Choose the best answer:
Margaret ____ in the school marathon for charity before.

 

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
If you go back far enough, everything lived in the sea. At various points in evolutionary history, enterprising individuals within many different animal groups moved out onto the land, sometimes even to the most parched deserts, taking their own private seawater with them in blood and cellular fluids. In addition to the reptiles, birds, mammals and insects which we see all around us, other groups that have succeeded out of water include scorpions, snails, crustaceans such as woodlice and land crabs, millipedes and centipedes, spiders and various worms. And we mustn’t forget the plants, without whose prior invasion of the land, none of the other migrations could have happened. Moving from water to land involved a major redesign of every aspect of life, including breathing and reproduction. Nevertheless, a good number of thoroughgoing land animals later turned around, abandoned their hard-earned terrestrial re-tooling, and returned to the water again. Seals have only gone part way back. They show us what the intermediates might have been like, on the way to extreme cases such as whales and dugongs. Whales (including the small whales we call dolphins) and dugongs, with their close cousins, the manatees, ceased to be land creatures altogether and reverted to the full marine habits of their remote ancestors. They don’t even come ashore to breed. They do, however, still breathe air, having never developed anything equivalent to the gills of their earlier marine incarnation. Turtles went back to the sea a very long time ago and, like all vertebrate returnees to the water, they breathe air. However, they are, in one respect, less fully given back to the water than whales or dugongs, for turtles still lay their eggs on beaches. There is evidence that all modern turtles are descended from a terrestrial ancestor which lived before most of the dinosaurs. There are two key fossils called Proganochelys quenstedti and Palaeochersis talampayensis dating from early dinosaur times, which appear to be close to the ancestry of all modern turtles and tortoise. You might wonder how we can tell whether fossil animals lived in land or in water, especially if only fragments are found. Sometimes it’s obvious. Ichthyosaurs were reptilian contemporaries of he dinosaurs, with
fins and streamlined bodies. The fossils look like dolphins and they surely lived like dolphins, in the water. With turtles it is a little less obvious. One way to tell is by measuring the bones of their forelimbs.
5. The word “incarnation” in the second paragraph could be best replaced by __________

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Although experts agree that traditional meetings are essential for making certain decisions and developing strategy, many employees view them as one of the most unnecessary parts of the workday. The result is not only hundreds of billions of wasted dollars, but the worsening of what psychologists call “meeting recovery syndrome”: time spent cooling off and regaining focus after a useless meeting.  It’s isn’t anything novel that workers feel fatigued after a meeting, but only in recent decades have scientists deemed the condition worthy of further investigation. Meeting recovery syndrome (MRS) is most easily understood as a slow replenishment of our limited mental resources. When an employee sits through an ineffective meeting their brain power is essentially being drained away, says Joseph A. Allen, a professor at the University of Utah. If they last too long, fail to engage employees or turn into lectures with little to no personal interactions, meetings will significantly diminish employees’ psychological stamina. Taking time to recover a must, but doing so comes at the expense of productivity.  As humans, when we transition from one task to another – such as from sitting in a meeting to doing normal work – it takes an effortful cognitive switch. We must make a big mental effort to stop the previous task and then expend significant mental energy to move on to the other. Some can bounce back from horrible meetings rather quickly, while others carry their fatigue until the end of the workday. It’s even worse when a worker has several meetings that are separated by only 30 minutes.  While no counter-MRS measures have been tested, Allen says one trick that might work is for employees to identify things or locations that quickly change their mood from negative to positive. As simple as it sounds, finding a personal happy place, going there and then coming straight back to work might be the key to reducing recovery time. Another solution is to ask ourselves if our meetings are even necessary in the first place. If all that’s on the agenda is a quickly catch-up, or some non-urgent information sharing, it may better for managers to send an e-mail to his or her subordinates instead. Most important, however, if for organizations to awaken to the concept of meetings being flexible, says Allen. We have to get rid of the acceptance of meetings as sites of pain, when they should be places of gain.” Allen says. 
2. Which of the following is NOT TRUE, according to paragraph 2?

