The Transcontinental Railroad

1.What is the meaning of the word transportation as used in paragraph 1?

• A A system for carrying passengers or goods from one place to another

• B Moving only animals by ships

• C A way of walking in order to travel

2.Which is NOT a way people used to travel by, before the railroad was invented?

• A walking

• B animals

• C airplanes

• D ships

3.How did railroad builders make passes through the mountains?

• A They would build around the mountain side.

• B They would use explosives to clear rocks.

• C They would use a jack hammer to make pathways.

Who was Theodore Judah?

• A He was an investor who provided money for railroad construction.

• B He was and engineer who built a railroad across the U.S.

• C He was a Chinese railroad builder.

5.Who were the "Big Four"?

• A investors who paid for railroad contruction

• B workers who helped lay the tracks

• C four major railroads that connected from both east and west

6.Why was it dangerous to handle glass containers filled with Nitroglycerin?

• A the liquid was poisonous to consume

• B if not kept perfectly still, it could explode

• C the hazardous fluid could damage building materials if spilled

7.Which sentence from the passage gives evidence that working on the railroad was dangerous?

• A We are accustomed to the fast - moving pace of our society.

• B For the first time, the country felt truly united.

• C Unfortunately, thousands died during its construction.