Rail Tycoons

In paragraph 1, the author claims, “Railroads changed the way Americans traveled.”  Which detail from the passage provides the best support for the author’s claim?

• A) Difficult journeys became easy.

• B) These changes were made possible by wealthy businessmen known as railroad tycoons.

• C) Vanderbilt started a ferry business as a teenager.

• D) Over 14,000 kilometers of railroad lines have been built in the United States.

According to the timeline, what was a likely result of President Lincoln signing the Pacific Railroad Act in 1862?

• The Civil War ended

• The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad begis operating

• Cornelius Vanderbilt started a ferry business when he was a teenager.

• The transcontinental railroad was completed when two rail lines met in Promontory, Utah.

How does the author organize MOST of the information in this passage?

• by discussing problems and solutions

• by comparing and contrasting events

• by asking questions and giving answers

• by telling what happened in time order

Which sentence from the passage BEST supports the answer to Part A?

• Railroads changed the way Americans traveled.

• Only the most successful businessmen could pay for these things or attract the necessary government loans

• In the 1840's, Vanderbilt began investing in northeastern railroads.

• Tycoon Henry Plant also helped extend railroads through the southeast.

Which sentence is a central idea the BEST describes why rail tycoons are important to the history of the United States?

• Rail tycoons built vast railroads, and made the difficult trip across America faster and easier

• Rail tycoons helped to invent and build new steam ships, and were able to make international trade easier.

• Rail tycoons built large railroads across the United States, but many of their businesses failed and they lost a lot of money.

• Rail tycoons fought to end slavery during the Civil War, but were unable to end the discrimination that affected many African Americans.

A student is writing a passage about the events leading up to the first moon landing in 1969. Which is the best way to organize the passage using a chronological text structure?

• A) Describe the astronauts' training, then compare the moon landing to modern space travel.

• B) List the key events in the order they happened, from the early space missions to the moon landing.

• C) Explain the causes of space exploration and the effects of the moon landing.

• D) Present different opinions about whether space exploration is important.

Maria is creating a timeline about the life of Thomas Edison. Which of the following would best help her decide which events to include and how to organize them?

• A) Listing all of Edison’s inventions in alphabetical order.

• B) Choosing the most important events in Edison’s life and placing them in the order they happened.

• C) Grouping events by topic, such as "early life" and "inventions," instead of using dates.

• D) Writing a paragraph about Edison’s greatest invention without using any dates.

Which of the following is an example of a primary source?

• A) A history book about the American Revolution written in 2022.

• B) A documentary about Abraham Lincoln’s presidency.

• C) A diary entry written by a soldier during the Civil War.

• D) A website explaining the causes of World War II.

Jake saw a sign that said the event was nonrefundable. How does the prefix non- change the meaning of the word nonrefundable?

• A) It means the event offers refunds.

• B) It means the event does not offer refunds.

• C) It means the event has already been refunded.

• D) It means the event costs no money.