Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 28 to 34.
During the second half of the nineteenth century, the production of food and feed crops in the United States rose at an extraordinarily rapid rate. Com production increased by four and a half times, hay by five times, oats and wheat by seven times. The most crucial factor behind this phenomenal upsurge in productivity was the widespread adoption of labor-saving machinery by northern farmers. By 1850 horse-drawn reaping machines that cut grain were being introduced into the major grain-growing regions of the country. Horse-powered threshing machines to separate the seeds from the plants were already in general use. However, it was the onset of the Civil War in 1861 that provided the great stimulus for the mechanization of northern agriculture. With much of the labor force inducted into the army and with grain prices on the rise, northern farmers rushed to avail themselves of the new labor-saving equipment. In 1860 there were approximately 80,000 reapers in the country; five years later there were 350,000.
After the close of the war in 1865, machinery became ever more important in northern agriculture, and improved equipment was continually introduced. By 1880 a self-binding reaper had been perfected that not only cut the grain, but also gathered the stalks and bound them with twine. Threshing machines were also being improved and enlarged, and after 1870 they were increasingly powered by steam engines rather than by horses. Since steam-powered threshing machines were costly items-running from $ 1,000 to $4,000 - they were usually owned by custom thresher owners who then worked their way from farm to farm during the harvest season. “Combines” were also coming into use on the great wheat ranches in California and the Pacific Northwest. These ponderous machines - sometimes pulled by as many as 40 horses - reaped the grain, threshed it, and bagged it, all in one simultaneous operation.
The adoption of labor-saving machinery had a profound effect upon the sale of agricultural operations in the northern states-allowing farmers to increase vastly their crop acreage. By the end of century, a farmer employing the new machinery could plant and harvest two and half times as much com as a farmer had using hand methods 50 years before.
The phrase “avail themselves of” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _________.
A. take care of
B. make use of
C. get rid of
D. consist of
Giải bởi qa.haylamdo.com
Chọn đáp án B
- take care of: chăm sóc, trông nom
- make use of: tận dụng, sử dụng
- get rid of: tống khứ
- consist of: bao gồm
“With much of the labor force inducted into the army and with grain prices on the rise, northern farmers rushed to avail themselves of the new labor-saving equipment” (Với phần nhiều lực lượng lao động được đưa vào quân đội và giá thóc lúa đang tăng lên, nông dân miền Bắc vội vã tận dụng thiết bị tiết kiệm sức lao động mới)
Do đó: avail themselves of ~ make use of
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the underlined part that needs correction in each of the following questions.
Some manufacturers are not only (A) raising their prices (B) but also (C) decreasing the production of their products (D) as well.
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.
Tom may get into hot water when driving at full speed after drinking wine.
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions.
Emissions from factories and exhaust fumes from vehicles can have detrimental effects on our health.
All candidates will be treated equally, _________ of their age or background.
It is not easy for many civil servants to _________on their salaries as the inflation rate is very high.
After two years of _________ the country’s economy is finally looking a lot healthier.
When my teacher was away on holiday, Mr Nam had to _________ her.
The cup will be on _________ at the clubhouse for a month before being sent to the museum.
- Hoa: “Would you mind closing the door?” - Hung: “ _________.”
Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the sentence that is closest in meaning to each of the following questions.
No one has sent me that letter.
