In the early 1700s, sea travel was still very dangerous. One of the main reasons for this was that ship captains often did not know exactly where their ships were. Using the position of the sun, they could calculate how far north or south they were. But they had no reliable way to calculate their longitude, or how far east or west they were. The danger caused by this problem was shown in 1707. A British ship, which thought it was in the middle of the ocean, ran into some rocks off the coast of England, and 2,000 men died. To prevent this sort of accident, the British government offered the Longitude Prize in 1714. The Longitude Prize offered 20,000 British pounds (about $10,000,000 in today's money) to anyone who could find a reliable way to calculate a ship's longitude.

Many people, including some of the most famous scientists of the time, tried to win the Longitude Prize, but the man who won it was a carpenter with little education. John Harrison started his career as a carpenter, but he quickly moved into making clocks. When he heard about the Longitude Prize, he made a system for calculating longitude by matching the time of day with the position of the sun. There was only one problem clocks at that time were not very accurate.

Harrison spent most of his life inventing a more accurate clock. He had two major problems. The first was that most clocks had to be on a flat surface. If you tilted them, it made the clock go faster or slower. On a rocking ship, such a clock would never keep accurate time. The other problem was that changes in temperature would also make a clock go faster or slower. It took Harrison 34 years, but in 1762 he finally solved both of these problems. The scientific community did not believe a simple carpenter could have solved one of the most important science questions of the time. It took Harrison another 11 years before he finally received his money

19. The word position in the passage is closest in meaning to ........

A. brightness

B. light

C.location

D. Speed

20. The word they in the passage refers to

A. ships

B. rocks

C. reasons

D. sea travel

21. The author mentions A British ship in order to

A. give an example of why ship captains needed to know their longitude

B. give an example of how difficult it was to calculate longitude C. show that rocks were very dangerous to ships

D. suggest that the coast of England was an unsafe area for ship

22. The word accurate in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. good

B. exact

C. safe

D. Fast

23. According to the passage, how did Harrison use his clock to calculate longitude?

A. He used it to time how fast the ship traveled

B. He matched the time of day with the position of the sun.

C. He timed how long sea voyages took.

D. He matched the time of day with the speed of the ship.

24. Based on the information in paragraph 3, it can be inferred that

A. the temperature at sea can change a great deal

B. the femperature gets hotter as ships move to the east

C. clocks only work well in cold temperatures

D. clocks need to be on a flat part of a ship

25. According to the passage, why did it take eleven years for Harrison to receive his prize money?

A. Because his clocks were not accurate

B. Because England did not have enough money to pay him

C. Because the scientific community did not believe he could have solved the longitude problem

D. Because he had to solve the problems of his clocks

Question

In the early 1700s, sea travel was still very dangerous. One of the main reasons for this was that ship captains often did not know exactly where their ships were. Using the position of the sun, they could calculate how far north or south they were. But they had no reliable way to calculate their longitude, or how far east or west they were. The danger caused by this problem was shown in 1707. A British ship, which thought it was in the middle of the ocean, ran into some rocks off the coast of England, and 2,000 men died. To prevent this sort of accident, the British government offered the Longitude Prize in 1714. The Longitude Prize offered 20,000 British pounds (about $10,000,000 in today&#x27;s money) to anyone who could find a reliable way to calculate a ship&#x27;s longitude.

Many people, including some of the most famous scientists of the time, tried to win the Longitude Prize, but the man who won it was a carpenter with little education. John Harrison started his career as a carpenter, but he quickly moved into making clocks. When he heard about the Longitude Prize, he made a system for calculating longitude by matching the time of day with the position of the sun. There was only one problem clocks at that time were not very accurate.

Harrison spent most of his life inventing a more accurate clock. He had two major problems. The first was that most clocks had to be on a flat surface. If you tilted them, it made the clock go faster or slower. On a rocking ship, such a clock would never keep accurate time. The other problem was that changes in temperature would also make a clock go faster or slower. It took Harrison 34 years, but in 1762 he finally solved both of these problems. The scientific community did not believe a simple carpenter could have solved one of the most important science questions of the time. It took Harrison another 11 years before he finally received his money

19. The word position in the passage is closest in meaning to ........

A. brightness

B. light

C.location

D. Speed

20. The word they in the passage refers to

A. ships

B. rocks

C. reasons

D. sea travel

21. The author mentions A British ship in order to

A. give an example of why ship captains needed to know their longitude

B. give an example of how difficult it was to calculate longitude C. show that rocks were very dangerous to ships

D. suggest that the coast of England was an unsafe area for ship

22. The word accurate in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. good

B. exact

C. safe

D. Fast

23. According to the passage, how did Harrison use his clock to calculate longitude?

A. He used it to time how fast the ship traveled

B. He matched the time of day with the position of the sun.

C. He timed how long sea voyages took.

D. He matched the time of day with the speed of the ship.

24. Based on the information in paragraph 3, it can be inferred that

A. the temperature at sea can change a great deal

B. the femperature gets hotter as ships move to the east

C. clocks only work well in cold temperatures

D. clocks need to be on a flat part of a ship

25. According to the passage, why did it take eleven years for Harrison to receive his prize money?

A. Because his clocks were not accurate

B. Because England did not have enough money to pay him

C. Because the scientific community did not believe he could have solved the longitude problem

D. Because he had to solve the problems of his clocks

Accepted Answer

{"userId":5126828,"userName":"chianh"}

19. The word position in the passage is closest in meaning to …

C. location

→ "Using the position of the sun" nghĩa là "sử dụng vị trí của mặt trời", nên nghĩa gần nhất là "location".

20. The word they in the passage refers to …

A. ships

→ "they could calculate how far north or south they were" → "they" ở đây thay cho "ships" (tàu).

21. The author mentions A British ship in order to …

A. give an example of why ship captains needed to know their longitude

→ Con tàu đâm vào đá do không biết mình đang ở đâu. Tác giả kể chuyện này để làm rõ lý do cần xác định kinh độ.

22. The word accurate in the passage is closest in meaning to …

B. exact

→ "accurate clock" = đồng hồ chính xác.

23. According to the passage, how did Harrison use his clock to calculate longitude?

B. He matched the time of day with the position of the sun.

24. Based on the information in paragraph 3, it can be inferred that …

A. the temperature at sea can change a great deal

→ Vì thay đổi nhiệt độ khiến đồng hồ chạy sai → chứng tỏ nhiệt độ thay đổi nhiều.

25. According to the passage, why did it take eleven years for Harrison to receive his prize money?

C. Because the scientific community did not believe he could have solved the longitude problem

→ Đoạn cuối nói rõ: “The scientific community did not believe a simple carpenter could have solved…”

In the early 1700s, sea travel was still very dangerous. One of the main reasons for this was that ship captains often did not know exactly where their ships were. Using the position of the sun, they c...