REVIEW EXERSICE 24-25.

PASSAGE ONE (Questions 1-5)

Lincoln’s now famous Gettysburg Address was not, on the occasion of its delivery,
recognized as the masterpiece that it is today. Lincoln was not even the primary speaker at the
ceremonies, held at the height of the Civil War in 1863, to dedicate the battlefield at Gettysburg.
The main speaker was orator Edward Everett, whose two-hour speech was followed by Lincoln’s
shorter remarks. Lincoln began his small portion of the program with the words that today are
immediately recognized by most Americans: “Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought
forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that
all men are created equal.” At the time of the speech, little notice was given to what Lincoln had
said, and Lincoln considered his appearance at the ceremonies rather unsuccessful. After his
speech appeared in print, appreciation for his words began to grow, and today it is recognized as
one of the all-time greatest speeches.

PASSAGE TWO (Questions 6-12)

Hay fever is a seasonal allergy to pollens. The term “hay fever,” however, is a less than
adequate description since such an attack can be brought on by sources other than hay
producing grasses and since an attack of this allergy does not incur fever.
The causes of hay fever can be quite varied. Hay fever is generally caused by air-borne
pollens, particularly ragweed pollen. The amount of pollen in the air is largely dependent on
geographical location, weather, and season. In the eastern section of the United States, for
example, there are generally three periods when pollen from various sources can cause intense
hay fever suffering: in the springtime months of March and April, when pollen from trees is
prevalent, in the summer months of June and July, when grass pollen fills the air, and at the end
of August, when ragweed pollen is at its most concentrated levels.
What results from an attack of hay fever is not a fever. Instead, a person with hay fever will
suffer symptoms such as red and itching eyes, a swollen and runny nose, and repeated bouts of
sneezing.

PASSAGE THREE (Questions 13-19)

Theories about the movement of the continents have evolved over time as the ability to
conduct scientific study of the continents has improved. Thus, today’s theory of plate tectonics,
rather than contradicting its predecessor, had its roots in the older theory of continental drift.
According to the theory of continental drift, the continents are not fixed in position but
instead move slowly across the surface of the earth, constantly changing in position relative to
one another. This theory was first proposed in the eighteenth century when mapmakers noticed
how closely the continents of the earth fit together when they were matched up. It was suggested
then that the present-day continents had once been one large continent that had broken up into
pieces which drifted apart.
Today the modern theory of plate tectonics has developed from the theory of continental
drift. The theory of plate tectonics suggests that the crust of the earth is divided into six large,
and many small, tectonic plates that drift on the lava that composes the inner core of the earth.
These plates consist of ocean floor and continents that quite probably began breaking up and
moving relative to one another more than 200 million years ago.