Passage Two
A rapid means of long-distance transportation became a necessity for the United States as settlement (新拓居地) spread ever farther westward. The early trains were impractical curiosities, and for a long time the railroad companies met with troublesome mechanical problems. The most serious ones were the construction of rails able to bear the load, and the development of a safe, effective stopping system. Once these were solved, the railroad was established as the best means of land transportation. By 1860 there were thousands of miles of railroads crossing the eastern mountain ranges and reaching westward to the Mississippi. There were also regional southern and western lines.
The high point in railroad building came with the construction of the first transcontinental system. In 1862 Congress authorized two western railroad companies to build lines from Nebraska westward and from California eastward to a meeting point, so as to complete a transconti
A. Settlements Spread Westward
B. The Coast-to-Coast Railroad: A Vital Link
C. American Railroad History
D. The Importance of Trains in the American Economy
Passage Two
A hundred years ago, the game we now call football did not exist. American football started during a game between two colleges. The teams had got together to play what they called "football", but each team played by different rules. One team played what we now call soccer. The other played what we now call rugby (橄榄球).
Both games had been invented a thousand years before. In the first kind of football game ever played, all the men from one village tried to kick a ball into another village. The men of the second village tried to kick the ball into the first. Hundreds of people joined in, running everywhere, running crops and knocking down fences. In time, people agreed on some rules to keep order, but many roles were left open to change. Different rules developed in different places.
When the two colleges met to play football, each followed its own rules. They mixed the games together and invented a new game. A hundred years lat
A. the rules of soccer
B. the rules of rugby
C. different rules
D. college rules
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