READING PRACTICE (VSTEP)

READ THE PASSAGE CAREFULLY AND CHOOSE THE CORRECT ANSWER

Harvard University, today recognized as part of the top echelon of the world's universities, came from very inauspicious and humble beginnings.
This oldest of American universities was founded in 1636, just sixteen years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. Included in the Puritan emigrants to the Massachusetts colony during this period were more than 100 graduates of England's prestigious Oxford and Cambridge universities, and these universities graduates in the New World were determined that their sons would have the same educational opportunities that they themselves had had. Because of this support in the colony for an institution of higher learning, the General Court of Massachusetts appropriated 400 pounds for a college in October of 1936 and early the following year decided on a parcel of land for the school; this land was in an area called Newtown, which was later renamed Cambridge after its English cousin and is the site of present-day university.
When a young minister named John Harvard, who came from the neighboring town of Charlestown, died from tuberculosis in 1638, he willed half of his estate of 1,700 pounds to the fledgling college. In spite of the fact that only half of the bequest was actually paid, the General Court named the college after the minister in appreciation for what he had done. The amount of the bequest may not have been large,
particularly by today's standards, but it was more than the General Court had found it necessary to appropriate in order to open the college.
Henry Dunster was appointed the first president of Harvard in 1640, and it should be noted that in addition to serving as president, he was also the entire faculty, with an entering freshman class four students. Although the staff did expand somewhat, for the first century of its existence the entire teaching staff consisted of the president and three or four tutors.

1. The main idea of this passage is that
A. Harvard is one of the world's most prestigious universities
B. what is today a great university started out small
C. John Harvard was key to the development of a great university
D. Harvard University developed under the auspices of the General Court of Massachusetts
2. The passage indicates that Harvard is
A. one of the oldest universities in the world
B. the oldest university in the world
C. one of the oldest universities in America
D. the oldest university in America
3. It can be inferred from tha passage that the Puritans who traveled to the Massachusetts colony were
A. rather well educated
B. rather rich
C. rather supportive of the English government
D. rather undermocratic
4. The pronoun "they" in paragraph 2 refers to
A. Oxford and Cambridge universities
B. universities graduates
C. sons
D. educational opportunities
5. The word "pounds" in paragraph 2 are probably
A. types of books
B. college students
C. units of money
D. school campuses
6. The "English cousin" in paragraph 2 refers to a
A. city
B. relative
C. person
D. court
7. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about John Harvard?
A. What he died of
B. Where he came from
C. Where he was buried
D. How much he bequeathed to Harvard
8. The word "fledgling" in paragraph 3 could best be replaced by
A. Newborn
B. Flying
C. Winged
D. Established
9. The passage implies that
A. Henry Dunster was an ineffective president
B. Someone else really served as president of Harvard before Henry Dunster
C. Henry Dunster spent much of his time as president managing the Harvard faculty
D. The position of president of Harvard was not merely an administrative position in the early years.
10. The word "somewhat" in paragraph 4 could best be replaced by
A. back and forth
B. to and for
C. side by side
D. more and less

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