. By the 1850's, the railroad was a major presence in the life of the nation. Writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau saw the railroad both as a boon to democracy and as an object of suspicion. The railroad could be and was a despoiler of nature furthermore, in its manifestation of speed and noise, it might be a despoiler of human nature as well. By the 1850's and 1860's, there was a great distrust among writer and intellectuals of the rapid industrialization of which the railroad was a leading force. Deeply philosophical historians such as Henry Adams lamented the role that the new frenzy for business was playing in eroding traditional values. A distrust of industry and business continued among writers throughout the rest of the nineteenth century and into the twentieth. For the most part, the literature in which the railroad plays an important role belongs to popular culture rather than to the realm of serious art. One thinks of melodramas, boy's books, thrillers, romances and the like rather than novels of the first rank. In the railroads' prime years, between 1890 and 1920, there were a few individuals in the United States, most of them with solid railroading experience behind them, who made a profession of writing about railroading – works offering the ambience of stations yards and locomotive cabs. These writers who can genuinely be said to have created a genre, the "railroad novel" are now mostly forgotten, their names having faded from memory. But anyone who takes the time to consult their fertile writings will still find a treasure trove of information about the place of the railroad in the life of the United States.   23 With which of the following topics is the passage mainly concerned? (A) The role of the railroad in the economy of the United States (B) Major nineteenth - century writers (C) The conflict between expanding industry and preserving nature (D) The railroad as a subject for literature. 24 The word "it" in line 7 refers to (A) railroad (B) manifestation (C) speed (D) nature 25 In the first paragraph, the author implies that writers reactions to the development of railroads were (A) highly enthusiastic (B) both positive and negative (C) unchanging (D) disinterested 26 The word "lamented" in line 10 is closest in meaning to (A) complained abou (B) analyzed (C) explained (D) reflected on 27 According to the passage, the railroad played a significant role in literature in all of the following kinds of books EXCEPT (A) thrillers (B) boys' books (C) important novels (D) romances 28 The phrase "first rank" in line 16 is closest in meaning to (A) largest category (B) highest quality (C) earliest writers (D) most difficult language 29 The word "them" in line 18 refers to (A) novels (B) years (C) individuals (D) works 30 The author mentions all of the following as being true about the literature of railroads EXCEPT that (A) many of its writers had experience working on railroads (B) many of the books were set in railroad stations and yards (C) the books were well known during the railroads' prime years (D) quite a few of the books are still popular today 31 The words "faded from" in line 21 are closest in meaning to (A) grew in (B) disappeared from (C) remained in (D) developed from 32 What is the author's attitude toward the "railroad novels" and other books about railroads written between 1890 and 1920? (A) They have as much literary importance as the books written by Emerson. Thoreau and Adams. (B) They are good examples of the effects industry and business had on the literature of the United States. (C) They contributed to the weakening of traditional values. (D) They are worth reading as sources of knowledge about the impact of railroads on life in the United States

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ANSWER KEY

23 D 24 A 25 B 26 A 27 C 28 B 29 C 30 D 31 B 32 D