181. Wagon freighters continued operating throughout the 1870's and 1880's and into the 1890's,although over constantly shrinking routes, and coaches and wagons continued to crisscross the West wherever the rails had not yet been laid.
The word "crisscross" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) lead the way
(B) separate
(C) move back and forth
(D) uncover
182. The primary reason was skepticism that a railroad built through so challenging and thinly settled a stretch of desert, mountain, and semiarid plain could pay a profit.
The word "skepticism" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) doubt
(B) amazement
(C) urgency
(D) determination
183. In discussing the Pacific Railroad bill, the chair of the congressional committee bluntly stated that without government subsidy no one would undertake so unpromising a venture; yet it was a national necessity to link East and West together.
The word "subsidy" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) persuasion
(B) financing
(C) explanation
(D) penalty
184. However, the concept of number and the counting process developed so long before the time of recorded history (there is chaeological evidence that counting was employed by humans as far back as 50,000 years ago) that the manner of this development is largely conjectural.
The word "conjectural" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) complex
(B) based on guessing
(C) unbelievable
(D) supported by careful research
185. Probably the earliest way of keeping a count was by some simple tally method, employing the principle of one-to-one correspondence. In keeping a count of sheep, for example, one finger per sheep could be turned under.
The word "employing" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) using
(B) paying
(C) focusing
(D) hiring
186. Counts could also be maintained by making scratches in the dirt or on a stone, by cutting notches in a piece of wood, or by tying knots in a string.
The word "maintained" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) justified
(B) asserted
(C) located
(D) kept
187. Then, perhaps later, an assortment of vocal sounds was developed as a word tally against the number of objects in a small group.
The word "assortment" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) instrument
(B) variety
(C) surplus
(D) symbol
188. Their products, primarily silver plates and bowls, reflected their exalted status and testified to their customers' prominence.
The word "exalted" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) unusual
(B) uncertain
(C) surprising
(D) superior
189. Colonial coppersmithing also came of agein the early eighteenth century and prospered in northern cities.
The phrase "came of age" is closest in meaning to which of following?
(A) established itself
(B) declined
(C) became less expensive
(D) was studied
190. Fossils are the remains and traces (such as footprints or other marks ) of ancient plant and animal life that are more than 10,000 years old.
