Đề luyện thi vào lớp 10 - Đề 8

The men who created America’s Constitution are often called the nation’s “founders.” But only one of those men, James Madison, is widely considered “the father of the Constitution.” Madison was elected president of the United States in 1808. He served for two terms. But many Americans remember Madison more for the work he did to strengthen the national government before he served as president. Madison was one of the writers of the state constitution in his home state of Virgina in 1776. Later, he proposed a more structured national government after the Revolutionary War. That conflict resulted in the American colonists separating from Britain. Madison imagined a three-part American government – one with an executive, a legislature, and an independent Supreme Court. His ideas became the basis for the U.S. Constitution. Tom Howard has served as an educator at Madison’s home in southern Virginia. He said Madison did not receive as much attention as some of America’s other founding members. “He’s not somehow historically as well-known as other…founding statesmen,” Howard said. “But he’s certainly every bit as important…We are not even sure there would be a Constitution had it not been for James Madison,” he added. Howard noted how James Madison used his own library to prepare for the nation’s Constitutional Convention. “He went up there and studied for months, and that’s having just a light breakfast and then studying throughout the entire day – before he finally took a break to rest up, to go back at it the next day.” Historians say Madison took very detailed notes during the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “He sat behind George Washington taking notes, and trying to determine how the debates were going in discussions that he could prepare for the next day, and how he would influence that.” Madison understood his notes were important not only for him. He knew they would also be interesting for historians and other people who wanted to know what happened at the meeting. He included information on speeches and ideas expressed by other delegates. After a new constitution was created at the convention, the legislatures of each state had to ratify, or vote to approve, the document. Madison and other supporters of the proposed government eventually succeeded in persuading the states to ratify the Constitution.

Yellowstone National Park in the western United States was the world’s first national park. Established in 1872, it is famous for its geothermal activity and wild animals. It includes beautiful mountains, deep canyons, lakes and rivers. Yellowstone is still one of the largest national parks in the U.S. It takes up almost 9,000 square kilometers. Most of the park lies within the western state of Wyoming. The park is unusual because of what lies underneath it. It sits on top of an ancient super volcano, known as the Yellowstone Caldera. The caldera remains an active volcano. A lake of hot liquid rock is about six kilometers under the park. Experts say this lake is under huge amounts of pressure. The pressure and heat cause geysers to shoot hot water out of the ground and mud to boil at Yellowstone. The park is home to more than 300 geysers. There are more geysers and hot springs in Yellowstone than any other place on Earth. “Old Faithful” is the name of the park’s most famous geyser because it erupts about every 90 minutes. Yellowstone is on a high plateau with an average height of 2,400 meters above sea level. This makes the weather very cold in winter, with January temperatures averaging between -18 degrees and -7 degrees Celsius. However, some areas of the park remain open to visitors throughout the year. Yellowstone Canyon is about 365 meters deep. The Yellowstone River runs through it and drops 93 meters in the Lower Falls. Visitors can walk on a path that brings them very close to the top of the falls. There, they can see and hear the powerful falls. In summer of 1988, forest fires burned large areas of the park. Most of those areas are now covered with plants and young trees. Home to wildlife Yellowstone is home to the largest group of wild animals in the lower 48 United States. These include bison, grizzly bear, elk, deer, moose, fox, beaver, coyote and wolves. In 2024, park officials estimated the bison population to be about 4,500 animals. That makes it the largest group of wild bison in the world. There is still a wild west in America…and its name is Yellowstone.

Wilbur and Orville Wright are the American inventors who made a small engine-powered flying machine. They proved that flight without the aid of gas-filled balloons was possible. Wilbur Wright was born in 1867 near Melville, Indiana. His brother Orville was born four years later in Dayton, Ohio. As they grew up, the Wright brothers experimented with mechanical things. Later, the Wright brothers began to design their own flying machine. They used ideas they had developed from earlier experiments with a toy helicopter, kites, the printing machine and bicycles. Soon, they needed a place to test their ideas about flight. The best place with the best wind conditions seemed to be a piece of sandy land in North Carolina along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. It was called Kill Devil Hill, near the town of Kitty Hawk. The Wright brothers did many tests with gliders at Kitty Hawk. With these tests, they learned how to solve many problems. By the autumn of 1903, Wilbur and Orville had designed and built an airplane powered by a gasoline engine. The plane had wings 12 meters across. It weighed about 340 kilograms, including the pilot. On December 17th, 1903, they made the world's first flight in a machine that was heavier than air and powered by an engine. Orville flew the plane 36 meters. He was in the air for 12 seconds. The two brothers made three more flights that day. Four other men watched the Wright brothers' first flights. One of the men took pictures. Few newspapers, however, noted the event. It was almost five years before the Wright brothers became famous. In 1908, Wilbur went to France. He gave demonstration flights at heights of 90 meters. A French company agreed to begin making the Wright brothers' flying machine. Orville made successful flights in the United States at the time Wilbur was in France. The United States War Department agreed to buy a Wright brothers' plane. Wilbur and Orville suddenly became world heroes. But the brothers were not seeking fame. They returned to Dayton where they continued to improve their airplanes. They taught many others how to fly. Wilbur Wright died of typhoid fever in 1912. Orville Wright continued designing and inventing until he died many years later, in 1948.