TOEFL IBT Reading Practice Test and Answer Key
colonies was the slow evolution of cities in the former and their rapid growth in the latter.
In Europe they grew over a period of centuries from town economies to their present]
(Line) urban structure. In North America, they started as wilderness communities and developed
(5) to mature urbanism’s in little more than a century.
In the early colonial day in North America, small cities sprang up along the Atlantic
Coastline, mostly in what are now New America, small cities sprang up along the Atlantic
United States and in the lower Saint Lawrence valley in Canada. This was natural
because these areas were nearest England and France, particularly England, from which
(10 ) most capital goods (assets such as equipment) and many consumer goods were imported
Merchandising establishments were, accordingly, advantageously located in port cities
from which goods could be readily distributed to interior settlements. Here, too, were the
favored locations for processing raw materials prior to export. Boston, Philadelphia, New
York, Montreal, and other cities flourished, and, as the colonies grew, these cities
(15) increased in importance.
This was less true in the colonial South, where life centered around large farms, known
as plantations, rather than around towns, as was the case in the areas further north along
the Atlantic coastline. The local isolation and the economic self-sufficiency of the
plantations were antagonistic to the development of the towns. The plantations
(20) maintained their independence because they were located on navigable streams and each
had a wharf accessible to the small shipping of that day. In face, one of the strongest
factors in the selection of plantation land was the desire to have it front on a water
highway.
When the United States became an independent nation in 1776, it did not have a single
(25) city as large as 50,000 inhabitants, but by 1820 it had a city of more than 10,000 people,
and by 1880 it had recorded a city of over one million. It was not until after 1823, after
the mechanization of the spinning had weaving industries, that cities started drawing
young people away from farms. Such migration was particularly rapid following the Civil
War (1861-1865).
9. What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) Factors that slowed the growth of cities in
Europe.
(B) The evolution of cities in North America
(C) Trade between North American and
European cities
(D)The effects of the United Sates’
independence on urban growth in New
England.
10. The word “they” in line 4 refers to
(A) North American colonies
(B) cities
(C) centuries
(D) town economies
11. The passage compares early European and
North American cities on the basis of which
of the following?
(A) Their economic success
(B) The type of merchandise they exported
(C) Their ability to distribute goods to
interior settlements
(D)The pace of their development
12.The Word “accordingly” in line 11 is closest in
meaning to
(A) as usual
(B) in contrast
(C) to some degree
(D)for that reason
13. According to the passage, early colonial cities
were established along the Atlantic coastline
of North America due to
(A) an abundance of natural resources
(B) financial support from colonial
governments
(C) proximity to parts of Europe
(D) a favorable climate
14. The passage indicates that during colonial
times, the Atlantic coastline cities prepared
which of the following for shipment to
Europe?
(A) Manufacturing equipment
(B) Capital goods
(C) Consumer goods
(D) Raw materials
15. According to the passage, all of the
following aspects of the plantation system
influenced the growth of southern cities
EXCEPT the
(A) location of the plantations
(B) access of plantation owners to shipping
(C) relationships between plantation
residents and city residents
(D) economic self-sufficiency of the
plantation
16. It can be inferred from the passage that, in
comparison with northern, cities, most
southern cities were
(A) imagined
(B) discovered
(C) documented
(D)planned
17. The word “recorded” in line 26 is closest in
meaning to
(A) imagined
(B) discovered
(C) documented
(D) planned
18.The word “drawing” in line 27 is closest in
meaning to
(A) attracting
(B) employing
(C) instructing
(D) representing
19. The passage mentions the period following
the Civil War (line28-29) because it was a
time of
(A) significant obstacles to industrial growth
(B) decreased dependence on foreign trade
(C) increased numbers of people leaving
employment on farms
(D) increased migration from northern states to
southern states
