REVIEW EXERSICE 24-28

PASSAGE ONE (Questions 1-11)

Another noteworthy trend in twentieth-century music in the United States was the use of
folk and popular music as a base for more serious compositions. (10A) The motivation for these
borrowings from traditional music might be a desire on the part of a composer to return to
simpler forms, to enhance patriotic feelings, or to establish an immediate rapport with an
audience. (10B) For whatever reason, composers such as Aaron Copland and Charles Ives offered
compositions featuring novel musical forms flavored with refrains from traditional Americana.
(10C) Copland drew upon folk music, particularly as sources for the music he wrote for the ballets
Billy the Kid, Rodeo, and Appalachian Spring. (10D) Ives employed the whole gamut of patriotic songs,
hymns, jazz, and popular songs in his compositions.

PASSAGE TWO (Questions 12-21)

The rattlesnake has a reputation as a dangerous and deadly snake with a fierce hatred for
humanity. Although the rattlesnake is indeed a venomous snake capable of killing a human, its
nature has perhaps been somewhat exaggerated in myth and folklore.
The rattlesnake is not inherently aggressive and generally strikes only when it has been put
on the defensive. In its defensive posture the rattlesnake raises the front part of its body off the
ground and assumes an S-shaped form in preparation for a lunge forward. At the end of a
forward thrust, the rattlesnake pushes its fangs into the victim, thereby injecting its venom.
(19A) There are more than 30 species of rattlesnakes, varying in length from 20 inches to 6
feet. (19B) In the United States there are only a few deaths annually from rattlesnakes, with a
mortality rate of less than 2 percent of those attacked. (19C)

PASSAGE THREE (Questions 22-30)

For a century before the Erie Canal was built, there was much discussion among the general
population of the Northeast as to the need for connecting the waterways of the Great Lakes with
the Atlantic Ocean. A project of such monumental proportions was not going to be undertaken
and completed without a supreme amount of effort.
The man who was instrumental in accomplishing the feat that was the Erie Canal was DeWitt
Clinton. As early as 1812, he was in the nation’s capital petitioning the federal government for
financial assistance on the project, emphasizing what a boon to the economy of the country the
canal would be; his efforts with the federal government, however, were not successful.
In 1816, Clinton asked the New York State Legislature for the funding for the canal, and this
time he did succeed. A canal commission was instituted, and Clinton himself was made head of it.
One year later, Clinton was elected governor of the state, and soon after, construction of the
canal was started.
The canal took eight years to complete, and Clinton was on the first barge to travel the
length of the canal, the Seneca Chief, which departed from Buffalo on October 26, 1825, and
arrived in New York City on November 4. Because of the success of the Erie Canal, numerous
other canals were built in other parts of the country.