Passage Two Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage: The railroads played a key role in the settlement of the West. They provided relatively easy access to the region for the first time, and they also actively recruited farmers to settle there. The railroads are criticized for their part in settling the West too rapidly, with its resultant economic unrest. (After the Civil War the vast Great Plains area was settled all at once.) Of course there were abuses connected with building and operating the railroads, but it must be pointed out that they performed a useful service in extending the frontier and helping to achieve national unity. The real tragedy of the rapid settlement of the Great Plains was the shameful way in which the American Indians were treated. Threatened with the destruction of their whole mode of life, the Indians fought back savagely against the white man’s final assault. Justice was almost entirely on the Indians’ side. The land was clearly theirs. The Indians, however, lacked the military force and the political power to protect this right. Not only did white men possess the Indians’ hunting grounds, but they rapidly destroyed the Indians’ principal means of existence—the buffalo. It has been estimated that there are 15 million buffalo in the plains in the 1860s. By 1869 the railroads had cut the herd in half, and by 1875 the southern herd was all but eliminated. By the middle of the 1880s the northern herd was also a thing to the past. Particularly annoying to the Indians was the fact that the white man frequently killed the buffalo merely for sport, leaving the valuable dead body to rot in the sun. Theoretically, at least, the government tried to be fair to the Indians, but all too often the Indian agents were either too indifferent or corrupt to carry out the government’s promises conscientiously, the army frequently ignored the Indian Bureau and failed to coordinate its policies with the civilians who were normally in charge of Indian affairs. The settlers hated and feared the Indians and wanted them exterminated. This barbaric attitude, is certainly not excusable, but it is understandable in the context of the times. 26.The author’s attitude toward the treatment of American Indians by whites is of ____. A) qualified regret B) violent anger C) strong disapproval D) objective indifference
27.The author implies which of the following about the forces at work during the settlement of the Great Plains? A)The federal government represented the moral use of law. B)Justice was overcome by military firepower. C)Attempts by the government to be fair were rejected by the Indians. D)The settler’s hatred and fear was offset by the Indians’ attempts at kindness. 28.Which of the following shows that the white settlers did not need the buffalo as did the Indians? A) Buffalo dead bodies were left rotting in the sun by whites. B) Nearly fifteen million buffalo were killed within twenty years. C) More than half of the great buffalo herd had disappeared by 1869. D) The railroad brought necessary food and supplies to the white settlers.
29.The author of the passage would most likely disagree that____. A) the U.S. government’s policies towards the American Indians were shameful B) the land that the Indians fought to retain belonged to them C) numerous abuses were among the results of the railroads’ rapid spread D) the U. S. army could not be considered a friend of the American Indian
30.It can be inferred from the passage that the purpose of the Indian Bureau was to____. A) establish reservations where the peaceful American Indians would live B) assist with Indian affairs regarding the American Indians C) help Indians with their food supplies D) assist the Indians in learning a new method of obtaining food