QUIZ 2

Time–35 minutes

Read the passages and choose the best answer to each question. Answer all questions about a passage on the basis of what is stated or implied in that passage.

RURAL CANADA

1 In the 1880s, over three–fourths of Canada’s population lived outside urban centers. One view of rural Canada at that time portrays it as a vast wasteland of isolated farm communities. However, a more accurate view shows that rural Canadians had access to considerable information. The postal service was efficient and inexpensive and connected rural Canadians with the outside world. Many farm families received at least one newspaper through the mail, usually within a day of publication. The daily newspapers of the period were more substantial than those of today, and many reproduced precise accounts of court trials and public events. Rural Canadians read magazines and books and held discussions about them at club meetings.

2 Rural Canadians were also able to get together socially. The local school served other functions besides providing formal education, and school districts were often the only sign of political organization in vast regions of the country. Every community valued its one–room schoolhouse as a meeting place, especially during the winter, when work on the farm was much lighter and people had more time for a variety of social and cultural events. People of all ages got together to sing and play musical instruments, perform skits, and play parlor games.

3 Between 1880 and 1920, there was a growing exodus from farms to the city, mainly because smaller farms could not afford to modernize their technology and were no longer able to support the entire family. However, most Canadians continued to hold rural values,and artists and writers romanticized the family farm. In the novel Anne of Green Gables(1908), Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote about a young woman who strove to reconcile the beauty and peace of the rural landscape with the need to leave it in order to fulfill her ambitions. For large numbers of young Canadians, growing up meant leaving the farm to find work in the city.

1. According to the passage, rural Canada in the 1880s was not an isolated wasteland because

A most farms were close to the city

B education was inexpensive

C the rural population was growing

D information was available to farmers

2. The author makes the point that the postal service

A did not reach rural areas until the 1880s

B served an important function in rural Canada

C provided jobs for many rural Canadians

D was expensive to operate in rural areas

3. Many social gatherings took place during the winter because

A there was less work to do on the farm

B there were fewer court trials or political activities

C social gatherings were forbidden at other times

D many holidays occurred in the winter

4. According to the passage, the rural school provided all of the following services EXCEPT

A formal education

B public health clinics

C political organization

D social and cultural events

5. What reason is given for large numbers of people leaving the family farm?

A There was not enough work on the farm during the winter.

B People grew tired of the social isolation of rural life.

C Small farms could no longer support the whole family.

D Modern farm technology was not available in many areas.

6. Which statement best describes the period from 1880 to 1920?

A Literature portrayed a romanticized view of life on the farm.

B More Canadians lived in urban areas than in rural areas.

C Rural communities began to acquire characteristics of the city.

D People gave up their rural values when they moved to the city.

7. The novel Anne of Green Gables serves to illustrate

A the need for farmers to modernize their technology

B the view of rural Canada as an isolated wasteland

C the importance of social connections in rural Canada

D the experience of many young Canadians of the period

ICE

1 Two conditions are necessary for the formation of ice: the presence of water and temperatures below freezing. Ice in the atmosphere and on the ground can assume various forms, depending on the conditions under which water is converted to its solid state. Ice that forms in the atmosphere can fall to the ground as snow, sleet, or hail. Snow is an assemblage of ice crystals in the form of flakes; sleet is a collection of frozen raindrops, which are actually ice pellets. Hail consists of rounded or jagged lumps of ice, often in layers like the internal structure of an onion. Ice also forms directly on the ground or on bodies of water. In North America, ice forms in late autumn, winter, and early spring. On very large bodies of water, it may not form until late winter because there must be several months of low temperatures to chill such large amounts of water.

2 On puddles and small ponds, ice first freezes in a thin layer with definite crystal structure that becomes less apparent as the ice thickens. On lakes large enough to have waves, such as the Great Lakes, the first ice to form is a thin surface layer of slush, sometimes called grease ice, which eventually grows into small floes of pancake ice. If the lake is small enough or the weather cold enough, the floes may freeze together into a fairly solid sheet of pack ice. Pack ice may cover the entire lake or be restricted to areas near the shore.

3 Because water expands when it freezes, ice is less dense than liquid water and therefore floats rather than sinks in water. As ice floats on the surface of a lake, ocean, or river, it acts as an insulator and is thus important in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem. Without the insulating effect of floating ice sheets, surface water would lose heat more rapidly, and large bodies of water such as the Arctic Ocean and Hudson Bay might freeze up completely.

8. What condition is necessary for water in the atmosphere to change to its solid state?

A A solid cloud cover that absorbs the sun’s heat

B A weather forecast for snow, sleet, or hail

C A position directly above a large body of water

D A temperature below water’s freezing point

9. In paragraph 1, the author makes the point that

A ice can take a variety of forms

B sleet and snow differ from ice

C in some years ice never forms at all

D ice rarely forms on the ground in cities

10. Ice that forms in the atmosphere in the form of layered lumps is known as

A snow

B pack ice

C hail

D grease ice

11. All of the following are forms of ice that form on bodies of water EXCEPT

A sleet

B slush

C pancake ice

D pack ice

12. Why does ice form later on very large bodies of water?

A Most large bodies of water are located at low elevations or low latitudes.

