VSTEP Reading Mock Test 04

In the early 1800s, to reach the jump-off point for the West, a family from the East of the United States could either buy steamboat passage to Missouri for themselves, their wagons, and their livestock or—as happened more often—simply pile everything into a wagon, hitch up a team, and begin their overland trek right in their front yard.

Along the macadamized roads and turnpikes East of the Missouri River, travel was comparatively fast, camping easy, and supplies plentiful. Then, in one river town or another, the neophyte emigrants, would pause to lay in provisions. For outfitting purposes, the town of Independence had been preeminent ever since 1827, but the rising momentum of pioneer emigration had produced some rival jump-off points. Westport and Fort Leavenworth flourished a few miles upriver. St. Joseph had sprung up 55 miles to the northwest; in fact, emigrants who went to Missouri by riverboat could save four days on the trail by staying on the paddle-wheelers to St. Joe before striking overland.

At whatever jump-off point they chose, the emigrants studied guidebooks and directions, asked questions of others as green as themselves, and made their final decisions about outfitting. They had various, sometimes conflicting, options. For example, either pack animals or two-wheel carts or wagons could be used for the overland crossing. A family man usually chose the wagon. It was the costliest and slowest of the three, but it provided space and shelter for children and for a wife who was likely as not was pregnant. Everybody knew that a top-heavy covered wagon might blow over in a prairie wind or be overturned by mountain rocks, that it might mire in river mud or sink to its hubs in desert sand – but maybe if those things happened on this trip, they would happen to someone else. Anyway, most pioneers, with their farm background, were used to wagons.

Alexander the Great commissioned the city of Alexandria to create a Mediterranean stronghold in Egypt to rival Rome and cities in Greece. He died before his idea came to fruition, but his successors built it into one of the greatest cities of the Hellenistic world. The Royal Library of Alexandria has achieved an almost mythical status among scholars of classical studies. As with many ancient topics, scholarship on the matter often conflicts and relies heavily on hearsay and supposition. We will examine the importance of the library during its heyday and how it operated.

As with many ancient landmarks, there is much debate and controversy over Alexandria’s library, especially regarding its destruction. The tale has been retold by countless historians and attributed to just as many different factions and rulers, not to mention the landmark of education, but as a tool for political slander. It is estimated that there are over 4,000 writings regarding its destruction, yet very little data exists regarding the structure, layout, organization, administration, or whereabouts of the complex. The accuracy of the available information is suspect. However, 20th century scholars have reached some general consensus from the remaining sources.

Most historians have come to the conclusion that the original library, also known as the Temple of the Muses, was commissioned by Ptolemy I, Alexander’s key general. More accurately, it was commissioned by the Athenian exile Demetrius of Phaleron under Ptolemy I’s patronage. Traditionally it was attributed to his son Ptolemy II. However, it was later shown that Demetrius was antagonistic toward Ptolemy II and did not survive for much of his reign. Ptolemy II can be seen as responsible for the fruition and completion of the library and museum complex. H.G. Wells asserts that Ptolemy and his son encouraged a blaze of knowledge and discovery at Alexandria through their funding of the library and other endowments.

The library itself was not a “library” in modern etymology. In fact, the library was essentially a collection of scholars and scribes encouraged to expand scientific and philosophical wisdom and musings brought about because of the ambition and drive of Ptolemy I. It was not the first institution of its type, developed throughout a half-century after Plato’s Academy and Aristotle’s Lyceum. About 30-50 scholars were probably permanently housed there, fed, and funded, first by the royal family, and later, according to an early Roman scroll, by public money. It served a religious, as well as an intellectual, function and it was the centerpiece of a so-called cult of the muses, governed by a priest.

[A] The library’s output was created through observation and deduction in math, medicine, astronomy, and geometry, the editing of texts and manuscripts, and debating various advances in Western knowledge. [B] For two or three generations, the scientific output at Alexandria was considerably good. Its achievements included the introduction of the first steam engine, the first star map, and an astoundingly accurate estimate of the Earth’s diameter. [C] Famous scholars employed there included Euclid, Eratosthenes, Apollonius, and Hero. [D]

The library may have consisted of a group of buildings, including lecture halls, study rooms, dining rooms, gardens, and an astronomical observatory. In organization of the library, it is believed that, in the time of Ptolemy II, the scrolls were haphazardly stored and grouped by general category. From the time of Callimachus onwards, they used an early iteration of a subject catalog. Subject divisions outlined by Callimachus included mathematics, medicine, astronomy, and geometry, as well as philology. At its peak, it is estimated about 600,000 scrolls were held within its walls, although that is likely an overstatement.