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the undelined part that needs correction in each of the following questions:
Most of the early houses built in America were suited to farm life, as it was not until cities became manufacturing centers that colonists could survive without farming as their major occupation. Among the earliest farmhouses in America were those built in Plymouth Colony. Generally they consisted of one large rectangular room on the ground floor, called a hall or great room and having a fireplace built into one of the walls, and a loft overhead. Sometimes a lean-to was attached alongside the house to store objects such as spinning wheels, firewood, barrels, and tubs. The furnishings in the great room were sparse and crudely built. Tabletops and chest boards were split or roughly sawed and often smoothed only on one side. Benches took the place of chairs, and the table usually had a trestle base so it could be dismantled when extra space was required. One or two beds and a six-board chest were located in one corner of the room. The fireplace was used for heat and light, and a bench often placed nearby for children and elders, in the area called the inglenook.
The original houses in Plymouth Colony were erected within a tall fence for fortification. However, by 1630 Plymouth Colony had 250 inhabitants, most living outside the enclosure. By 1640, settlements had been built some distance from the original site. Villages began to emerge throughout Massachusetts and farmhouses were less crudely built. Windows brought light into homes and the furnishings and décor were more sophisticated.
As more diversified groups of immigrants settled the country, a greater variety of farmhouses appeared, from Swedish long-style houses in the Delaware Valley to saltbox houses in Connecticut, Dutch-Flemish stone farmhouses in New York, and clapboard farmhouses in Pennsylvania. From Georgian characteristics to Greek revival elements, farmhouses of varied architectural styles and building functions populated the landscape of the new frontier.

The main idea of the passage is

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Prosthetic body parts have been around in many shapes and forms for thousands of years. But up until just a few decades ago, they were often uncomfortable, provided little to no control for the user and didn’t look all that great either. Fast-forward to the present day and thanks to advances in medicine, robotics and neuroscience, a number of bionic body parts have been developed that have the power to be truly life-changing for those who need them the most, from a bionic eye to an artificial kidney to a thought-controlled robotic leg. Many of these bionic body parts are still in the early stages of production and are far from being rolled out to those that need them. That’s because there are all kinds of challenges to consider – not only the materials the body part is made from, but also integrating it into our bodies so it isn’t rejected, as well as developing ways for it to become part of our nervous system, so it behaves like any other limb or organ. Add to that the huge raft of financial, ethical, moral and political implications of enhancing our bodies with the help of technology. But it’s easy to overlook all of these concerns when the tech sounds so exciting, promising and like the robotic hands, arms and whole bodies of our sci-fi dreams. “The public perception of bionics is vastly different from the reality of prosthetics,” Kia Nazarpour, director of expertise in bio and environmental engineering, at Newcastle University, told us. "That’s thanks to science writers and researchers who showcase their work in a sci-fi oriented way to increase publicity."  
5. The word “showcase” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Scientists have uncovered a new threat to the world’s endangered coral reefs. They  have found that most are incapable of growing quickly enough to compensate for rising sea levels triggered by global warming. The study suggests that reefs – which are already suffering serious degradation because the world’s seas are warming and becoming more acidic – could also become overwhelmed by rising oceans.  The research – led by scientists at Exeter University and published in Nature this week – involved studying growth rates for more than 200 tropical western Atlantic and Indian Ocean reefs. It was found only 9% of these reefs had the ability to keep up with even the most optimistic rates of sea-level rises forecast by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. “For many reefs across the Caribbean and Indian Ocean regions, where the study focused, rates of growth are slowing due to coral reef degradation,” said Professor Chris Perry, of Exeter University. “Meanwhile, rates of sea-level rise are increasing – and our results suggest reefs will be unable to keep up. As a result, water depths above most reefs will increase rapidly through this century.”  Sea levels rose by several inches over the past century and measurements indicate the speed of this increase is now rising significantly. Two key factors are involved: climate change is making ocean water warmer and so it expands. And as ice sheets and glaciers melt, they increase amounts of water in the oceans.  At the same time, reefs are being weakened by ocean warming and also by ocean acidification, triggered as the seas absorb more and more carbon dioxide. These effects lead to bleaching events that kill off vast stretches of coral and limits their ability to grow.  “Our predictions, even under the best case scenarios, suggest that by 2100, the inundation of reefs will expose coastal communities to significant threats of shoreline change,” said co-author Prof Peter Mumby of Queensland University. This point was backed by US marine scientist Ilsa Kuffner writing in a separate comment piece for Nature. “The implications of the study are dire. Many island nations and territories are set to quickly lose crucial natural resources.” 
2. What does the word “compensate” in the first paragraph probably mean?

