501 critical reading questions p5

Critical Reading Questions
48. The first paragraph (lines 1–14) of the passage serves

what function in the development of the passage?
a. rovides an expert’s opinion to support the author’s thesis
b. introduces the topic by describing general patterns
c. compares common myths with historical facts
d. draws a conclusion about the impact of Chinese immigration
on the state of California
e. condemns outdated concepts
49. Which of the following best describes the approach of the

passage?
a. theoretical analysis
b. historical overview
c. dramatic narrative
d. personal assessment
e. description through metaphor
50. Lines 15–20 portray Chinese immigrants as

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

fortuitous.
prideful.
vigorous.
effusive.
revolutionary.

51. The author cites the United States Constitution (lines 23–24) in

order to
a. praise the liberties afforded by the Bill of Rights.
b. show that the government valued the contributions of
its immigrants.
c. imply that all American citizens are equal under the law.
d. emphasize the importance of a system of checks and balances.
e. suggest that it did not protect Chinese immigrants from
discrimination.
52. The word enterprise as it is used in line 33 most nearly means

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

organization.
corporation.
industry.
partnership.
occupation.

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501 Critical Reading Questions
53. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT a

contribution made by Chinese immigrants?
a. worked land so that it would yield more crops
b. performed dangerous work with explosives
c. built roads and bridges
d. purchased older mining claims and mined them
e. dug storage areas for California wine
54. In line 37 reclaiming most nearly means

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

redeeming.
protesting.
objecting.
approving.
extolling.

55. The last sentence (lines 46–49) in the passage provides

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

an example supporting the thesis of the passage.

a comparison with other historical viewpoints.
a theory explaining historical events.
a summary of the passage.
an argument refuting the position taken earlier in the passage.

Questions 76–83 are based the following

passage.

The following passage describes the advent of American manufacturing,
imported from England in the 1790s. The Arkwright system mentioned in the
passage refers to a water frame, a water-powered spinning machine that was
used to make cloth.

The mounting conflict between the colonies and England
in the 1760s and 1770s reinforced a growing conviction
that Americans should be less dependent on their mother
country for manufactures. Spinning bees and bounties
encouraged the manufacture of homespun cloth as a
(5)
substitute for English imports. But manufacturing of cloth
outside the household was associated with relief of the
poor. In Boston and Philadelphia, Houses of Industry
employed poor families at spinning for their daily bread.
Such practices made many pre-Revolutionary Americans
dubious
(10) about manufacturing. After independence there were a
number of unsuccessful attempts to establish textile
factories. Americans needed access to the British industrial
innovations, but England had passed laws forbidding the

export of machinery or the emigration of those who
(1)

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501 Critical Reading Questions

(15)

(20)

(25)

(30)

(35)

(40)

(45)

could operate it. Nevertheless it was an English immigrant,
Samuel Slater, who finally introduced British cotton
technology to America.
Slater had worked his way up from apprentice to
overseer in an English factory using the Arkwright
system. Drawn by American bounties for the introduction
of textile technology, he passed as a farmer and sailed
for America with details of the Arkwright water frame

committed to memory. In December 1790, working for
mill owner Moses Brown, he started up the first permanent
American cot- ton spinning mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
Employing a workforce of nine children between the ages
of seven and twelve, Slater success- fully mechanized the
carding and spinning processes.
A generation of millwrights and textile workers trained
under Slater was the catalyst for the rapid proliferation of
textile mills in the early nineteenth century. From Slater’s
first mill, the industry spread across New England to places
like North Uxbridge, Massachusetts. For two decades,
before Lowell mills and those modeled after them offered
competition, the “Rhode Island System” of small, rural
spinning mills set the tone for early industrialization.
By 1800 the mill employed more than 100 workers. A
decade later 61 cotton mills turning more than 31,000
spindles were operating in the United States, with Rhode
Island
and
the
Philadelphia
region
the
main
manufacturing centers. The textile industry was
established, although factory operations were limited to
carding and spinning. It remained for Francis Cabot
Lowell to introduce a workable power loom and the
integrated factory, in which all textile production steps
take place under one roof.

