1) The passage discusses the economic history and development of capitalism in the United States from the colonial period onwards. It describes how the colonists expanded on the work of earlier colonists to develop an economy based on capital accumulation. 2) Natural resources and abundant capital facilitated America's growth. Capital includes tools and funds/money needed to buy tools. Surpluses allowed farmers to accumulate capital by saving output for seeds/tractors rather than just consuming for survival. 3) Most American wealth was derived from trade, not manufacturing. Merchants accumulated wealth through shipping goods, linking the colonies in trade networks.

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UNIVERSIDAD LATINA DE COSTA RICA Total Points: 20 points
SCHOOL OF ENGLISH Points Obtained: _____
BIN-08 Reading Skills II
Reading Report 4 Grade: __________
INSTRUCTOR: Jonathan Acuña Time: 60 minutes
Name: ___________________________________ Date: ___________________
Part 1
Read the following article and choose the best response that answers the
questions below Answer all questions following the passage on the basis of what is
stated or implied in the passage. (9 points)
“The economic history of the United States,” one scholar has written, “is the
history of the rise and development of the capital system.” The colonists of the
eighteenth century pushed forward what those of the seventeenth century had
begun: the expansion and elaboration of an economy born in the great age of
5 capitalist expansion.
Our excellent natural resources paved the way for the development of abundant
capital to increase our growth. Capital includes the tools –such as machines,
vehicles, and buildings –that make the outputs of labor and resources more
valuable. But it also includes the funds necessary to buy those tools. If a society
10 had to consume everything it produced just to stay alive, nothing could be put
aside to increase future productions. But if a farmer can grow more corn than the
family needs to eat, he can use the surplus as seed to increase the next crop, or to
feed workers who build tractors. This process of capital accumulation was aided in
the American economy by our cultural heritage. Saving played an important role in
15 the European tradition; it contributed to Americans’ motivation to put something
aside today for the tools to buy tomorrow.
The great bulk of the accumulated wealth of America, as distinguished from that
which was manufactured, was derived either directly or indirectly from trade.
Though some manufacturing existed, its role in the accumulation of capital was
20 negligible. A merchant class of opulent proportions was already visible in the
seaboard cities, its wealth the obvious consequence of shrewd and resourceful
management of the carrying trade. Even the rich planters of tidewater Virginia and
the rice coast of South Carolina finally depended for their genteel way of life upon
the ships and merchants who sold their tobacco and rice in the markets of Europe.
25 As colonial production rose and trade expanded, a business community emerged in
the colonies, linking the provinces by lines of trade and identity of interest.
01. With what subject is this passage mainly concerned?
a. Geography c. Economics
b. Finance d. Culture

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02. The phrase “paved the way for” in line 6 is closest in meaning to
a. paid for c. accumulated
b. supported d. resembled
03. In line 9 the word “it” refers to
a. growth c. labor
b. resources d. capital
04. According to the passage, capital includes all of the following EXCEPT
a. factories c. money
b. tractors d. workers
05. In line 9, the word “funds” is closest in meaning to
a. money c. output
b. resources d. support
06. The phrase “put aside” in lines 10 – 11 is closest in meaning to
a. hidden c. reviewed
b. saved d. consumed
07. According to the passage, which of the following would lead to
accumulating capital?
a. training workers who produce goods
b. studying the cultural history of the country
c. consuming what is produced
d. planting more of a crop than is needed
08. It can be inferred from the passage that the European ancestors of early
Americans
a. sent many tools to America
b. taught their skills to their offspring
c. were accustomed to saving
d. were goods farmers
09. According to the passage, the emergence of a business community in the
colonies was a result of
a. efficient saving
b. the immigration of wealthy bankers
c. the success of production and trade
d. the existence of manufacturing

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Part 2
Re-read the article and provide a definition for the following terms. You may use a
dictionary, but you must phrase the definition by using your own words. (11
points)
01. scholar ►
02. growth ►
03. outputs of labor ►
04. surplus ►
05. bulk ►
06. trade ►
07. opulent ►
08. seaboard cities ►
09. shrewd ►
10. tidewater ►
11. linking ►