Let's do the real TOEFL reading questions(100-20)

[An Min]

Chaper 5
House construction in American in the early 1800's, even a seemingly simple log building, required a large number of tools that not everyone would have owned or known how to use well. Edward Hazen's 1837 Panorama of Professions, intended to instruct young boys in their careers, describes nine different building trades: architect, brickmaker, bricklayer, carpenter, glazier, joiner, painter, plasterer, and stone mason. Scott's 1826 Indiana Gazetteer records that four of these trades, bricklayer, carpenter, plasterer, and stone masons were represented in Indianapolis, then a town of about 800 inhabitants. Other necessary craftsmen such as brickmakers may have been itinerants.

In the early nineteenth century written agreements between the builder and owner were simple, informal affairs, often a one-page contract in which design specifications were summed up by saying that the house was to be built " in a good and workmanlike manner." Accompanied by a simple list of overall dimensions and perhaps a crude sketch, the rest of the details were left to trust. Most of the contracts required the owner to obtain materials for the builder. The construction deadline was noted and it was common for payment to be made in three installments. In some cases, the workmen were illiterate and signed with an x. Around the age of eight or nine, a young boy could be apprenticed to a master craftsman. The standard wording of the contract between the boy's father and the master, bound the boy " to learn the art, trade, mystery or occupation " of the selected trade. In exchange for the boy's free labor for a specified number of years, the master provided room, board, and schooling in reading and arithmetic. During the period most glass was imported from England and France. A common misconception is that the local blacksmith would have made all of the hardware for a house. Virtually all hardware used in America until about 1825 was made in Great Britain. After that, American hinges, locks, nails, and other hardware were produced in large factories and often shipped great distances.

45. What is the main topic of the passage?
(a) building trades
(b) house construction
(c) building apprenticeships
(d) building contracts

46. Which of following trades was represented in Indianapolis in the 1820s?
(a) joiner
(b) brickmaker
(c) bricklayer
(d) painter

47. The word �gdetails�h in line 12 is refers to
(a) design specifications
(b) overall dimensions
(c) crude sketch
(d) materials

48. What can be inferred from the passage about payment to the builder?
(a) because contracts were often simple informal affairs, the builder had no way of ensuring payment would be made
(b) payments were probably made at the beginning, middle, and end of building
(c) because many workmen were illiterate, they did not understand how to use the payments to ensure they made a profit from building the house
(d) builders weren�ft trusted to buy the materials themselves, and so they were only paid for their labor

49. What did an apprentice give the master craftsman as his part of the contract exchange?
(a) free labor
(b) education
(c) the father�fs guarantee
(d) nothing

50. Why does the author mention the local blacksmith in line 20?
(a) because they imported the glass
(b) to correct a common misunderstanding
(c) because they imported virtually all of the hardware
(d) to provide an example of a specialist in the building trades

[hsengoren]

My answers:
45.B 46.C 47.A 48.B 49.A 50.B

[Hippo]

I agree with Hsengoren.

[Hippo]

By the way, I have a small question. Why is subjunctive mood used in these sentences?

House construction in American in the early 1800's, even a seemingly simple log building, required a large number of tools that not everyone WOULD HAVE OWNED or known how to use well.

A common misconception is that the local blacksmith WOULD HAVE MADE all of the hardware for a house.