RITE : CEREMONY

• A. affliction: blessing
• B. clamor : silence
• C. magnitude: size
• D. pall: clarity
• E. agitation: calm

The victory of the small Greek democracy of Athens over the mighty Persian empire in 490 B. C. is one of
the most famous events in history. Darius, king of the Persian empire, was furious because Athens had
interceded for the other Greek city-states in revolt against Persian domination. In anger the king sent an
enormous army to defeat Athens.
He thought it would take drastic steps to pacify the rebellious part of the empire. Persia was ruled by one
man. In Athens, however, all citizens helped to rule. Ennobled by this participation, Athenians were
prepared to die for their city-state. Perhaps this was the secret of the remarkable victory at Marathon,
which freed them from Persian rule. On their way to Marathon, the Persians tried to fool some Greek
city-states by claiming to have come in peace. The frightened citizens of Delos refused to believe this. Not
wanting to abet the conquest of Greece, they fled from their city and did not return until the Persians had
left. They were wise, for the Persians next conquered the city of Etria and captured its people. Tiny
Athens stood alone against PersiA. The Athenian people went to their sanctuaries. There they prayed for
deliverance. They asked their gods to expedite their victory. The Athenians refurbished their weapons and
moved to the plain of Marathon, where their little band would meet the Persians. At the last moment,
soldiers from Plataea reinforced the Athenian troops. The Athenian army attacked, and Greek citizens
fought bravely. The power of the mighty Persians was offset by the love that the Athenians had for their
city. Athenians defeated the Persians in archery and hand combat.
Greek soldiers seized Persian ships and burned them, and the Persians fled in terror.
Herodotus, a famous historian, reports that 6400 Persians died, compared with only 192 Athenians.
Their participation___to the Athenians.

• A. gave fear
• B. gave honor
• C. gave hope
• D. gave strength
• E. gave comfort

Magellan lost the favor of the king of Portugal when he became involved in a political ___.

• A. negotiation
• B. none of the above
• C. entanglement
• D. problems
• E. discussion

Many great inventions are greeted with ridicule and disbelief. The invention of the airplane was no
exception. Although many people who heard about the first powered flight on December 17,1903, were
excited and impressed, others reacted with peals of laughter. The idea of flying an aircraft was repulsive
to some people. Such people called Wilbur and Orville Wright, the inventors of the first flying machine,
impulsive fools.
Negative reactions, however, did not stop the Wrights. Impelled by their desire to succeed, they continued
their experiments in aviation. Orville and Wilbur Wright had always had a compelling interest in
aeronautics and mechanics. As young boys they earned money by making and selling kites and
mechanical toys. Later, they designed a newspaper-folding machine, built a printing press, and operated
a bicycle-repair shop. In 1896, when they read about the death of Otto Lilienthal, the brother's interest in
flight grew into a compulsion. Lilienthal, a pioneer in hang-gliding, had controlled his gliders by shifting his
body in the desired direction. This idea was repellent to the Wright brothers, however, and they searched
for more efficient methods to control the balance of airborne vehicles. In 1900 and 1901, the Wrights
tested numerous gliders and developed control techniques. The brothers' inability to obtain enough lift
power for the gliders almost led them to abandon their efforts. After further study, the Wright brothers
concluded that the published tables of air pressure on curved surfaces must be wrong.
They set up a wind tunnel and began a series of experiments with model wings. Because of their efforts,
the old tables were repealed in time and replaced by the first reliable figures for air pressure on curved
surfaces. This work, in turn, made it possible for them to design a machine that would fly. In 1903 the
Wrights built their first airplane, which cost less than one thousand dollars. They even designed and built
their own source of propulsion- a lightweight gasoline engine. When they started the engine on December
1 7, the airplane pulsated wildly before taking off. The plane managed to stay aloft for twelve seconds,
however, and it flew one hundred twenty feet. By 1905 the Wrights had perfected the first airplane that
could turn, circle, and remain airborne for half an hour at a time. Others had flown in balloons or in hang
gliders, but the Wright brothers were the first to build a full-size machine that could fly under its own power.
As the contributors of one of the most outstanding engineering achievements in history, the Wright
brothers are accurately called the fathers of aviation.
Lilenthal's idea about controlling airborne vehicles was ___the Wrights.

• A. opposite to the ideas of
• B. disliked by
• C. opposed by
• D. accepted by
• E. proven wrong by

Marie Curie was one of the most accomplished scientists in history. Together with her husband, Pierre,
she discovered radium, an element widely used for treating cancer, and studied uranium and other
radioactive substances. Pierre and Marie's amicable collaboration later helped to unlock the secrets of the
atom. Marie was born in 1867 in Warsaw, Poland, where her father was a professor of physics. At the
early age, she displayed a brilliant mind and a blithe personality. Her great exuberance for learning
prompted her to continue with her studies after high school. She became disgruntled, however, when she
learned that the university in Warsaw was closed to women.
Determined to receive a higher education, she defiantly left Poland and in 1891 entered the Sorbonne, a
French university, where she earned her master's degree and doctorate in physics. Marie was fortunate to
have studied at the Sorbonne with some of the greatest scientists of her day, one of whom was Pierre
Curie. Marie and Pierre were married in
1 895 and spent many productive years working together in the physics laboratory. A short time after they
discovered radium, Pierre was killed by a horse-drawn wagon in
1 906. Marie was stunned by this horrible misfortune and endured heartbreaking anguish. espondently she
recalled their close relationship and the joy that they had shared in scientific research. The fact that she
had two young daughters to raise by herself greatly increased her distress. Curie's feeling of desolation
finally began to fade when she was asked to succeed her husband as a physics professor at the
Sorbonne. She was the first woman to be given a professorship at the world-famous university. In 1911
she received the Nobel Prize in chemistry for isolating radium. Although Marie Curie eventually suffered a
fatal illness from her long exposure to radium, she never became disillusioned about her work.
Regardless of the consequences, she had dedicated herself to science and to revealing the mysteries of
the physical world.
Her ____ began to fade when she returned to the Sorbonne to succeed her husband.

• A. wretchedness
• B. anger
• C. ambition
• D. misfortune
• E. disappointment