Reading Comprehension Passage:
Wings
[excerpt from: https://www.britannica.com/technology/history-of-flight]
Thus, the story of the invention of the airplane begins in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, with the first serious research into aerodynamics—the study of the forces operating on a solid body (for instance, a wing when it is immersed in a stream of air). Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei in Italy, Christiaan Huygens in the Netherlands, and Isaac Newton in England all contributed to an understanding of the relationship between resistance (drag) and such factors as the surface area of an object exposed to the stream and the density of a fluid. Swiss mathematicians Daniel Bernoulli and Leonhard Euler and British engineer John Smeaton explained the relationship between pressure and velocity and provided information that enabled a later generation of engineers to calculate aerodynamic forces.
George Cayley, an English baronet, bridged the gap between physical theory, engineering research, and the age-old dream of flight. He gathered critical aerodynamic data of value in the design of winged aircraft, using instruments developed in the 18th century for research into ballistics. Cayley was also a pioneer of aircraft design, explaining that a successful flying machine would have separate systems for lift, propulsion, and control. While he did produce designs for ornithopters—machines in which flapping wings generated both lift and propulsion, he was the first experimenter to focus on fixed-wing aircraft.
Beginning in the 1870s, Otto Lilienthal, a German mechanical engineer, undertook the most important studies of wing design since the time of Cayley. His detailed measurements of the forces operating on a cambered wing at various angles of attack provided precise bits of data employed by later experimenters—including, in the United States, the engineer Octave Chanute and the Wright brothers—to calculate the performance of their own wings. Having published the results of his research, Lilienthal designed, built, and flew a series of monoplane and biplane gliders, completing as many as 2,000 flights between 1890 and the time of his fatal glider crash in August 1896.
At the outset of their own aeronautical experiments, the Wright brothers carefully studied the work of their predecessors and decided that there was little need for them to focus on wing design. “Men already know how to construct wings…,” Wilbur explained in 1901, “which when driven through the air at sufficient speed will not only sustain themselves but also that of the engine, and of the engineer as well.”
Reading Comprehension Questions on Vocabulary:
- What is aerodynamics?
A. The first serious research of the invention of the airplane.
B. The contribution to understanding the relationship between resistance and surface area.
C. The bridged gap between physical theory and engineering research.
D. The study of the focus operating on a solid body. (answer)
The answer is D. because the text states the word "aerodynamics" and its definition in the first sentence of the first paragraph of this passage. All other answer choices are not correct because they are not the definition provided in the text.
- The passage states "Cayley was also a pioneer of aircraft design..." The word pioneer used in this sentence means...
A. He built designs out of wood.
B. He was one of the first. (answer)
C. He explored new lands.
D. He immigrated to England.
The answer is B. due to the context of the words within the sentence that surround "pioneer" as well as the sentences before and after this sentence, and the whole of the passage which all have to do with the invention of the airplane. Answer choice A. is not correct because that is not a definition of the word "pioneer." Answer choice C. is not correct because although a correct definition of "pioneer," it is not how the word is used in this sentence. Answer choice D. is not correct for the same reason as answer choice C.—although a correct definition of the word "pioneer," it is not how the word is used in this sentence.
- What is the name of the machines in which flapping wings generate both lift and propulsion?
A. Airplane
B. Blimp
C. Ornithopter (answer)
D. Helicopter
The answer is C. due to the text stating this outright in the last sentence of the second paragraph: "While he did produce designs for ornithopters—machines in which flapping wings generated both lift and propulsion, he was the first experimenter to focus on fixed-wing aircraft." Answer choice A. is incorrect as the text does not state that an airplane. Answer choice B. is also incorrect as the text does not state a blimp. Answer choice D. is also incorrect as the text does not state a helicopter.