TOEFL iBT Test 1 Ulysses S Grant

TOEFL Reading

​

​Ulysses S Grant

​Ulysses S. Grant

If it were not for the outbreak of the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant would probably have lived out his life working as a clerk in his father’s store. Tired of a military career that had sent him to live and work in a remote area of the western United States, Grant felt that it was in his best interest to leave the military and focus his energies elsewhere. In his case, he believed his best opportunities lay in the business world. Business, however, proved not as easy to conquer as he had hoped, and he failed at several ventures, eventually winding up with the only job he could get: that of clerk in his father’s store.

But the Civil War encouraged Grant to reenter the military. It was here that his life turned around, for he displayed all the abilities of a great general. His military career reached its peak when he forced the Southern general, Robert E. Lee, to surrender in 1865, thus ending the Civil War.

With his new widespread fame, he was nominated for president and subsequently won the election. However, he had little understanding of politics and what was required of a president. Though often criticized as being ineffective as the 18th president, he had become president at a time that would have proved
challenging for any man.

④→ The country had just finished the Civil War, still the bloodiest war in United States history, and was in a deplorable state. The South was in ruins and major reconstruction efforts were underway. The economy had been devastated. The many lives that had been lost or disrupted led to animosity among various sectors of the population. Freed black slaves had nowhere to go and no real way to make a living. And just when a strong government was needed, corruption within the government was becoming commonplace. It was, in fact, this last problem that was to cause Grant’s reputation the greatest harm.

​⑤→ At a time when any president would have needed the best advisers possible, Grant selected poorly and found himself the easy victim of those who were more adept at using corruption to benefit themselves. His vice president, Schuyler Colfax, and others in his administration were accused of taking bribes, his private secretary tried to conspire with whiskey distillers to defraud the government of taxes, and his secretary of war, William W. Belknap, was impeached. All of this reflected negatively on Grant’s abilities as a leader.

⑥→ It was also during his presidency that Jay Gould and James Fisk tried to corner the gold market, which would have meant that they could have controlled the price of gold to their own advantage. (A) ■ Although Grant had been warned of the consequences of this affair, he was slow to react and nearly waited until it was too late. He did, however, eventually order the U.S. Treasury to release a large amount of its gold reserves onto the market which dramatically lowered its price but, at the same time, caused the collapse of the stock market.

(B) ■ The resulting panic on September 24, 1869, known as Black Friday, financially destroyed thousands of investors. (C) ■ Later in his administration another market collapse, known as the Panic of 1873, took place and resulted in widespread unemployment and a similar loss in economic confidence. (D) ■ These financial disasters coupled with the problems of corruption and social unrest were beyond Grant’s ability to deal with and few were sad to see his second term as president come to an end.

After leaving the presidency, Grant took a long trip around the world. He returned to the U.S. and tried to run for president again, possibly because he had no idea of what else to do, but failed to win support. Disappointed, he went to New York where he opened a firm on Wall Street. But in 1884, the company collapsed and Grant nearly became bankrupt. In order to get money for his family, he wrote his autobiography while fighting cancer. He died the following year.

Multiple Choice

Why did Grant first leave the military?

• He wanted to become a businessman.

• He wanted to work for his father.

• He saw no future in the military.

• He wanted to fight in the Civil War.

Multiple Choice

The word ventures in the passage is closest in meaning to

• battles

• attempts

• possibilities

• companies

Multiple Choice

According to paragraph ④, what problem lowered the people’s opinion of Grant the most?

• His failure to solve economic problems.

• Corruption within his administration.

• The problem of recently freed black slaves.

• His lack of strong leadership.

Multiple Choice

According to paragraph ④, why was there animosity among different sectors of the population?

• Because freed black slaves had nowhere to go and couldn’t find jobs.

• Because there were too many reconstruction efforts.

• Because people’s lives had been dramatically changed by the war.

• Because people were tired of corruption.

Multiple Choice

In paragraph ⑤, why does the author mention Grant’s vice president and personal secretary?

• To describe what advisers did to Grant.

• To show examples of corruption that affected Grant’s presidency.

• To contrast the different types of people who worked for Grant.

• To imply that Grant was corrupt.

Multiple Choice

What can be inferred from paragraph ⑤ about Grant?

• He was naive.

• He was honest.

• He was a strong president.

• He was not very intelligent.

Multiple Choice

Why does the author mention Black Friday?

• To show the results of Grant’s economic policies.

• To give an example of the influence of corruption.

• To explain the Panic of 1873.

• To suggest that the stock market was being controlled by the U.S. Treasury.

Multiple Choice

According to paragraph 6,why were few people sad to see Grant's presidency come to an end?

• Because many people felt sorry for Grant

• They were tired of bad economic conditions

• There were few positive developments during Grant's administration.

• He was too slow to react to the attempt to corner the gold market.

Multiple Choice

Look at the 4 black squares in paragraph 6.Where would the sentense below fit best?

Unfortunately,this was not the last economic downturn to affect his presidency.

• A

• B

• C

• D

Multiple Select

Although Ulysses S Grant was a brilliant general,he failed to bring his military success to his presidency.

(3 answers)

• One such example of corruption influenced the stock market causing it to collapse and further undermine Grant's standing with the voters

• Grant's autobiography sold well but since this occurred after his death he was not able to benefit from it

•  The large number of serious problems that existed after the Civil War could have made it difficult for any man to have a successful presidency at this time in US history

• However, it was corruption, especially within his own Administration that most ruined Grant's reputation

• Grant tried to run for the presidency for a third time but failed and was forced to try his hand at business again