As textile mills proliferated after the turn of the
century, a national debate arose over the place of
manufacturing in American society. Thomas Jefferson
spoke for those supporting the “yeoman ideal” of a rural
Republic, at whose heart was the independent,
democratic farmer. He questioned the spread of factories,
worrying about factory workers’ loss of economic
independence. Alexander Hamilton led those who
promoted manufacturing and saw prosperity growing out of
industrial development. The debate, largely philosophical
in the 1790s, grew more urgent after 1830 as textile
factories multiplied and increasing numbers of Americans
worked in them.


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501 Critical Reading Questions
56. The primary purpose of the passage is to

a. account for the decline of rural America.
b. contrast political views held by the British and the Americans.
c. summarize British laws forbidding the export of industrial
machinery.
d. describe the introduction of textile mills in New England.
e. make an argument in support of industrial development.
57. The passage refers to Houses of Industry (line 7) to illustrate

a. a highly successful and early social welfare program.

b. the perception of cloth production outside the home as a
social welfare measure.
c. the preference for the work of individual artisans over that
of spinning machines.
d. the first textile factory in the United States.
e. the utilization of technological advances being made in England
at the time.
58. The first paragraph (lines 1–8) of the passage implies that

early American manufacturing was
a. entirely beneficial.
b. politically and economically necessary.
c. symbolically undemocratic.
d. environmentally destructive.
e. spiritually corrosive.
59. The description of Slater’s immigration to the American

colonies (lines 17–20) serves primarily to
a. demonstrate Slater’s craftiness in evading British export laws.
b. show the attraction of farming opportunities in the American
colonies.
c. explain the details of British manufacturing technologies.
d. illustrate American efforts to block immigration to the colonies.
e. describe the willingness of English factories to share knowledge
with the colonies.
60. Lines 22–24 imply that Slater viewed child labor as

a.
b.
c.

d.
e.

an available workforce.
a necessary evil.
an unpleasant reality.
an immoral institution.
superior to adult labor.
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501 Critical Reading Questions
61. The author implies that tfte catalyst (line 26) behind the

spread of American textile mills in the early 1800s was
a. Slater’s invention of a water-powered spinning machine.
b. the decline in the ideal of the self-sufficient American farm
family.
c. the expertise of the workforce trained in Slater’s prototype
mill.
d. an increased willingness to employ child laborers.
e. the support of British manufacturers who owned stock in
American mills.
62. In line 29, modeled most nearly means

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

posed.
displayed.
arranged.
illustrated.
fashioned.

63. Which of the following techniques is used in the last paragraph

of the passage (lines 40–49)?
a. explanation of terms
b. description of consensus reached by historians
c. contrast of different viewpoints
d. generalized statement
e. illustration by example
Question 84–91 are based on the following

passage.

The following passage describes the Great Depression and the relief policies
introduced under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt that aimed to mitigate
the effects of the crisis.

The worst and longest economic crisis in the modern
industrial world, the Great Depression in the United States
had devastating conse- quences for American society. At
its lowest depth (1932–33), more than 16 million people
were unemployed, more than 5,000 banks had closed,
(5)
and over 85,000 businesses had failed. Millions of

Americans lost their jobs, their savings, and even their
homes. The homeless built shacks for temporary shelter—
these
emerging
shantytowns
were
nicknamed
“Hoovervilles,” a bitter homage to President Herbert
Hoover, who refused to give government assistance to
the jobless. Farmers
(10) were hit especially hard. A severe drought coupled with
the economic crisis ruined small farms throughout the
Great Plains as productive
(1)

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501 Critical Reading Questions

(15)

(20)

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(30)

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(40)

