Before the mid-1860's, the impact of the railroads in the United States was limited, in the sense that the tracks ended at the Missouri River, approximately the center of the country. At the point the trains turned their freight, mail, and passengers over to steamboats, wagons, and stagecoaches. This meant that wagon freighting, stage coaching, and steam boating did not come to an end when the first train appeared; rather they became supplements or feeders. Each new “end of track” became a center for animal-drawn or waterborne transportation. The major effect of the railroad was to shorten the distance that had to be covered by the older,slower,and more costly means. Wagon freighters continued operating throughout the 1870's and 1880's and into the 1890's.
Over constantly shrinking routes, coaches and wagons continued to crisscross the West wherever the rails had not yet been laid. The beginning of a major change was foreshadowed in the late 1860's, when the Union Pacific Railroad at last began to build westward from the Central Plains City of Omaha to meet the Central Pacific Railroad advancing eastward from California through the formidable barrier of the Sierra Nevada. Although President Abraham Lincoln signed the original Pacific Railroad Bill in 1862 and a revised, financially much more generous version in 1864, little construction was completed until 1865 on the Central Pacific and 1866 on the Union Pacific. The primary reason was skepticism that a railroad built through so challenging and thinly settled a stretch of deserts, mountains and semiarid plains could pay a profit. In the words of an economist, this was a case of “premature enterprise” where not only the cost of construction but also the very high risk deterred private investment. In discussing the Pacific Railroad Bill, the chair of the congressional committee bluntly stated that without government subsidy no one would undertake so unpromising a venture;yet it was a national necessity to link East and West together.
1.Why does the author refer to the impact of railroads before the late 1860's as “limited”?
2.What can be inferred about coaches and wagon freighters as the railroad expanded?
3.Why does the author mention the Sierra Nevada in paragraph 2?
4.Why little construction was completed though the bill had long been signed?
问题1选项
A.Because passengers preferred wagons and stagecoaches.
B.Because other modes of transportation had to be employed.
C.Because they were only center for waterborne transportation.
D.Because the track did not take direct route from one city to the next.
问题2选项
A.They developed competing routes.
B.Their drivers refused to work for the railroads.
C.They began to specialize in private investment.
D.There were insufficient trained people to operate them.
问题3选项
A.To point out the location of a serious train accident.
B.To give an example of obstacles faced by the Central Pacific.
C.To argue that a direct route to the West could have been taken.
D.To identify a historically significant mountain range in the West.
问题4选项
A.Because of a worry that little benefit would be gained.
B.Because of a harsh, challenging and thinly settled plain.
C.Because of a change of the plan owing to the high cost.
D.Because of a continued running of coaches and wagons
第1题:
1.【选项释义】
1. Why does the author refer to the impact of railroads before the late 1860’s as “limited”? 1. 为什么作者说19世纪60年代以前铁路的影响是“有限的”？
A. Because passengers preferred wagons and stagecoaches. A. 因为乘客们更喜欢马车。
B. Because other modes of transportation had to be employed. B. 因为必须使用其他运输方式。
C. Because they were only center for waterborne transportation. C. 因为它们只是水上交通的中心。
D. Because the track did not take direct route from one city to the next. D. 因为铁轨并没有直接从一个城市到另一个城市。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位至第一段前两句“在19世纪60年代中期之前，铁路对美国的影响是有限的，从某种意义上说，铁路的终点是密苏里河，大约是国家的中心。这时，火车把货物、邮件和乘客转交给轮船、马车和公共马车。”，从中我们可以推断出，19世纪60年代以前铁路的影响是“有限的”，是因为必须要使用其他运输方式。B项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A项“因为乘客们更喜欢马车”和D项“因为铁轨并没有直接从一个城市到另一个城市”没有提及，无中生有；
C项“因为它们只是水上交通的中心”，这是蒸汽划船和马车运输等其他运输方式成为铁路运输补充的结果，与题干无关，张冠李戴。
第2题:
2.【选项释义】
2. What can be inferred about coaches and wagon freighters as the railroad expanded? 2. 随着铁路的扩张，我们可以推断出关于客车和马车货船的什么？
A. They developed competing routes. A. 他们开发了相互竞争的路线。
B. Their drivers refused to work for the railroads. B. 他们的司机拒绝为铁路工作。
C. They began to specialize in private investment. C. 他们开始专门从事私人投资。
D. There were insufficient trained people to operate them. D. 没有足够的训练有素的人员来操作它们。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据第二段第一句“在不断缩小的路线上，马车和货车继续在西部尚未铺设铁路的地方纵横交错”，从中可知，随着铁路的扩张，传统的货运方式逐渐衰落，但是在火车线路不能到达的地方，他们仍在扩展相互竞争的路线。故该题选择A项正确。
【干扰项排除】B项“他们的司机拒绝为铁路工作”、C项“他们开始专门从事私人投资”和D项“没有足够的训练有素的人员来操作它们”没有提及，无中生有。
第3题:
3.【选项释义】
3. Why does the author mention the Sierra Nevada in paragraph 2? 3. 为什么作者在第2段中提到内华达山脉？
A. To point out the location of a serious train accident. A. 指出发生严重火车事故的地点。
B. To give an example of obstacles faced by the Central Pacific. B. 举一个中央太平洋铁路公司面临的障碍的例子。
C. To argue that a direct route to the West could have been taken. C. 争辩说可以采取直接去西方的路线。
D. To identify a historically significant mountain range in the West. D. 确定西部有历史意义的山脉。
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据关键词Sierra Nevada定位到第二段的第二句“19世纪60年代末，重大变化已露端倪，在这一时期，太平洋联合铁路终于开始由位于中央平原的奥马哈市向西扩建，与中央太平洋铁路汇合，中央太平洋从加利福尼亚经过内华达山脉的巨大障碍，向东挺进”，从该句可以推断，作者提到内华达山脉是为了给中央太平洋铁路公司面临的障碍举例，B项正确。
【干扰项排除】A项“指出发生严重火车事故的地点”、C项“争辩说可以采取直接去西方的路线”和D项“确定西部有历史意义的山脉”在该段没有依据，无中生有。
第4题:
4.【选项释义】
4. Why little construction was completed though the bill had long been signed? 4. 为什么法案早就签署了，却有很少的建设已经完工？
A. Because of a worry that little benefit would be gained. A. 因为担心不会有什么好处。
B. Because of a harsh, challenging and thinly settled plain. B. 因为一个严酷的，具有挑战性的和稀疏的平原。
C. Because of a change of the plan owing to the high cost. C. 因为成本太高，计划改变了。
D. Because of a continued running of coaches and wagons. D. 因为长途汽车和马车的持续运行。
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位至第二段第三句“尽管亚伯拉罕•林肯总统在1862年签署了最初的太平洋铁路法案，并在1864年签署了修订版，在财政上更加慷慨，但直到1865年中太平洋铁路和1866年联合太平洋铁路才完成了很少的建设”，结合下一句“主要原因是，人们怀疑修建一条穿越沙漠、山脉和半干旱平原的铁路是否有利可图（The primary reason was skepticism that…could pay a profit）”，理解可知，很少的建设已经完工的原因是，人们怀疑没有利益可图，A项“因为担心不会有什么好处”符合这一分析。
【干扰项排除】
B项“因为一个严酷的，具有挑战性的和稀疏的平原”是人们怀疑是否有利可图的原因，与题干无关，张冠李戴；
C项“因为成本太高，计划改变了”和D项“因为长途汽车和马车的持续运行”没有提到，无中生有。
