Reading Bank 6

Which sentence in Passage 1 supports the idea that the creation of the Transcontinental Railroad involved unfair treatment of people?

• “The idea for this railroad was introduced in Congress and debated throughout the 1850s.” (paragraph 2)

• “The right of way through the public lands is granted to the Union Pacific for the construction of this railroad and telegraph line.” (paragraph 3)

• “The United States shall take back the Indian title to all lands falling under the operation of this act.” (paragraph 3)

• “If they disagree about this location, the President of the United States shall determine it.” (paragraph 4)

Read these sentences from Passage 1. “It would allow for an easier, faster, safer, and cheaper journey.” (paragraph 2) “The steepness and curves shall not exceed those used by the Baltimore and Ohio railroad.” (paragraph 4) Which goal identified in the first sentence is most clearly addressed by the second sentence?

• ease

• speed

• safety

• inexpensiveness

Which two concepts are involved in the meaning of title as it is used in this sentence from Passage 1? “The United States shall take back the Indian titles to all lands falling under the operation of this act.” (paragraph 3)

• the name of a person

• ownership of something

• a way to identify something

• a paper showing a legal right

• any special rank or office

Which words from paragraph 4 of Passage 1 help the reader infer that not all fifty states existed at the time the Pacific Railway Act (1862) was written?

• “Baltimore and Ohio railroad”

• “crosses the boundary”

• “connected, continuous”

• “State or Territory”

Which sentence should be included in a summary of Passage 1?

• This law provided the means for building a transcontinental railroad.

• The companies constructing the railroad needed a variety of materials.

• Railroad tracks in the United States would be a standard width in most areas.

• There were tensions between the North and South because they did not agree on slavery.

According to Passage 2, why were most of the workers on the Transcontinental Railroad Irish and Chinese immigrants?

• They had the ability to work with explosives.

• They had the strength to do back-breaking work.

• They were experienced in the kind of work required.

• They were willing to do the work for what they were paid.

Fill in the circle before the sentence from paragraph 2 of Passage 2 that gives an example of how enormously the railway companies profited.

• The Union Pacific would build westward from near the border of Iowa and Nebraska, which was where train lines from the east coast ended at that time.

• In return, the companies would receive federal land and, eventually, money from government bonds.

• The land they received during construction was equal in size to about one-tenth of the entire nation at the time—more land than exists in Texas.

• Those who did the work of laying track, building bridges, and blasting tunnels did not make out as well.

Passage 2 helps readers learn more about which related events and topics in American history?

• private and public land projects

• western expansion and immigration

• manual labor and unemployment

• Chinese travel and Irish famines

How do Passage 1 and Passage 2 compare in their treatment of the topic of the transcontinental railroad?

• Passage 1 is about the use of land, but Passage 2 is also about the weather.

• Passage 1 is about the two companies that completed the project; Passage 2 is not.

• Passage 1 is about planning the railroad, while Passage 2 is about building it.

• Passage 1 is about Abraham Lincoln, while Passage 2 focuses on the railroad.

Read this sentence from Passage 1. “…Whenever the route of the railroad crosses the boundary of any State or Territory, the two companies meeting there shall agree upon its location.” (paragraph 4) Which sentence in Passage 2 describes how the companies fulfilled this requirement of the Pacific Railway Act?

• “When the railroad was finished, a traveler would be able to cross the entire country in six days.” (paragraph 1)

• “They were the Central Pacific Railway and the Union Pacific Railway.” (paragraph 2)

• “In wintertime, men in the Sierra Nevadas spent many nights camped in tunnels they had dug beneath feet of snow.” (paragraph 4)

• “After almost seven years of such labor, the two railway companies met at Promontory Peak in Utah.” (paragraph 5)