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Refer To The Following Passage For Questions 40

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Refer To The Following Passage For Questions 40

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nguyenbaotrangxinhdep123abc
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Refer to the following passage for questions 40-45.

Many great inventions are initially 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 brothers’ 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Because of their efforts, the old tables were repealed in time and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 the brothers to design
a machine that would fly. In 1903 the Wrights built their first airplane,
which cost less than $1,000. They even designed and built their own
source of propulsion-a lightweight gasoline engine. When they started
the engine on December 17, the airplane pulsated wildly before taking
off. The plane managed to stay aloft for 12 seconds, however, and it
flew 120 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 and 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.

40. The idea of flying an aircraft was ______ to some


people.

1. boring
2. distasteful
3. exciting
4. needless
5. Answer not available
41. People thought that the Wright brothers had
______.

1. acted without thinking


2. been negatively influenced
3. been too cautious
4. been mistaken
5. acted in a negative way
42. The Wrights’ interest in flight grew into a ______.

1. financial empire
2. plan
3. need to act
4. foolish thought
5. Answer not available
43. Lilienthal’s idea about controlling airborne
vehicles was _________ the Wrights.

1. proven wrong by
2. opposite to the ideas of
3. disliked by
4. accepted by
5. improved by

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