38. Questions 38-39.

King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette ruled France from 1774 to 1789, a time when the country was fighting bankruptcy. The royal couple did not let France&aposs insecure financial situation limit their immoderate spending, however. Even though the minister of finance repeatedly warned the king and queen against wasting money, they continued to spend great fortunes on their personal pleasure. This lavish spending greatly enraged the people of France. They felt that the royal couple bought its luxurious lifestyle at the poor people&aposs expense.

Marie Antoinette, the beautiful but exceedingly impractical queen, seemed uncaring about her subjects; misery. While French citizens begged for lower taxes, the queen embellished her palace with extravagant works of art. She also surrounded herself with artists, writers, and musicians, who encouraged the queen to spend money even more profusely.

While the queen&aposs favorites glutted themselves on huge feasts at the royal table, many people in France were starving. The French government taxed the citizens outrageously. These high taxes paid for the entertainments the queen and her court so enjoyed. When the minister of finance tried to stop these royal spendthrifts, the queen replaced him. The intense hatred that the people felt for Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette kept building until it led to the French Revolution. During this time of struggle and violence (1789-1799), thousands of aristocrats, as well as the king and queen themselves, lost their lives at the guillotine. Perhaps if Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette had reined in their extravagant spending, the events that rocked France would not have occurred.

38. The people surrounding the queen encouraged her to spend money ____.

A. wisely B. abundantly C. carully D. foolishly E. joyfully

39. The minister of finance tried to curb these royal ___.

A. aristocrats B. money wasters C. enemies D. individuals E. spenders

40. Questions 40-45.

Many great inventions are greeted with ridicule and disbeli. The invention of the airplane was no exception. Although many people who heard about the first powered flight on December 17,1903, were excited and impressed, others reacted with peals of laughter. The idea of flying an aircraft was repulsive to some people. Such people called Wilbur and Orville Wright, the inventors of the first flying machine, impulsive fools. Negative reactions, however, did not stop the Wrights. Impelled by their desire to succeed, they continued their experiments in aviation.

Orville and Wilbur Wright had always had a compelling interest in aeronautics and mechanics. As young boys they earned money by making and selling kites and mechanical toys. Later, they designed a newspaper-folding machine, built a printing press, and operated a bicycle-repair shop. In 1896, when they read about the death of Otto Lilienthal, the brother&aposs interest in flight grew into a compulsion.

Lilienthal, a pioneer in hang-gliding, had controlled his gliders by shifting his body in the desired direction. This idea was repellent to the Wright brothers, however, and they searched for more ficient methods to control the balance of airborne vehicles. In 1900 and 1901, the Wrights tested numerous gliders and developed control techniques. The brothers&apos inability to obtain enough lift power for the gliders almost led them to abandon their forts.

After further study, the Wright brothers concluded that the published tables of air pressure on curved surfaces must be wrong. They set up a wind tunnel and began a series of experiments with model wings. Because of their forts, the old tables were repealed in time and replaced by the first reliable figures for air pressure on curved surfaces. This work, in turn, made it possible for them to design a machine that would fly. In 1903 the Wrights built their first airplane, which cost less than one thousand dollars. They even designed and built their own source of propulsion- a lightweight gasoline engine. When they started the engine on December 17, the airplane pulsated wildly bore taking off. The plane managed to stay aloft for twelve seconds, however, and it flew one hundred twenty feet.

By 1905 the Wrights had perfected the first airplane that could turn, circle, and remain airborne for half an hour at a time. Others had flown in balloons or in hang gliders, but the Wright brothers were the first to build a full-size machine that could fly under its own power. As the contributors of one of the most outstanding engineering achievements in history, the Wright brothers are accurately called the fathers of aviation.

The idea of flying an aircraft was ___to some people.

A. boring B. distastul C. exciting D. needless E. answer not available

41. People thought that the Wright brothers had ____.

A. acted without thinking B. been negatively influenced C. been too cautious D. had not given enough thought E. acted in a negative way

42. The Wright&aposs interest in flight grew into a ____.

A. financial empire B. plan C. need to act D. foolish thought E. answer not in article

43. Lilenthal&aposs idea about controlling airborne vehicles was ___the Wrights.

A. proven wrong by B. opposite to the ideas of C. disliked by D. accepted by E. opposed by

44. The old tables were __ and replaced by the first reliable figures for air pressure on curved surfaces.

A. destroyed B. canceled C. multiplied D. discarded E. not used

45. The Wrights designed and built their own source of ____.

A. force for moving forward B. force for turning around C. turning D. force to going backward E. none of the above

SSAT阅读理解练习题6SSAT阅读理解练习题6

38. Questions 38-39.

King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette ruled France from 1774 to 1789, a time when the country was fighting bankruptcy. The royal couple did not let France&aposs insecure financial situation limit their immoderate spending, however. Even though the minister of finance repeatedly warned the king and queen against wasting money, they continued to spend great fortunes on their personal pleasure. This lavish spending greatly enraged the people of France. They felt that the royal couple bought its luxurious lifestyle at the poor people&aposs expense.

Marie Antoinette, the beautiful but exceedingly impractical queen, seemed uncaring about her subjects; misery. While French citizens begged for lower taxes, the queen embellished her palace with extravagant works of art. She also surrounded herself with artists, writers, and musicians, who encouraged the queen to spend money even more profusely.

While the queen&aposs favorites glutted themselves on huge feasts at the royal table, many people in France were starving. The French government taxed the citizens outrageously. These high taxes paid for the entertainments the queen and her court so enjoyed. When the minister of finance tried to stop these royal spendthrifts, the queen replaced him. The intense hatred that the people felt for Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette kept building until it led to the French Revolution. During this time of struggle and violence (1789-1799), thousands of aristocrats, as well as the king and queen themselves, lost their lives at the guillotine. Perhaps if Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette had reined in their extravagant spending, the events that rocked France would not have occurred.

38. The people surrounding the queen encouraged her to spend money ____.

A. wisely B. abundantly C. carully D. foolishly E. joyfully

39. The minister of finance tried to curb these royal ___.

A. aristocrats B. money wasters C. enemies D. individuals E. spenders

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