Passage Three
The men who planned and constructed the first American railroads were men of great vision. They predicted that their “iron horses” would open vast expanses of land to farming and industry. They knew that towns would spring up along the new railroads. Yet few of these pioneers could have guessed that American railroads would establish the system of time used throughout most of the world today.
Until the 1880s, all time in the United States was sun time. Farmers set their clocks to noon when the sun appeared to be overhead. In towns, people set their clocks by a courthouse clock or factory whistles. One town’s time was often different from the time in a neighboring town.
As the new railroads expanded, large numbers of people began to travel. But the railroads were unable to print accurate timetables when most towns along their tracks have their clocks set differently. There was need for a change, and the railroads led in planning it.
In 1883, railroads in the United States and Canada adopted standard time, a system which divided the continent into four time zones. Within each zone, all railroad clocks were set to an identical time. When it was noon in the Eastern Zone, it was nine o’clock in the Pacific Zone. Railroad time signals were sent out by the newly-invented telegraph.
Standard time quickly spread. Traveling businessmen set their watches to correspond to the railroad clocks. Factories and schools followed the railroad’s lead. Soon, nearly everyone in the United States and Canada was using the four-zone time system – standard time.
Today, nearly all the world keeps standard time according to an international system of twenty-four time zones.
26. Implied but not directly stated: ___________.
A. Farmers set their clocks according to the factory whistles
B. The correct time was not too important before the 1800s
C. Only people who traveled on trains ever knew time
D. A standard system was set up by the pioneers
27. On the whole, the article tells about __________.
A. pioneers who rode on “iron horses”
B. large numbers of people who traveled
C. the establishment of standard time
D. the accurate timetable in the United States
28. Which statement does this article lead you to believe?
A. Accurate timetelling is important in many industries.
B. Accurate time is important only in the United States.
C. Accurate time is owned by the men who built railroads.
D. Accurate time is owned by pioneers.
29. Why weren’t railroads able to print accurate timetables?
A. Towns along the tracks set their clocks differently.
B. No one was able to read timetables that were accurate.
C. Farmers preferred to read the sun instead of timetables.
D. Railroad workers had no watches.
30. What does the word “identical” mean?
A. different
B. difficult
C. similar
D. understandable
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