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Herman Melville, an American author best known today for his novel Moby Dick, was actually more popular during his lifetime for some of his other works. He traveled extensively and used the knowledge gained during his travels as the basis for his early novels. In 1837, at the age of eighteen, Melville signed as a cabin boy on a merchant ship that was to sail from his Massachusetts home to Liverpool, England. His experiences on this trip served as a basis for the novel Redburn (1849). In 1841, Melville set out on a whaling ship headed for the South Seas. After jumping ship in Tahiti, he wandered around the islands of Tahiti and Moorea.This South Sea island sojourn was a backdrop to the novel Omoo (1847). After three years awayfrom home, Melville joined up with a U.S. naval frigate that was returning to the eastern United States around Cape Horn. The novel White Jacket (1850) describes this lengthy voyage as a navy seaman. With the publication of these early adventure novels, Melville developed a strong and loyal following among readers eager for his tales of exotic places and situations. However, in 1851, with the publication of Moby Dick, Melville's popularity started to diminish. Moby Dick, on one level the saga of the hunt for the great white whale, was also a heavily symbolic allegory of the heroic struggle of humanity against the universe. The public was not ready for Melville's literary metamorphosis from romantic adventure to philosophical symbolism. It is ironic that the novel that served to diminish Melville's popularity during his lifetime is the one for which he is best known today.
5. The passage implies that Melville stayed in Tahiti because......

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
There is still no consensus about how the Neanderthals were driven to extinction,  leaving our Homo sapien ancestors without any competition. The disappearance of the native European Neanderthals is odd partly because their shorter, stockier bodies must have made them better able to withstand the colder temperatures that prevailed when their cousins from Africa entered Europe. With a smaller surface area the Neanderthal body would have been able to retain more heat. The once common assumption that the key was the inferior vocal abilities of the Neanderthal has since been disproved by research on the Neanderthal hyoid bone, located in the throat. The larger skull capacity and brain is another respect in which they do not seem to have been inferior.  It was once thought that proof of a superior intellect was to be found in the narrower Homo sapien stone tools known as “blades”, which were assumed to be more efficient than the broader “flakes” used by the Neanderthals. In a number of important respects, including durability, this idea has proved to be unfounded. However, the blades would have been more effective as tips for throwing spears whereas the stone flakes would have been limited to the kind of thrusting spears the Neanderthals are believed to have used. This could have combined with the greater agility of the Homo sapiens to give them a distinct advantage in hunting on open terrain. Crucial in this respect were the larger canals in the Homo sapien inner ear, providing a more acute sense of balance, in addition to the longer limbs and lighter build. The Neanderthal technique of hiding and lying in wait for passing animals ceased to be viable when the dense forests of Europe began to recede. After a period of co-existence with their cousins, the Neanderthals were slowly eradicated.
3. The hyoid bone is evidence of __________

Find synonym:
I'm totally exhausted after having finished successive assignments in only a week.

Find synonym:
Every year, the United Nations set up an activity to call for world-wide support for the rights and well-being of disabled people.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
The blazes, which have been burning across Australia for months, have razed homes  and wiped out entire towns. Across Australia, nearly 18 million acres of land have been burned – much of it bushland, forests and national parks, home to the country’s beloved and unique wildlife. Nearly half a billion animals have been impacted by the fires in NSW alone, with millions potentially dead, according to ecologists at the University of Sydney. That figure includes birds, reptiles, and mammals, except bats. It also excludes insects and frogs. The total number of animals affected nationwide could be as high as a billion, according to Christopher Dickman, the University of Sydney ecologist who led the report.  "The scale of these fires is unprecedented," said Dieter Hochuli, an environmental sciences professor at the University of Sydney. “There are substantial concerns about the capacity of these (ecosystems) to rebound from the fires.”  Some animals, like koalas and kangaroos for instance, are primarily killed by being incinerated in flames or choking on smoke. Nearly a third of all koalas in NSW have died and about a third of their habitat has been destroyed. Photos from the ground show koalas with singed fur, raw patches of burnt flesh, and blistered paws. Even if they are rescued and treated, sometimes their injuries are simply too extensive to survive. Wombats have also been hit hard – they don’t cope well with heat or stress, and panic at the smell of smoke. The small, stubby-legged marsupials can’t run very fast or far, and are largely at the mercy of the flames. Smaller mammals and reptiles can escape the blazes by burrowing underground or hiding in rocks – but afterward, there is no food or shelter left, only certain predators that are drawn to fire because they know it brings easy prey. Koalas and kangaroos are spread out across the country, so they’re not in danger of going extinct due to the blazes. But other animals that live in niche environments and have smaller populations may have been wiped out entirely; these include the eastern bristlebird, the mountain pygmy possum and the corroboree frog.  These animals’ recovery depends not only on their population size, but also on the condition of their habitat. For instance, plants grow slower in high-altitude alpine regions, meaning it could be a very long time before species are able to return.
3. The word “It” in paragraph 1 refers to _____

