Passage Two
Questions 6 to 10 are based on the following passage.By the Treaty of Paris of 1763, which ended the war with the French and the Indians, England gained possession of Canada and all the territory east of the Mississippi River. French influence on this continent thus came to an end; England now controlled most of North America. But the war had been long and expensive. England had many debts. George III, king of England, after consulting with his advisers, decided that the American colonists should help pay some of the expenses of this war. A standing English army of 10,000 men had been left in the colonies for protection against the Indians. The English government also felt that the colonists should share in the expenses of maintaining this army. The result was a Series of measures, the Grenville Program, passed by Parliament and designed to raise money in the colonies. Some of these measures were accepted by the colonists, but one in particular, the Stamp Act, was met with great protest. The Stamp Act required that stamps, ranging in price from a few cents to almost a dollar, be placed on all newspapers, advertisements, bills of sale, wills, legal papers, etc. The Stamp Act was one of the causes of the American Revolution. It affected everyone, rich and poor alike. Some businessmen felt that the act would surely ruin their businesses.
Of all the voices raised in protest to the Stamp Act, none had greater effect than that of a young lawyer from Virginia-Patrick Henry. Henry had only recently been elected to the Virginia Assembly. Yet when the Stamp Act came up for discussion, he opposed it almost single-handedly. He also expressed, for the first time, certain ideas that were held by many Americans of the time but that never before had been stated so openly. “Is life so dear or peace so sweet, as to be bought at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!”
6. From the passage we learn that ______.
A. Britain took over Canada from the Indians in 1 763
B. there had been a war between the French and the Indians which ended in 1763
C. France used to have control of Canada and some areas east of the Mississippi River
D. the French still kept some influence in North America through the Treaty of Paris
7. The Grenville Program refers to ______.
A. King George III’s plan to gather money in North America
B. the British government’s desire to raise money in North America
C. a plan to share the expenses of maintaining an army in the American colonies
D. a decision of the British Parliament to collect money in the American colonies
8. The Stamp Act ______.
A. was an act about selling stamps at prices from a few cents to almost a dollar
B. was one of the causes of the American Revolution
C. required that all commercial and legal documents in America have stamps on them
D. chiefly affected business people who felt it would ruin their businesses
9. From the passage we learn that Patrick Henry ______.
A. had been a member of the Virginia Assembly for a long time
B. didn’t know what courses to take to complete his studies as a lawyer
C. was almost the only one who openly protested against the Stamp Act
D. didn’t value life or peace as much as other people did
10. This passage is mainly about ______.
A. one of the events leading to the American Revolution
B. the Treaty of Paris between Britain and France
C. the Grenville Program to raise money in the American colonies
D. Patrick Henry, a hero who opposed the Stamp Act
