Reading seventh
Perhaps it was his own lack of adequate schooling that inspired Horace Mann to work so hard to accomplish the important reforms in education that he advocated. While he was still a boy, his father and older brother died, and he became responsible for supporting his family. Like most of the children in his town, he attended school only two or three months a year. Later, with the help of several teachers, he was able to study law and become a member of the Massachusetts bar, but he never forgot those early struggles.
While serving in the Massachusetts legislature, he signed an historic education bill that set up a state board of education. Without regret, he gave up his successful legal practice and political career to become the first secretary of the board. There he exercised an enormous influence during the critical period of reconstruction that brought into existence the American graded elementary school as a substitute for the older district school system. Under his leadership, the curriculum was restructured, the school year was increased to a minimum of six months, and mandatory schooling was extended to age sixteen.
Other important reforms that came into existence under Mann’s guidance included the establishment of state normal schools for teacher training, institutes for in service teacher education, and lyceums for adult education. He was also instrumental in improving salaries for teachers and creating school libraries. Mann’s ideas about school reform were developed and distributed in the twelve annual reports to the state of Massachusetts that he wrote during his tenure as secretary of education. Considered quite radical at the time, the Massachusetts reforms later served as a model for the nation’s educational system. Mann was formally recognized as the father of public education.
During his lifetime, Horace Mann worked tirelessly to extend educational opportunities to agrarian families and the children of poor laborers. In one of his last speeches he summed up his philosophy of education and life: “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.” Surely, his own life was an example of that philosophy.
1. Which of the following titles would best express the main topic of
the passage?
A. The Father of American Public Education
B. Philosophy of Education
C. The Massachusetts State Board of Education
D. Politics of Educational Institutions
2. Why does the author mention Horace Mann’s early life?
A. As an example of the importance of an early
education for success
B. To make the biography more complete
C. Because it served as the inspiration for his later
work in education
D. In tribute to the teachers who helped him
Succeed
3. The word in struggles paragraph 1 could best be replaced by
A. valuable experiences
B. happy situations
C. influential people
D. difficult times
4. The word there refers to
A. the Massachusetts legislature
B. the state board of education
C. Mann’s legal practice
D. his political career
5. The word mandatory in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
A. Required C. excellent
B. Equal D. basic
6. With which of the following statements would the
author most probably agree?
A. Horace Mann’s influence on American education
was very great
B. A small but important influence on American
education was exerted by Horace Mann
C. Few educators fully understood Horace Mann’s
influence on American education
D. The influence on American education by Horace
Mann was not accepted or appreciated
7. Horace Mann advocated all of the following EXCEPT
A. a state board of education
B. a district school system
C. classes for adult
D. graded elementary schools
8. The reforms that Horace Mann achieved
A. were not very radical for the time
B. were used only by the state of
Massachusetts
C. were later adopted by the nation as a
model
D. were enforced by the Massachusetts bar
9. With which of the following statements would
Horace Mann most probably agree?
A. Think in new ways
B. Help others
C. Study as much as possible
D. Work hard
Reading Six
In 1626, Peter Minuit, governor of the Dutch settlements in North America known as New Amsterdam, negotiated with Canarsee chiefs for the purchase of Manhattan Island for merchandise valued at sixty guilders or about $24.12. He purchased the island for the Dutch West India Company.
The next year, Fort Amsterdam was built by the company at the extreme southern tip of the island. Because attempts to encourage Dutch immigration were not immediately successful, offers, generous by the standards of the era, were extended throughout Europe. Consequently, the settlement became the most heterogeneous of the North American colonies. By 1637, the fort had expanded into the village of New Amsterdam, other small communities had grown up around it, including New Haarlem and Stuyvesant’s Bouwery, and New Amsterdam began to prosper, developing characteristics of religious and linguistic tolerance unusual for the times. By 1643, it was reported that eighteen different languages could be heard in New Amsterdam alone.
Among the multilingual settlers was a large group of English colonists from Connecticut and Massachusetts who supported the English King’s claim to all of New Netherlands set out in a charter that gave the territory to his brother James, Duke of New York. In 1644, when the English sent a formidable fleet of warships into the New Amsterdam harbor, Dutch governor Peter Stuyvesant surrendered without resistance.
When the English acquired the island, the village of New Amsterdam was renamed New York in honor of the Duke. By the onset of the Revolution, New York City was already a bustling commercial center. After the war, it was selected as the first capital of the United States. Although the government was eventually moved, first to Philadelphia and then to Washington, D. C., New York maintained its status. It became a haven for pirates who conspired with leading merchants to exchange supplies for their ships in return for a share in the plunder. As a colony, New York exchanged many agricultural products for English manufactured goods. In addition, trade with the West Indies prospered. Three centuries after his initial trade with the Native Americans, Minuit’s tiny investment was worth more that seven billion dollars.
1. Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
A. A History of New York City
B. An Account of the Dutch Colonies
C. A Biography of Peter Minuit
D. The First Capital of the United States
2. What did the Native Americans receive in exchange for their island?
A. Sixty Dutch guilders
B. $24.12 U. S.
C. Goods and supplies
D. Land in New Amsterdam
3. Where was New Amsterdam located?
A. In Holland
B. In North America
C. On the island of Manhattan
D. In India
4. What does the author mean by the statement :
Because attempts to encourage Dutch immigration were not immediately successful, offers, generous by the standards of the era, were extended throughout Europe?
A. Other Europeans were given opportunities to
immigrate to the new world after a slow response
by the Dutch
B. Since the Dutch immigration was so successful,
opportunities were provided for the Europeans to
immigrate to the new world also
C. The Dutch took advantage of opportunities to
immigrate to Europe instead of to the new world
D. Immigration to the new world required that the
Dutch and other Europeans wait until opportunities
were available
5. The word heterogeneous in paragraph 2 could best be replaced by
A. Liberal C. diverse
B. Renowned D. prosperous
6. Why were so many languages spoken in New Amsterdam?
A. The Dutch West India Company was owned by
England
B. The Dutch West India Company allowed
freedom of speech
C. The Dutch West India Company recruited settlers
from many different countries in Europe
D. The Indians who lived there before the Dutch
West India Company purchase spoke many
languages
7. The word formidable in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to
A. powerful C. expensive
B. Modern D. unexpected
8. The word it in paragraph 4 refers to
A. Revolution C. the island
B. New York City D. the first capital
9. Which city was the first capital of the new Unite
states?
A. New Amsterdam C. Philadelphia
B. New York D. Washington
10. On what date was Manhattan valued at $7
billion?
A. 1626
B. 1726
C. 1656
D. 1926
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