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Parents in most cases want the best for their children, and to ensure this, they are  pushed to actively engage in their children’s lives, to ensure that they are making the right choices. Some parents, however, go to the extent of wanting to have the upper hand even when it comes to taking major decisions, such as choosing a career.  Local comedian and actor, Michael Sengazi, was obliged by his parents to pursue a career in law, a path he followed when he joined University of Kigali, but deep down he knew this wasn’t his dream career. This is why after graduating he chose to follow his passion —comedy. His parents failed to understand how a qualified lawyer could decide to go for comedy because they didn’t see it as a ‘well-paying job’. He had a challenge of convincing them to bless his journey. “So, I asked them to give me one year to try and see if comedy would work out for me. I worked hard and my parents realised that I could achieve big things, and they gave me the freedom to pursue the career.”  Bienvenue Muragwa, a career consultant at The Southern New Hampshire University based in Rwanda, says that parents are only allowed to guide the child during the career guidance process, but not take the final decision. “Parents are not allowed to choose or take the final decision for their children as the performance of the student is the assessing parameter of the career to be pursued,” he explains.  Shalom Azabe, a graduate in general counselling at Kampala Christian University, says in most African countries, not only Rwanda, children are overly dependent on their parents, yet this shouldn’t be the case. She recommends picking a leaf from westerners who endeavour to learn their children’s interests, something she says aides them in career guidance for the child. “Normally, a child starts to demonstrate a choice in career at 14 years of age. This is when parents need to sit down and make analysis that would help them guide their child in choosing the fitting option to undertake. This is in fact considered as overprotection as parents want to exercise their authority on their kids unwillingly, yet this affects them psychologically, and when the kid later on fails, they encounter a regret of pursuing studies that were not their choice in the first place,” Azabe said.
1. Which best serves as the title for the passage?

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Paul Watson is an environmental activist. He is a man who believes that he must do something, not just talk about doing something. Paul believes in protecting endangered animals, and he protects them in controversial ways. Some people think that Watson is a hero and admire him very much. Other people think that he is a criminal. On July 16th, 1979, Paul Watson and his crew were on his ship, which is called the Sea Shepherd. Watson and the people who work on the Sea Shepherd were hunting on the Atlantic Ocean near Portugal. However, they had a strange prey, instead of hunting for animals, their prey was a ship, the Sierra. The Sea Shepherd found the Sierra, ran into it and sank it. As a result, the Sierra never returned to the sea. The Sea Shepherd, on the other hand, returned to its home in Canada. Paul Watson and his worked thought that they had been successful. The Sierra had been a whaling ship, which had operated illegally. The captain and the crew of the Sierra did not obey any of the international laws that restrict whaling. Instead, they killed as many whales as they could, quickly cut off the meat, and froze it. Later, they sold the whale meat in countries where it is eaten. Paul Watson tried to persuade the international whaling commission to stop the Sierra. However, the commission did very little, and Paul became impatient. He decided to stop the Sierra and whaling ships in any way that he could. He offered to pay $25,000 to an one who sank any illegal whaling ship, and he sank the Sierra. He acted because he believed that the whales must be protected. Still, he acted without the approval of the government; therefore, his action controversial. Paul Watson is not the only environmental activist. Other men and women are also fighting to protect the Earth. Like Paul Watson, they do not always have the approval of their governments, and like Watson, they have become impatient. Yet, because of their concern for the environment, they will act to protect it.
9. The main idea of paragraph 3 is that: 

