In the third decade of the nineteenth century, Americans began to define their character in light of the railroads that had just been introduced. They liked the idea that it took special people to foresee and capitalize on the promise of science. Railroad promoters, using the steam engine as a metaphor for what they thought Americans were and what they thought Americans were becoming, frequently discussed parallels between the locomotive and national character, pointing out that both possessed youth, power, speed, single-mindedness, and bright prospects.

However, these metaphors also had their dark side. A locomotive was quite unlike anything Americans had ever seen. It was large, mysterious and dangerous; many thought that it was a monster waiting to devour the unwary. There was a suspicion that a country founded upon Jeffersonian agrarian principles had bought a ticket and boarded a train pulled by some iron monster into the dark recesses of an unknown future.

To ease such public apprehensions, promoters, poets, editors, and writers alike adopted the notion that locomotives were really only iron horses, an early metaphor that lingered because it made steam technology ordinary and understandable. Iron horse metaphors assuaged fears about inherent defects in the national character, prompting images of a more secure future, and made an alien technology less frightening, and even comforting and congenial.

For the following question, consider each of the choices separately and select all that apply:

1. From the information in the passage, which of the following can be inferred about the railroads?

A. Some Americans viewed the introduction of the railroads with skepticism.
B. The railroads proved extremely beneficial for Americans in general.
C. Many prominent people of that time supported the introduction of railroads.



2. Which of the following assertions is not consistent with the information in the passage?

A. Railroads created trepidation in the minds of a lot of Americans.
B. Americans viewed the inventors of the railroad with respect.
C. Parallels were drawn between the railroads and the character of the American people to project the railroads in a positive light.
D. The railroads helped to remove the inherent defects in the national character.
E. The railroads were introduced in America in the nineteenth century.



3. Select the sentence in the passage that mentions one of the things that was done to allay the fears of people with regards to railroads.