TOEFL Sample Question
작성자
CLI 아카데미
작성일
2013-02-20 18:34
조회
4698
Read the following passage. Then fill in the diagram with the information that you read.
English and the Gold Rush
The discovery of gold in California in 1848 marked the beginning of an economic boom known as the California Gold Rush. The miners, many of whom were originally journalists, lawyers, and businessmen, preserved their experiences in writing. Much of this was peppered with colorful phrases related to their new work. Interestingly, many of these phrases are still in use today in the English language.
The popular phrase “pan out,” meaning “to be successful,” can be traced back to the gold rush. Miners would separate gold from worthless minerals using a pan; gold would settle to the bottom of the pan, and other sediments would be removed. The likely origin of “pan out,” then, is from the process of gathering all the gold in one’s pan.
In addition, the phrase “strike it rich” originated from the Gold Rush. This phrase has come to mean “to become wealthy quickly.” A strike is literally a discovery, in this case, of gold. During the Gold Rush, if a miner “struck it rich,” he found gold and thus become wealthy. Having lost its original meaning, the same phrase is used today when people make money quickly in business or win a lottery.
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Mark: to be a defining feature of
Boom: a rapid increase
Pepper: to fill with lots of examples of something
Trace: to follow or be flowed
Settle: to come to rest
Sediment: material that settles to the bottom of water
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Q. Which of the following is true according to paragraph 1 ?
(A) Introducing new phrases into English was the goal of the writers.
(B) Not all of the Gold Rush miners could read or write.
(C) The miners wrote about their gold-mining experience.
(D) Miners preferred their lives as journalists, lawyers, and businessmen.
A > (C) The miners wrote about their gold-mining experience.