Find synonym:
The balance and harmonious blending of various elements contribute to Taj Mahal's unique beauty.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
The White House, the official home of the United State President, was not built in time for George Washington to live in it. It was begun in 1792 and was ready for its inhabitants, President and Mrs. John Adams, who moved in on November 1, 1800. When the Adams moved in, the White House was not yet complete, and the Adams suffered many inconveniences; for example, the main staircase was incomplete, which hindered movement from floor to floor, and the future laundry yard was merely a pool of mud, so wet laundry was hung in the unfinished East Room to dry. Thomas Jefferson, the third president, improved the comfort of the White House in many respects and added new architectural features such as the terraces on the east and west ends. When the British forces burned the White House on August 24, 1818, President Madison was forced to leave. All the remained after the fire was the exterior walls, the interior was completely destroyed. It was not until December of 1817 that the following president, James Monroe was able to move into a rebuilt residence. Since then, the White House has continued to be modified but has been continuously occupied by each succeeding US president.
4. It can be inferred from the passage that John Adams was .

Choose the best answer:
If/ people/ breath/ contaminate/ air, they/ have/ breathing problems.

Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the undelined part that needs correction in each of the following questions:
If parents bring up a child with the sole aim of turning the child into a genius, they will cause a disaster. According to several leading educational psychologists, this is one of the biggest mistakes which ambitious parents make. Generally, the child will be only too aware of what his parents expect, and will fail. Unrealistic parental expectations can cause great damage to children.
However, if parents are not too unrealistic about what they expect their children to do, but are ambitious in a sensible way, the child may succeed in doing very well — especially if the parents are very supportive of their child. Michael Collins is very lucky. He is crazy about music, and his parents help him a lot by taking him to concerts and arranging private piano and violin lessons for him. They even drive him 50 kilometers twice a week for violin lessons. Michael's mother knows very little about music, but his father plays the trumpet in a large orchestra. However, he never makes Michael enter music competitions if he is unwilling.
Winston Smith, Michael's friend, however, is not so lucky. Both his parents are successful musicians, and they set too high a standard for Winston. They want their son to be as successful as they are and so they enter him for every piano competition held. They are very unhappy when he does not win. Winston is always afraid that he will disappoint his parents and now he always seems quiet and unhappy.

Who have criticized the methods of some ambitious parents?

Choose the best answer:
She has been stressed lately so she needs to _____ a break.

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Environmentalists often fear that tourists will trample all over sensitive natural resource areas, but tourism may bring the needed and only economic incentives to help drive conservation, said Bynum Boley. Ecotourism and natural resource conservation already have a mutually beneficial relationship that is ideal for creating a sustainable partnership. “Ecotourism destinations benefit in the form of enhanced tourism competitiveness from the protection of quality natural resources,” he said. "Meanwhile, the conservation of these natural resources is increasingly valued since these pristine natural resources are the foundation of the ecotourism industry and the driver of all economic benefits associated with ecotourism." Tourism is a $7.6 trillion global industry, provides 277 million jobs and is a primary income source for 20 of the world’s 48 least-developed countries. It also subsidizes environmental protection and helps protect, conserve and value cultural resources that might otherwise be undervalued by the host community, Boley said. In the newpaper, Boley and coauthor Gary Green said that despite past tension between the tourism industry and environmentalists, the two should team up as allies to fight off increasing conversion of land away from its natural state. Ecotourists not only provide a boost to the economy in such places, they can also motivate landowners into keeping the environment in its natural state instead of converting it into something unsustainable. They could also influence the public perception of conservation, Boley explained, which does not often favor environmental protection. “The public has become increasing less prone to respond to environmental messages,” he said. “Economic messages are needed in order to attract the public’s interest.” Too often, Boley and Green said, unique natural resource areas are converted into urban, suburban and agricultural developments without considering their ecotourism potential. In addition to the lost ecotourism revenue, there are a host of negative environmental consequences such as biodiversity loss, water and food shortages and the land being unable to mitigate the effects of climate change. These areas are not valued for their unique attributes or the valuable natural resources they provide, Green said, “so we lose them.” Tourists have historically been seen as having a negative impact on the environment. Critics complain that they violate fragile and threatened natural environments while contributing to greenhouse gases from the increased number of flights to these exotic and often remote locales. While these criticisms are justified, Boley and Green said responsible programs promote education of ecological conservation and environmental sustainability, fostering a greater understanding and appreciation of these exotic areas  
7. The word “they” in the last paragraph refers to __________

