Start Your Engines!

In paragraph 4, the word "vehicle" means something that...

• encourages people to invent.

• takes years to create.

• leads to questions.

• moves people and goods.

Why was Nicolas Joseph Cugnot's invention able to move by itself?

• It was very large.

• It was very strong.

• It had wheels.

• It used steam.

Read this sentence from paragraph 11.

Yet they had drawbacks, too.

The word "drawbacks" shows that the electric car...

• did not provide a perfect solution.

• changed the way that people traveled.

• used batteries for power.

• was not quickly accepted by the public.

How do paragraphs 10 through 15 support the main idea of the passage?

• by discussing how several inventors improved cars.

• by showing that drivers had to be stopped because their cars were going too fast.

• by listing the names of countries to show how far apart they are.

• by describing the condition of the streets to show the need for better roads.

According to paragraph 13, the first gas-powered cars were an improvement on the electric car because the gas-powered cars...

• were able to travel farther.

• did not smell bad.

• made less noise when driven.

• did not cost much.

The headings divide the passage by the...

• popularity of automobiles.

• inventors of automobiles.

• uses for automobiles.

• changes in automobiles.

Part A: Based on the information in the passage, with which statement would the author most likely agree?

• People are fortunate to no longer depend on their own feet or animals for transportation.

• Inventors should have never built a vehicle with its own source of power.

• The first electric cars were perfect!

• Cugnot's car was not any stronger than the power provided by animals.

Part B: Which quotations from the passage support your answer to Part A? Please select TWO answers.

• "People rarely went far. They couldn't carry many goods with them." (paragraph 3)

• "And people worried the boiler might explode." (paragraph 9)

• "They didn't smell as much. Yet they had drawbacks, too." (paragraphs 10 and 11)

• "Animals provided the power. Travel was slow. Travel was difficult." (paragraph 3)