【正文】 veland transportation. The larger rivers, especially the Mississippi and the Ohio, becameLine increasingly useful as steamboats grew in number and improved in design.(5) River boats carried to New Orleans the corn and other crops of northwesternfarmers, the cotton and tobacco of southwestern planters. From New Orleans, shipstook the cargoes on to eastern seaports. Neither the farmers of the west nor themerchants of the east were pletely satisfied with this pattern of trade. Farmerscould get better prices for their crops if the alternative existed of sending them directly(10)eastward to market, and merchants could sell larger quantities of their manufacturedgoods if these could be transported more directly and more economically to the west.New waterways were needed. Sectional jealousies and constitutional scruples stoodin the way of action by the federal government, and necessary expenditures were too great for private enterprise. If extensive canals were to be dug, the job would be up to (15)the various states. New York was the first to act. It had the natural advantage of a paratively level route between the Hudson River and Lake Erie, through the only break in the entireAppalachian Mountain chain. Yet the engineering tasks were imposing. The distancewas more than 350 miles, and there were ridges to cross and a wilderness of woods and(20)swamps to penetrate. The Erie Canal, begun in 1817 and pleted in 1825, was by farthe greatest construction job that Americans had ever undertaken. It quickly proved afinancial success as well. The prosperity of the Erie encouraged the state to enlarge itscanal system by building several branches.(20) The range of the New York canal system was still further extended when the statesof Ohio and Indiana, inspired by the success of the Erie Canal, provided waterconnections between Lake Erie and the Ohio River. does the passage suggest was the principal route for transporting crops to the east prior to 1825?(A) River to road(B) Canal to river(C) River to ocean(D) Road to canal can be inferred from the passage that shipping cargo east by way of New Orleans was(A) advantageous for manufacturers(B) inexpensive for merchants(C) not economical for farmers(D) considered economical by the government word alternative in line 9 is closest in meaning to(A) option(B) transition(C) intention(D) authorization word them in line 9 refers to (A) crops(B) farmers(C) prices(D) merchants of the following products would a northwestern farmer in the early nineteenth century be most likely to purchase from the east?(A) Grain(B) Vegetables(C) Textiles(D) Fruit to the passage, where was the Erie Canal located?(A) Between Ohio and Indiana(B) Along the Appalachian Mountains(C) Between Lake Erie and the Ohio River(D) Across New York State word imposing in line 18 could best be replaced by(A) impractical(B) successful(C) demanding(D) misleading word penetrate in line 20 is closest in meaning to(A) cut down (B) go through(C) fill up(D) take over word its in line 22 refers to (A) prosperity(B) Erie(C) system(D) state word extended in line 24 is closest in meaning to(A) increased(B) constructed(C) deepened(D) measured to the passage, Indiana and Ohio supported the development of the New York canal system by(A) helping to build the Erie Canal(B) building branches to connect it with the Ohio River(C) providing much of the water for the Erie Canal(D) contributing financially to the construction costs does the paragraph following the passage probably discuss?(A) Industry on Lake Erie(B) Canals in Ohio and Indiana(C) Sectional jealousies in Indiana and Ohio(D) Travel on the Erie Canal4.Passage 4Legend has it that sometime toward the end of the Civil War (18611865) agovernment train carrying oxen traveling through the northern plains of easternWyoming was caught in a snowstorm and had to be abandoned. The driver returned theLine next spring to see what had bee of his cargo. Instead of the skeletons he had(5) expected to find, he saw his oxen, living, fat, and healthy. How had they survived?The answer lay in a resource that unknowing Americans had trampled underfoot intheir haste to cross the Great American Desert to reach lands that sometimes provedbarren. In the eastern parts of the United States, the preferred grass for forage was acultivated plant. It grew well with enough rain, then when cut and stored it would cure(10)and bee nourishing hay for winter feed. But in the dry grazing lands of the West,that familiar blue joint grass was often killed by drought. To raise cattle out thereseemed risky or even hopeless.Who could imagine a fairytale grass that required no rain and somehow made itpossible for cattle to feed themselves all winter? But the surprising western wild (15)grasses did just that. They had wonderfully convenient features that made themsuperior to the cultivated eastern grasses. Variously known as buffalo grass, gramagrass, or mesquite grass, not only were they immune to drought。s ability to(A) squeeze into crevices(B) devour all available food in a short time(C) suck up mud or sand(D) live at a low metabolic rate5. The fourth paragraph of the passage primarily discusses(A) the reproduction of sea cucumbers(B) the food sources of sea cucumbers (C) the eating habits of sea cucumbers(D) threats to sea cucumbers39。s voyages, nearly all earth scientists agree on the theories of plate tectonics and continental drift that explain many of the geological processes that shape the Earth. The cores of sediment drilled by the Glomar Challenger have also yielded (25)information critical to understanding the world39。s core.(C) It is impossible to go to the Earth39。F. Although scientists can speculate about its nature, neither humans normachines will ever be ab