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english language arts test listening selection grade 8 21629 april 26­28 2010

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this listening selection is to be used in administering book 2 of the english language arts test the entire selection is to be read aloud twice to the students for complete directions please follow the instructions in the teacher s directions remember this is a secure test you are not to discuss this test show it to anyone or photocopy these materials as the security of the test could be breached acknowledgment ctb/mcgraw-hill llc is indebted to the following for permission to use material in this book excerpts from folly or fortune by lois miner huey from cobblestone magazine s november 2006 issue golden age of the steamboat copyright © 2006 by carus publishing company published by cobblestone publishing 30 grove street suite c peterborough nh 03458 all rights reserved reprinted by permission of the publisher developed and published by ctb/mcgraw-hill llc a subsidiary of the mcgraw-hill companies inc 20 ryan ranch road monterey california 93940-5703 copyright © 2010 by the new york state education department all rights reserved no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means or stored in a database or retrieval system without the prior written permission of the new york state education department.

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book 2 listening selection folly or fortune by lois miner huey fulton s folly people jeered as they passed browne s shipyard in new york city it was 1807 and browne s was the site where a very strange boat was being built by inventor robert fulton and his partner robert r livingston jr the two men knew that putting a steam engine on a boat was still new and dangerous but fulton and livingston ignored the taunts because they were convinced that their idea would revolutionize transportation in america and they were right fulton had obtained a ready-made engine from england and performed countless tests with small models he successfully calculated important factors like water resistance and the hull thicknesses needed to run a boat with steam power on august 17 after devoting about five months to its construction fulton launched a vessel that measured 150 feet long 13 feet wide and 9 feet deep fulton and a group of invited guests mostly livingston family members prepared to steam up the hudson river from new york city to albany the state capital the guests had to put up with primitive conditions no cabins no beds and a roaring uncovered steam engine mounted in the center of the boat not to mention the fear of the engine s exploding they cast off at 1 p.m the vessel puffed away from the dock and stalled the passengers whispering turned into loud mumbles which eventually gave way to shouts of i told you sensing their fear fulton promised to return to the dock if he could not fix the problem after a short time there was a huge blast of smoke and once again the boat churned upriver described as looking like a giant teakettle the vessel s engine let off steam raining down sparks that sizzled in the water the noise was deafening but the boat was moving and the passengers cheered go on do not reproduce do not discuss contents until end of designated makeup schedule secure material page

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one eyewitness reported that the vessel was a monster moving on the waters defying the winds and tide and breathing flames and smoke chugging upstream against the tide at a fast four to five miles per hour it easily passed sailing ships and fishing craft in its wake the boat s two side paddle wheels left waves of foamy water and lots of terrified onlookers sailors on other ships dove overboard to swim to shore others ducked down to pray people crowded the riverbanks some applauded while others declared how unnatural this vessel was nothing like it ever had been seen before darkness fell but the boat continued its journey with a full moon and warm breezes the passengers stayed up all night singing songs by candlelight their fears mostly had been forgotten the next day the boat docked at livingston s estate called clermont here the passengers ate well and stayed overnight in comfortable beds as livingston s guests the next morning livingston and others joined the original passengers aboard the boat to continue steaming to albany they pulled into that city at 5 p.m having made the 150-mile trip in 32 hours crowds cheered their arrival the governor and livingston s brother-in-law morgan lewis welcomed them no longer a joke fulton s folly had become the first successful steamboat in america stop page do not reproduce do not discuss contents until end of designated makeup schedule secure material

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grade 8 english language arts test listening selection april 26­28 2010

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