Building the Railroad

Listen to these sentences from the text again: "In the 1800s, most Americans lived in the eastern part of the United States. Traveling from east to west was difficult. People made trips on wagons, on horses, or on foot."

Which phrase tells where most Americans lived in the 1800s?

• A. "In the 1800s"

• B. "the eastern part of the United States"

• C. "east to west"

• D. "made trips on wagons"

Listen to these sentences from the text again: "Traveling from east to west was difficult. People made trips on wagons, on horses, or on foot. Crossing the U.S. could take six months."

Which words give examples of transportation?

• A. east, west

• B. was, difficult

• C. wagons, horses

• D. crossing, months

Listen to these sentences from the text again: "Americans needed a quicker way to travel. Trains could move people more quickly and safely. In the 1860s, the U.S. government decided to build a train system across the country. The system was named the Transcontinental Railroad."

Which phrase tells what the Transcontinental Railroad was?

• A. "needed a quicker"

• B. "quickly and safely"

• C. "a train system across the country"

• D. "system was named"

Listen to these sentences from the text again: "The Central Pacific Railroad Company (CPRR) looked for workers to do this job. They would have to lay tracks across rivers, mountains, and deserts."

Which word best explains the meaning of they?

• A. Railroad

• B. workers

• C. rivers

• D. deserts

Listen to these sentences from the text again: "At that time, millions of people in China were poor. Many came to the U.S. The CPRR began hiring Chinese immigrants to fill the jobs."

Which phrase explains why Chinese people immigrated to the U.S.?

• A. "At that time"

• B. "millions of people in China were poor"

• C. "came to the U.S."

• D. "began hiring Chinese immigrants"

Listen to these sentences from the text again: "The CPRR began hiring Chinese immigratns to fill the jobs. These immigrants were very hard workers. Soon, most of the CPRR's workers were Chinese. One crew of mainly Chinese workers laid 10 miles of track in just one day."

Which phrase best describes the Chinese immigrants?

• A. "fill the jobs"

• B. "very hard workers"

• C. "One crew"

• D. "10 miles of track"

Listen to these sentences from the text again: "Chinese workers were not treated equally. Sometimes, they were paid less than other workers. They also had to pay for their food, housing, and clothes. Other workers did not have to pay for those things."

All of the following phrases describe the treatment of Chinese workers except

• A. "not treated equally"

• B. "paid less"

• C. "had to pay for their food, housing, and clothes"

• D. "Other workers did not have to pay"

Listen to these sentences from the text again: "Chinese immigrants worked hard, but were treated unfairly. They did something important. These immigrants helped to build the Transcontinental Railroad."

Which phrase describes an accomplishment of the Chinese immigrants?

• A. "Chinese immigrants"

• B. "were treated unfairly"

• C. "These immigrants"

• D. "helped to build the Transcontinental Railroad"