Sybil Ludington's Ride

Both the Greek poet Homer and the Roman poet Virgil wrote of the ten-year siege of Troy by the Greeks and of the heroes and __________ who did battle there.

• villain

• warriors

• gods

• kings

One of the most famous stories describes the sly __________ that the Greeks thought up to defeat the Trojans.

• strategy

• horse

• plan

• deception

The Greeks had tried not once but on __________ occasions to force the Trojans to surrender the fortress city.

• numerous

• few

• single

• rare

Several times the Greeks had __________ the walls of Troy, but all of the attacks had failed.

• assaulted

• defended

• ignored

• rebuilt

Finally, the Greeks came up with a __________ plan: They left at the gates of Troy a huge wooden horse as a pretended peace offering. The Trojans brought the horse inside the city walls.

• shrewd

• foolish

• simple

• reckless

But the wooden horse was a __________ gift, for hidden inside was a small army of Greeks, who at nightfall climbed from the horse and opened the gates to the city.

• misleading

• generous

• harmless

• ordinary

Alchemists were people who believed that it was possible to __________ ordinary metals, such as iron and lead, into gold. The best-known alchemists are those who practiced in Europe during the Middle Ages.

• convert

• melt

• paint

• break

They staged very __________ experiments to try to convince others that they could do as they promised.

• impressive

• ordinary

• simple

• unconvincing

Some people believed that the possibility of great wealth __________ even the most far-fetched experiments.

• justified

• condemned

• ignored

• questioned

Scientists today would __________ the ideas of the alchemists, but centuries ago many people believed that their ideas were sound. In fact, it was not until the 1800s that scientists proved that base metals cannot be turned into gold.

• dispute

• accept

• ignore

• support