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farmland turned to dust and crop prices dropped by 50%.
The effects of the American depression—severe
unemployment rates and a sharp drop in the production
and sales of goods—could also be felt abroad, where
many European nations were still struggling to recover
from World War I.
Although the stock market crash of 1929 marked the
onset of the depression, it was not tfte cause of it: deep
underlying fissures already existed in the economy of
America’s Roaring Twenties. For example, the tariff and
war-debt policies after World War I contributed to the
instability of the banking system. American banks made
loans to Euro- pean countries following World War I.
However, the United States kept high tariffs on goods
imported from other nations. These poli- cies worked
against one another: If other countries could not sell
goods in the United States, they could not make enough
money to pay back their loans or to buy American goods.
And while the United States seemed to be enjoying a
prosperous period in the 1920s, the wealth was not evenly
distributed. Businesses made gains in productivity, but only
one segment of the population— the wealthy—reaped large
profits. Workers received only a small share of the wealth
they helped produce. At the same time, Americans spent

more than they earned. Advertising encouraged
Americans to buy cars, radios, and household appliances
instead of saving or purchasing only what they could afford.
Easy credit polices allowed consumers to borrow money and
accumulate debt. Investors also wildly speculated on the
stock market, often borrowing money on credit to buy
shares of a company. Stocks increased beyond their worth,
but investors were willing to pay inflated prices because
they believed stocks would con- tinue to rise. This bubble
burst in the fall of 1929, when investors lost confidence
that stock prices would keep rising. As investors sold off
stocks, the market spiraled downward. The stock market
crash affected the economy in the same way that a
stressful event can affect the human body, lowering its
resistance to infection.
The ensuing depression led to the election of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. Roosevelt introduced relief
measures that would revive the economy and bring
needed relief to Americans who were suffering the
effects of the depression. In his first hundred days in
office, Roosevelt and Congress passed major legislation
that saved banks from closing and regained public
confidence. These measures, called the New Deal, included
the Agricultural Adjustment Act, which paid farmers to slow
their production in order to stabilize food prices; the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insured
bank deposits in the case that banks fail; and the
Securities and Exchange

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501 Critical Reading Questions

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Commission, which regulated the stock market. Although the New
Deal offered relief, it did not end the depression. The
economy sagged until the nation entered World War II.
However, the New Deal changed the relationship between
government and American citizens, by expanding the role
of the central government in regulating the economy and
creating social assistance programs.
64. The author’s main point about the Great Depression is that

a. government policies had nothing to do with it.
b. the government immediately stepped in with assistance for the
jobless and homeless.
c. underlying problems in the economy preceded it.
d. the New Deal policies introduced by Franklin D. Roosevelt
ended it.
e. its effects were severe but not far-reaching.
65. The passage is best described as

a. an account of the causes and effects of a major event.
b. a statement supporting the value of federal social policies.
c. a condemnation of outdated beliefs.
d. a polite response to a controversial issue.
e. a comparison of economic conditions in the 1930s and that

of today.
66. The author cites the emergence of “Hoovervilles” (line 8) as

an example of
a. federally sponsored housing programs.
b. the resilience of Americans who lost their jobs, savings,
and homes.
c. the government’s unwillingness to assist citizens in desperate
circumstances.
d. a new paradigm of “safety net” social programs introduced by
the government.
e. the effectiveness of the Hoover administration in dealing with
the crisis.
67. In line 10, coupled most nearly means

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

eloped.
allied.
centralized.
combined.
associated.
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501 Critical Reading Questions

68. The term policies as it is used in lines 23–24 most nearly means

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

theories.
practices.
laws.
examples.
problems.

69. The passage suggests that the 1920s was a decade that

extolled the value of
a. thrift.
b. prudence.
c. balance.
d. tranquility.
e. extravagance.
70. The example of the human body as a metaphor for the

economy (lines 41–43) suggests that
a. a stressful event like the stock market crash of 1929
probably made a lot of people sick.
b. the crash weakened the economy’s ability to withstand other
pressures.
c. the crash was an untreatable disease.

d. a single event caused the collapse of the economy.
e. there is no way to “diagnose” the factors that led to
the depression.
71. The content of the last paragraph of the passage (lines 44–

59) would most likely support which of the following
statements?
a. The New Deal policies were not radical enough in challenging
capitalism.
b. The economic policies of the New Deal brought about a complete business recovery.
c. The Agricultural Adjustment Act paid farmers to produce surplus crops.
d. The federal government became more involved in caring
for needy members of society.
e. The New Deal measures went too far in turning the country
toward socialism.

