The Transcontinental Railway - Test 3

B2 First · Word Formation · Cambridge English First 3, Cambridge University Press

For questions 1–8, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of the lines to form a word that fits in the gap in the same line. There is an example at the beginning.

DISCUSS

AGREEMENT

LONG

EXIST

COMPARE

FLY

IMPRESS

ACHIEVE

Before 1869 the journey from the east coast to the west coast of the United States took between four and six months, travelling through difficult and (0) ___ country by wagon. With the west coast becoming increasingly wealthy, it was obvious that a better route was needed. In the 1850s (17) ___ began about building a transcontinental railway line linking the west with the east. Although there was much (18) ___ about the best route, eventually it was decided to build a line. It ran 3,069 kilometres in (19) ___ from Sacramento in the west to a point where it would join (20) ___ lines giving access to the east coast. Once the line became operational in 1869, the journey could be completed in less than a week. In (21) ___ with the six hours that a (22) ___ from New York to San Francisco takes nowadays, this may not seem particularly (23) ___ , but building the transcontinental railway was a great technological (24) ___ which helped to bring unity to the country.

The transcontinental railway

DANGER

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