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D):
Political and economic reforms launched in 1986 have transformed the country from  one of the poorest in the world, with per capita income around US $100, to lower middle income status within a quarter of a century with per capita income of around US$ 2,100 by the end of 2015.  Vietnam’s per capita GDP growth since 1990 has been among the fastest in the world, averaging 5.5 percent a year since 1990, and 6.4 percent per year in the 2000s. Vietnam’s economy continued to strengthen in 2015, with estimated GDP growth rate of 6.7 percent for the whole year.  The Vietnamese population is also better educated and has a higher life expectancy than most countries with a similar per capita income. The maternal mortality ratio has dropped below the upper-middle-income country average, while under-five mortality rate has fallen by half, to a rate slightly above that average. Access to basic infrastructure has also  improved substantially. Electricity is now available to almost all households, up from less than half in 1993. Access to clean water and modern sanitation has risen from less than 50 percent of all households to more than 75 percent.  Vietnam’s Socio-Economic Development Strategy (SEDS) 2011-2020 gives attention to structural reforms, environmental sustainability, social equity, and emerging issues of macroeconomic stability. It defines three “breakthrough areas”: promoting human resources/skills development (particularly skills for modern industry and innovation), improving market institutions, and infrastructure development. In addition, the five-year Socio-Economic Development Plan 2011-2015 focused on three critical restructuring areas - the, banking sector, state-owned enterprises and public investment that are needed to achieve these objectives. The recent draft of the SEDP 20162020 acknowledges the slow progress of the reform priorities of the SEDP 2011-2015. With agriculture still accounting for almost half the labor force, and with significantly lower labor productivity than in the industry and services sectors, future gains from structural transformation could be substantial. The transformation from state to private ownership of the economy is even less advanced. The state also wields too much influence in allocating land and capital, giving rise to heavy economy wide inefficiencies. So, adjusting the role of the state to support a competitive private sector-led market economy remains a major opportunity. This will be important for enhancing productivity growth which has been stagnating for a long time.
1. It took Vietnam about _______ years to move from the poorest to the middle income status?

Read the following passage and choose the best answer (A, B, C, D)
Andrew Jackson Beard lived an extraordinary life for a black American inventor. Unlike the vast majority of inventors who never profit from their patents, he profited from his inventions. Andrew Beard was born a slave on a plantation in Woodland, Alabama, in 1849, shortly before slavery ended. He received emancipation at age 15 and he married at age 16. Andrew Beard was a farmer, carpenter, blacksmith, a railroad worker, a businessman and finally an inventor. He grew apples as a farmer near Birmingham, Alabama for five years before he built and operated a flour mill in Hardwicks, Alabama. His work in agriculture led to tinkering with improvement for plows. In 1881, he patented his first invention, an improvement to the double plow, and sold the patent rights for $4,000 in 1884. His design allowed for the distance between the plow plates to be adjusted. That amount of money would be the equivalent of almost $100,000 today. In 1887, Andrew Beard patented a second plow and sold it for $5,200. This patent was for a design that allowed the pitch of the blades of plows or cultivators to be adjusted. The amount he received would be the equivalent of about $130,000 today. In 1897, Andrew Beard patented an improvement to railroad car couplers. His improvement came to be called the Jenny Coupler. It was one of many that aimed to improve the knuckle coupler patented by Eli Janney in 1873 (patent US138405). The knuckle coupler did the dangerous job of hooking railroad cars together, which formerly was done by manually placing a pin in a link between the two cars. Beard, himself had lost a leg in a car coupling accident. As an ex-railroad worker, Andrew Beard had the right idea that probably saved countless lives and limbs. Beard received three patents for automatic car couplers. These are US594059 granted November 23, 1897, US624901 granted May 16, 1899, and US807430 granted on May 16, 1904. While there were thousands of patents filed at the time for car couplers, Andrew Beard received $50,000 for the patent rights to his Jenny coupler. This would be just shy of 1.5 million dollars today. Congress enacted the Federal Safety Appliance Act at that time to enforce using automatic couplers. Andrew Jackson Beard was inducted into the National
Inventors Hall of Fame in 2006 in recognition of his revolutionary Jenny coupler
7. The word “inducted” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to _______