PERTURB:

• A. postpone
• B. halt
• C. deactivate
• D. sedate
• E. stagnate

One of the most intriguing stories of the Russian Revolution concerns the identity of Anastasia, the
youngest daughter of Czar Nicholas II. During his reign over Russia, the Czar had planned to revoke
many of the harsh laws established by previous czars. Some workers and peasants, however, clamored
for more rapid social reform. In 1918 a group of these people, known as Bolsheviks, overthrew the
government. On July 17 or 18, they murdered the Czar and what was thought to be his entire family.
Although witnesses vouched that all the members of the Czar's family had been executed, there were
rumors suggesting that Anastasia had survived. Over the years, a number of women claimed to be Grand
Duchess AnastasiA. Perhaps the best -known claimant was Anastasia Tschaikovsky, who was also
known as Anna Anderson. In 1920, eighteen months after the Czar's execution, this terrified young
woman was rescued from drowning in a Berlin river. She spent two years in a hospital, where she
attempted to reclaim her health and shattered mind. The doctors and nurses thought that she resembled
Anastasia and questioned heer about her background. She disclaimed any connection with the Czar's
family. Eight years later, though, she claimed that she was AnastasiA. She said that she had been
rescued by two Russian soldiers after the Czar and the rest of her family had been killed. Two brothers
named Tschaikovsky had carried her into RomaniA. She had married one of the brothers, who had taken
her to Berlin and left her there, penniless and without a vocation. Unable to invoke the aid of her mother's
family in Germany, she had tried to drown herself. During the next few years, scores of the Czar's
relatives, exservants, and acquaintances interviewed her. Many of these people said that her looks and
mannerisms were evocative of the Anastasia that they had known. Her grandmother and other relatives
denied that she was the real Anastasia, however. Tried of being accused of fraud, Anastasia immigrated
to the United States in 1928 and took the name Anna Anderson. She still wished to prove that she was
Anastasia, though, and returned to Germany in 1933 to bring suit against her mother's family. There she
declaimed to the court, asserting that she was indeed Anastasia and deserved her inheritance. In 1957,
the court decided that it could neither confirm nor deny Anastasia's identity. Although we will probably
never know whether this woman was the Grand Duchess Anastasia, her search to establish her identity
has been the subject of numerous books, plays, and movies.
Witnesses ___ that all members of the Czar's family had been executed.

• A. gave assurance
• B. answer not stated
• C. hoped
• D. thought
• E. convinced some

Many great inventions are 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 brother's 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 them to design a machine that would fly. In 1903 the
Wrights built their first airplane, which cost less than one thousand dollars. They even designed and built
their own source of propulsion- a lightweight gasoline engine. When they started the engine on December
1 7, the airplane pulsated wildly before taking off. The plane managed to stay aloft for twelve seconds,
however, and it flew one hundred twenty 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 or in 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.
The idea of flying an aircraft was ___to some people.

• A. boring
• B. answer not available
• C. exciting
• D. needless
• E. distasteful

RUNT : SIBLING ::

• A. penny : currency
• B. peephole : window
• C. athlete : league
• D. veneer : shield
• E. spade : suit