REVIEW EXERSICE 24-26.

PASSAGE ONE (Questions 1-8)

The Mason-Dixon Line is often considered by Americans to be the demarcation between the
North and the South. It is in reality the boundary that separates the state of Pennsylvania from
Maryland and parts of West Virginia. Prior to the Civil War, this southern boundary of
Pennsylvania separated the nonslave states to the north from the slave states to the south.
The Mason-Dixon Line was established well before the Civil War, as a result of a boundary
dispute between Pennsylvania and Maryland. Two English astronomers, Charles Mason and
Jeremiah Dixon, were called in to survey the area and officially mark the boundary between the
two states. The survey was completed in 1767, and the boundary was marked with stones, many of
which remain to this day.

PASSAGE TWO (Questions 9-14)

Manic depression is another psychiatric illness that mainly affects the mood. A patient
suffering from this disease will alternate between periods of manic excitement and extreme
depression, with or without relatively normal periods in between. The changes in mood suffered
by amanic-depressive patient go far beyond the day-to-day mood changes experienced by the
general population. In the period of manic excitement, the mood elevation can become so
intense that it can result in extended insomnia, extreme irritability, and heightened
aggressiveness. In the period of depression, which may last for several weeks or months, a patient
experiences feelings of general fatigue, uselessness, and hopelessness, and, in serious cases, may
contemplate suicide.

PASSAGE THREE (Questions 15-23)

Unlike earlier campaigns, the 1960 presidential campaign featured a politically innovative
and highly influential series of televised debates in the contest between the Republicans and the
Democrats. Debates that could be viewed by such a wide audience had never before been part of
the presidential campaigns, and through these debates, the far-reaching medium of television
showed how effective it could be in influencing the outcome of an election.
The two parties to face off in the election selected very different candidates. John Kennedy,
a young senator from Massachusetts without much experience and recognition in national
politics, established an early lead among democratic hopefuls, and was nominated on the first
ballot at the Los Angeles convention to be the representative of the Democratic party in the
presidential elections. The older and more experienced Richard Nixon, then serving as vice
president of the United States under Eisenhower, received the nomination of the Republican
party. Both Nixon and Kennedy campaigned vigorously throughout the country and then took
the unprecedented step of appearing in face-to-face debates on television.
Experts in the politics of presidential elections contend that the debates were a pivotal force
in the elections. In front of a viewership of more than 100 million citizens, Kennedy masterfully
overcame Nixon’s advantage as the better-known and more experienced candidate and reversed
the public perception of him as too inexperienced and immature for the presidency. In an
election that was extremely close, it was perhaps these debates that brought victory to Kennedy.