The Ptolemys achieved their goal of creating the largest collection of its kind by varied and often forceful means. At the time of its founding, Greek libraries were usually collections of manuscripts by private individuals. Ptolemy had a vision to collect all accepted literature on all matters scientific, philosophical and spiritual. The library tried to get copies of all known books and would send agents far and wide to acquire them. Ptolemy III wrote a letter "to all the world's sovereigns" asking to borrow their books. On more than a few occasions, scribes made copies and kept the originals. Supposedly, all ships entering Alexandria's harbor were searched for books to copy.

The Royal Library of Alexandria was created at an ideal time and place in world history. It was able to combine the deductive techniques of Greek thought toward the learning of other world cultures. As such, it holds a legendary position among historians as an important center of classical knowledge. Although much of the story has been buried with time and conflict, the importance and significance of its contributions are clear.

The Pacific Ocean contains approximately 20,000 to 30,000 islands. Islands, excluding Australia, that are South of the Tropic of Cancer are grouped into three divisions: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.

Melanesia includes the nation of Papua New Guinea, provinces of Indonesia, and the Solomon Islands. Micronesia means “small islands”, most of which are North of the equator. Finally, Polynesia, which means “many islands”, includes the Hawaiian Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Easter Island, among others. Migrants from South East Asian cities were the first settlers. The next wave of migrants populated New Guinea, gradually spreading to Fiji. The last of the Pacific islands to be settled was Polynesia. Hawaii was discovered sometime between the 7th and 13th centuries.

Bats were the only mammals on these islands until the arrival of the first humans. Birds adapted to environmental niches, like grazers and insectivores. Due to the cool and humid location, New Zealand lost plants and animals, like the giant flightless bird, that were intolerant of its climate. However, the extinction coincided with the arrival of the Melanesians, so it was probably caused by hunting and fires. Adding to that, mining and a natural drought destroyed a majority of the natural habitat. This was repeated on Easter Island, where early settlers wiped out 22 species of sea birds and land birds. By the time the Europeans had arrived, most of the plant life was extinct and nearly 30% of the forests were cleared.

The invasion of New Zealand by the Europeans resulted in a complete transformation of the island, importing over 3,198 species of plants and animals and filling most of the wetlands. Australia also imported animals and plants from many Pacific island countries. Sheep, pigs, goats, and foxes were brought to Australia, which further disrupted the native ecosystems. Many plants and animals are presently endangered. The plants and animals that inhabit Pacific islands are found nowhere else on Earth. They are often adapted to specific habitats and live on a small part of a few islands. New Caledonia is an island that has been isolated from other lands for over 80 million years. 66 percent of the plant life there evolved on the island. Numerous plant species, unique in the world, are on a small area of one mountain and are represented by only a few specimens.

This varied genetic heritage is of such scientific importance that New Caledonia has been listed as one of the ten hot spots where the primary forest is in danger of extinction. It also boasts 68 species of bird, the most diverse bird life in the Southwest Pacific.

During the first Ice Age, ocean levels were much lower than they are at present. Levels in the shallow seas, now separating Asia from North America near the present-day Bering strait, dropped approximately 300 feet, creating 1,000 miles of grassland plain. Called the “Bering Land Bridge,” this linked Asia and North America together. The Bering Sea has a long history of stable animal populations, despite the harsh environments, which sustain human life. Lemmings, ox, and mammoths all made the journey across the land bridge. Although mammoths have been extinct for quite a while now, the other two have remained.

Pacific walruses inhabit shallow waters of the Bering Sea during winter. They congregate to feed on clams, their principal food. [A] This type of feeding releases nutrients into the water, providing food for starfish and increasing the roughness of the sea floor. [B] Actual impact of the ecology of bottom communities is unknown, but walruses, along with other animals like beavers and sea otters, have huge effects on the biological communities they occupy. [C] Animals such as seals, bowhead whales, and walruses are important for the subsistence of their community. [D]

Pacific islands have the same pollution and overfishing problems as most countries. Destructive forms of fishing in Asian nations have taken their toll on marine animals such as birds and tuna. Many of these nations have now entered joint venture agreements to enable them to develop their marine resources more efficiently.