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Directions: Please read the following passage within the limited time, and then do the exercise.
Length of Text: 364 words Time Allowed: 4.5 minutes
9. Philadelphia -- the Outdoor History Book
1
The word "Philadelphia" is Greek for "city of brotherly love." The city's most recent tourism campaign has the slogan: "The Place That Loves You Back." But the nickname I like best is one I heard a tour guide use: the outdoor history book. The United States was born in Philadelphia: the Declaration of Independence was adopted here in July 1776, and the Constitution was drafted here in September 1787. These events took place at the Pennsylvania State House, or Independence Hall as it's now called, which is only one of many of the city's great landmarks.
2 As you stroll through Philadelphia, you cannot help but marvel at the blend of the old and new: red brick colonial buildings standing right next to sleek glass office towers, cobblestone streets intersecting major urban roadways. I think it's this contrast that really gives the city its unique energy; people here are proud of their city and of the greatness that sprung forth from it. Let me put it another way: there are more universities in Philadelphia than in Boston and there are more championship boxers from Philadelphia than from any other American city. To me, that just screams of contrasting energy.
3 Philadelphia was founded in 1682 on the narrowest strip of land between the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers by William Penn, Jr. Penn designed the town along a grid system that served as a pattern for most American cities. He was a Quaker seeking freedom from persecution and many of the ideals he set forth for the city came to be the same ideals that helped define America. There's a 37-foot bronze Alexander Calder statue of Penn on top of City Hall.
4 By 1776, Philadelphia was the second largest English-speaking city in the world, second only to London. Its economic power helped to fuel the fledgling nation's revolutionary spirit, and it served as the country's first capital until 1800. Philadelphia was also a hotbed of new ideas in the arts and sciences, as evidenced by the breadth of Benjamin Franklin's life as a printer, publisher, author, inventor, scientist, and diplomat. There's a 20-foot high marble statue of Ben in the rotunda of The Franklin Institute Science Museum.
Comprehension Exercise