Middle Level ISEE Reading Practice Test 68

1 When most people think of the history
2 of transportation, they think of the invention
3 of the wheel as the starting point. The
4 wheel was invented around 3500 B.C.E.,
5 more than 5,000 years ago. Before then,
6 transportation was a difficult process,
7 especially for those who had anything to
8 carry. During prehistoric times, the only
9 way to get around was to walk. Children
10 and possessions were strapped to someone's
11 back if they needed to be carried. If the
12 load was too heavy for one person, it could
13 be strapped to a pole and carried by two.
14 The sledge was developed as a way to
15 drag a heavy load. Sledges were originally
16 just logs or pieces of animal skin upon
17 which a load was strapped and dragged.
18 In time, runners were put on the sledge,
19 and it evolved to what is now called a sled.
20 Around 5000 B.C.E., the first animals were
21 domesticated, or tamed. Then, donkeys and
22 oxen were used to carry heavy loads and
23 pull sledges. It wasn't until almost 1,500
24 years later that wheeled vehicles appeared.
25 It is believed that the wheel was invented
26 in Mesopotamia, in the Middle East. About
27 300 years later, the Egyptians invented the
28 sailboat. These two inventions changed
29 transportation forever.

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

• A. describe some of the things people used for transportation long ago
• B. describe the reasons that led to transportation discoveries
• C. explain the evolution of the sled
• D. give a detailed history of transportation

2. The passage suggests that prehistoric man used all of the following for carrying things EXCEPT

• A. animals
• B. children
• C. poles
• D. primitive sleds

3. The passage implies that early man

• A. was incapable of inventing the wheel any earlier than 3500 B.C.E.
• B. was interested in farming
• C. was interested in finding ways to help carry things
• D. was outgoing and friendly

4. It can be inferred from the passage that the reason animals were domesticated was

• A. to help carry large loads
• B. to move people and possessions around quickly
• C. to provide family pets
• D. to ward off danger

5. Which of the following describes the author's attitude toward the invention of the wheel?

• A. Admiration
• B. Disdain
• C. Indifference
• D. Regret

6. The passage suggests that the sledge was

• A. a precursor to the sled
• B. invented in conjunction with the wheel
• C. made exclusively of animal skin
• D. the only tool used for transportation at the time