3 . According to paragraph 3, in what way did the new rail networks change western trade? A. Northwestern farmers almost completely stopped shipping goods by steamboat.
B. Many western goods began to be shipped east by way of Chicago rather than south to New Orleans. C. Chicago largely replaced New York and other eastern cities as the final market for goods from the West. D. The value of goods shipped west soon became greater than the value of goods shipped east.
4. Paragraph 4 supports the idea that the price of wheat more than doubled between 1845 and 1855 in part because
A. the price of corn nearly doubled during that same period B. demand for grain increased sharply outside the United States C. farmers in the Northeast and Midwest began to specialize in cash crops D. many farmers had borrowed heavily to purchase land and equipment for raising wheat
5. The word “transformed” in paragraph 5 is closest in meaning to A. dominated
B. changed C. improved D. created
6. Why does the author point out in paragraph 5 that “Indian grass, Canada wild rye, and native big bluestem all grew higher than a person”? A. To provide a reason why people from the eastern woodlands of the United States were impressed when they saw the prairies B. To identify an obstacle to the development of the railroad lines fanning out from Chicago C. To explain why the transformation of the prairies by commercial agriculture was so remarkable D. To provide evidence supporting the claim that the prairies had fertile, deep black soil 7 . According to paragraph 5, the first settlers generally did not farm open prairie land because A . they could not plow it effectively with the tools that were available B . prairie land was usually very expensive to buy C. the soil along boundaries between the forest and the prairie was more fertile than the soil of the open prairie D. the railroad lines had not yet reached the open prairie when the first settlers arrived 8. According to paragraph 8, prairie farmers changed the landscape by doing all of the following EXCEPT: A. Reducing annual fires
B. Dividing the land into large, regularly-shaped lots C. Planting trees that eventually formed woodlots D. Fencing off their farms
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