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501 Critical Reading Questions

Questions 92–101 are based on the following
passage.
In 1804 President Thomas Jefferson sent Army Officers Meriwether Lewis and
William Clark on an expedition to explore the territory of the Louisiana
Purchase and beyond and to look for a waterway that would connect the
Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This passage describes the collision of cultures
that occurred between Native Americans and the representatives of the
United States government.
(1)

(5)

(10)

(15)

(20)

(25)

(30)

When Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark into the
West, he pat- terned their mission on the methods of
Enlightenment science: to observe, collect, document, and
classify. Such strategies were already in place for the epic
voyages made by explorers like Cook and Van- couver.
Like their contemporaries, Lewis and Clark were more
than representatives of European rationalism. They also
represented a ris- ing American empire, one built on
aggressive territorial expansion and commercial gain.
But there was another view of the West: that of the native
inhabitants of the land. Their understandings of landscapes,
peoples, and resources formed both a contrast and
counterpoint to those of Jeffer- son’s travelers. One of
Lewis and Clark’s missions was to open diplo- matic
relations between the United States and the Native
American nations of the West. As Jefferson told Lewis, “it
will now be proper you should inform those through

whose country you will pass . . . that henceforth we
become their fathers and friends.” When Euro-Americans and Native Americans met, they used ancient
diplomatic proto- cols that included formal language,
ceremonial gifts, and displays of military power. But behind
these symbols and rituals there were often very different
ways of understanding power and authority. Such differences sometimes made communication across the
cultural divide difficult and open to confusion and
misunderstanding.
An important organizing principle in Euro-American
society was hierarchy. Both soldiers and civilians had
complex gradations of rank to define who gave orders and
who obeyed. While kinship was impor- tant in the EuroAmerican world, it was even more fundamental in tribal
societies. Everyone’s power and place depended on a
complex network of real and symbolic relationships.
When the two groups met—whether for trade or diplomacy
—each tried to reshape the other in their own image.
Lewis and Clark sought to impose their own notions of
hierarchy on Native Americans by “making chiefs” with
medals, printed certificates, and gifts. Native people
tried to impose the obligations of kinship on the visitors
by means of adoption cere- monies, shared names, and


r

itual gifts.
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501 Critical Reading Questions

(35)

(40)

(45)

(50)

(55)

(60)

The American republic began to issue peace medals
during the first Washington administration, continuing a
tradition established by the European nations. Lewis and
Clark brought at least eighty-nine medals in five sizes in
order to designate five “ranks” of chief. In the eyes of
Americans, Native Americans who accepted such medals
were also acknowledging American sovereignty as
“children” of a new “great father.” And in a moment of
imperial bravado, Lewis hung a peace medal around the
neck of a Piegan Blackfeet warrior killed by the
expedition in late July 1806. As Lewis later explained, he
used a peace medal as a way to let the Blackfeet know
“who we were.”
In tribal society, kinship was like a legal system—people
depended on relatives to protect them from crime, war,
and misfortune. People with no kin were outside of
society and its rules. To adopt Lewis and Clark into tribal
society, the Plains Indians used a pipe ceremony. The

ritual of smoking and sharing the pipe was at the heart of
much Native American diplomacy. With the pipe the captains
accepted sacred obli- gations to share wealth, aid in war,
and revenge injustice. At the end of the ceremony, the
pipe was presented to them so they would never forget
their obligations.
Gift giving was an essential part of diplomacy. To Native
Ameri- cans, gifts proved the giver’s sincerity and
honored the tribe. To Lewis and Clark, some gifts
advertised the technological superiority and oth- ers
encouraged the Native Americans to adopt an agrarian
lifestyle. Like salesmen handing out free samples, Lewis
and Clark packed bales of manufactured goods to open
diplomatic relations with Native American tribes.
Jefferson advised Lewis to give out corn mills to introduce
the Native Americans to mechanized agriculture as part of
his plan to “civilize and instruct” them. Clark believed
the mills were “verry Thankfully recived,” but by the next
year the Mandan had demolished theirs to use the metal
for weapons.
92. The goals of the Lewis and Clark expedition include

all of the following purposes EXCEPT to
a. expand scientific knowledge.
b. strengthen American claims to western territory.
c. overcome Native American resistance with military force.
d. introduce native inhabitants to the ways of EuroAmerican culture.
e. make peaceful contact with native inhabitants.