B It takes several months of cold temperatures to cool a large body of water.

C Large bodies of water are fed by underground springs of warmer water.

D The waves on large bodies of water prevent the water from freezing quickly.

13. When ice starts to form on small bodies of water,

A it takes the shape of small floes

B it freezes more quickly in the center

C its surface feels greasy to the touch

D its crystal structure can be seen

14. Which statement is true about pancake ice?

A It forms on puddles and small ponds.

B It falls from the atmosphere to the ground.

C It may become a sheet of pack ice.

D It is the least dense form of ice.

15. Which of the following is an effect of the density of ice?

A Ice that forms on large lakes has a greasy consistency.

B Each ice crystal is unique, but all are six–sided structures.

C Pack ice is restricted to areas near the shore of a lake.

D Floating ice sheets prevent bodies of water from losing heat.

16. The passage mentions all of the following characteristics of ice EXCEPT

A its appearance

B where it forms

C the rate at which it melts

D its effect on the ecosystem

THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN THE ECONOMY

1 Because most people do not volunteer to pay taxes or police their own financial affairs, governments cannot influence economic activity simply by asking people to pollute less, to give money to the poor, or to be innovative. To accomplish these things, governments have to pass laws. Since the early twentieth century, governments of countries with advanced industrial or service economies have been playing an increasing role in economics. This can be seen in the growth of government taxation and spending, in the growing share of national income devoted to income–support payments, and by the enormous increase in the control of economic activity.

2 The large–scale organization of business, as seen in mass production and distribution,has led to the formation of large–scale organizations—corporations, labor unions, and government structures—that have grown in importance in the past several decades. Their presence and growing dominance have shifted capitalist economies away from traditional market forces and toward government administration of markets.

3 In the United States, government provides a framework of laws for the conduct of economic activity that attempt to make it serve the public interest. For instance, the individual states and the federal government have passed laws to shield investors against fraud. These laws specify what information has to be disclosed to prospective investors when shares of stocks or bonds are offered for sale. Another important area of law concerns the labor force, such as regulation of work hours, minimum wages, health and safety conditions,child labor, and the rights of workers to form unions, to strike, to demonstrate peacefully, and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing.

4 In other nations, the ways in which governments intervene in their economies have varied;however, governments everywhere deal with essentially the same issues and participate in economic activity. Even governments that are reluctant to regulate commerce directly have undertaken large–scale projects such as hydroelectric and nuclear energy developments, transportation networks, or expansion of health, education, and other public services.

17. According to the passage, why do governments intervene in economic activity?

A People do not willingly regulate their own business affairs.

B Governments understand the economy better than anyone else does.

C Businesses pay governments to participate in economic activity.

D The economy would fail without the help of government.

18. According to the passage, governments intervene in economic activity mainly by

A asking people not to pollute

B requiring innovation

C passing laws

D producing goods and services

19. According to the passage, how has the growth of large–scale organizations such as corporations and labor unions affected capitalist economies?

A It has forced governments to pass laws protecting traditional markets.

B It has destroyed capitalism and replaced it with government ownership.

C It has led to the increasing role of government in economic activity.

D It has caused unfair competition between large and small businesses.

20. In paragraph 3, the author mentions two areas of law that aim to

A serve borrowing and lending institutions

B restrict the size of corporations and labor unions

C regulate domestic and international trade

D protect the rights of investors and workers

21. In paragraph 3, the author mentions laws to shield investors against fraud as an example of

A laws that organize business

B laws that serve the public interest

C laws that protect the labor force

D laws that set the price of stocks

22. All of the following are given as issues concerning the labor force EXCEPT

A stock ownership

B health and safety

C hours of work

D the right to strike

23. In paragraph 4, the author states that all governments

A use the same economic strategies

B confront similar economic issues

C have laws regulating labor unions

D dislike intervening in markets

24. What point does the author make about governments that do not want to regulate business directly?

A They cannot compete effectively with government–controlled economies.

B They have capitalist economies based on traditional market forces.

C They have no laws for protecting the environment and public health.

D They participate in the economy through public projects and services.

25. According to the passage, all of the following are examples of government participation in economic activity EXCEPT

A taxation and spending

B small business ownership

C income–support payments

D transportation networks

Answers to Reading Quiz 2 are on pages 635–636.

Record your score on the Progress Chart on page 790. 0AM8KS1J1wfZz84CbFbX/G/DZfZCVdvqz7R3F5S3yb1404D/hFsgNuxmgVuGqwZq