John James Audubon, nineteenth-century artist and naturalist, is known as one of the foremost
authorities on North American birds. Born in Les Cayes, Haiti, in 1785, Audubon was raised in
France and studied art under French artist Jacques-Louis David, After settling on his father's
Line Pennsylvania estáte at the age of eighteen, he first began to study and paint birds.
(5) In his young adulthood, Audubon undertook numerous enterprises, generally without a
tremendous amount of success; at various times during his life he was involved in a mercantile
business, a lumber and grist mili, a taxidermy business, and a school. His general mode of operating a
business was to leave it either unattended or in the hands of a partner and take off on excursions
through the wilds to paint the natural life that he saw. His business career carne to an end in 1819
(10) when he was jailed for debt and forced to file for bankruptcy.
It was at that time that Audubon began to seriously pursue the dream of publishing a collection
of his paintings of birds. For the next six years he painted birds in their natural habitats while his wife
worked as a teacher to support the family. His Birds of America, which included engravings of 435 of
his colorful and lifelike watercolors, was published in parts during the period from 1826 to 1838 in
(15) England. After the success of the English editions, American editions of his work were published in
1839, and his fame and fortune were ensured.
1. This passage is mainly about
(A) North American birds
(B) Audubon's route to success as a
painter of birds
(C) the works that Audubon published
(D) Audubon's preference for travel in
natural habitats
2. The word "foremost" in line 1 is closest in
meaning to
(A) prior
(B) leading
(C) first
(D) largest
3. In the second paragraph, the author
mainly discusses
(A) how Audubon developed his painting
style
(B) Audubon's involvement in a
mercantile business
(C) where Audubon went on his
excursions
(D) Audubon's unsuccessful business
practices
4. The word "mode" in line 7 could best be
replaced by
(A) method
(B) vogue
(C) average
(D) trend
5. Audubon decided not to continué to
pursue business when
(A) he was injured in an accident at a
grist mili
(B) he decided to study art in France
(C) he was put in prison because he owed
money
(D) he made enough money from his
paintings
6. The word "pursue" in line 11 is closest in
meaning to
(A) imagine
(B) share
(C) follow
(D) deny