PASSAGE 11
By the 1820's in the United States, when steamboats were common on western waters, these boats were mostly powered by engines built in the West (Pittsburgh, Cincinnati or Louisville), and of a distinctive western design specially suited to western needs. The first steam engines in practical use in England and the United States were of low-pressure design. This was the type first developed by James Watt, then manufactured by the firm of Boulton and Watt, and long the standard industrial engine. Steam was accumulated in a large, double-acting vertical cylinder, but the steam reached only a few pounds of pressure per square inch. It was low-pressure engines of this type that were first introduced into the United States by Robert Fulton. He imported such a Boulton and Watt engine from England to run the Clemont. But this type of engine was expensive and complicated, requiring many precision-fitted moving parts.
The engine that became standard on western steamboats was of a different and novel design. It was the work primarily of an unsung hero of American industrial progress Oliver Evans (1755-1819). The self-educated son of a Delaware farmer, Evans early became obsessed by the possibilities of mechanized production and steam power. As early as 1802 he was using a stationary steam engine of high-pressure design in his mill. Engines of this type were not unknown, but before Evans they were generally considered impractical and dangerous.
Within a decade the high-pressure engine, the new type had become standard on western waters. Critics ignorant of western conditions often attacked it as wasteful and dangerous. But people who really knew the Ohio, the Missouri and the Mississippi insisted with good reasons, that it was the only engine for them. In shallow western rivers the weight of vessel and engine was important, a heavy engine added to the problem of navigation. The high-pressure engine was far lighter in proportion to horsepower, and with less than half as many moving parts was much easier and cheaper to repair. The main advantages of low-pressure engines were safe operation and economy of fuel consumption, neither of which meant much in the West.
33.What is the passage mainly about?
(A)Steamboat engines in the western United States
(B)River travel in the western United States
(C)A famous United States inventor
(D)The world's first practical steamboat
34.What was the Clermont (line10)?
(A)A river
(B)A factory
(C)A boat
(D)An engine
35.Who developed the kind of steam engine used on western steamboats?
(A)Watt
(B)Boulton
(C)Fulton
(D)Evans
36.The word "novel" in line 14 is closest in meaning to
(A)fictional
(B)intricate
(C)innovative
(D)powerful
37.What opinion of Evans is suggested by the use of the term "unsung hero" in line 14?
(A)More people should recognize the importance of his work.
(B)More of his inventions should be used today.
(C)He should be credited with inventing the steam engine.
(D)More should be learned about his early life.
38.What does the author imply about Evans?
(A)He went to England to learn about steam power.
(B)He worked for Fulton.
(C)He traveled extensively in the West.
(D)He taught himself about steam engines.
39.The word " stationary" in line 17 is closest in meaning to
(A)single
(B)fixed
(C)locomotive
(D)modified
40.The word " they" in line 18 refers to
(A)engines
(B)mechanized production and steam power
(C)possibilities
(D)steamboats
41.What does the author imply about the western rivers?
(A)It was difficult to find fuel near them.
(B)They flooded frequently.
(C)They were difficult to navigate
(D)They were rarely used for transportation
42.The word "it " in line 23 refers to
(A)decade
(B)high-pressure
(C)weight
(D)problem
43.The word "vessel" in line 24 is closest in meaning to
(A)fuel
(B)crew
(C)cargo
(D)craft
44 . Which of the following points was made by the critics of high-pressure engines?
(A)They are expensive to import
(B)They are not powerful enough for western waters.
(C)They are dangerous.
(D)They weigh too much.