25. Which of the following statements best explains why "the second of these was the more serious impediment"(Underlined)?

　　A) Chemical knowledge was limited to a small number of people.

　　B) The symbolic language used was very imprecise.

　　C) Very few new discoveries were made by alchemists.

　　D) The records of the chemical processes were not based on experiments.

　　Passage Two

　　Questions 26 to 30 are based on the following passage:

　　An important new industry, oil refining, grew after the Civil War. Crude oil, or petroleum a dark, thick ooze from the earth had been known for hundreds of years, but little use had ever　been made of it. In the 1850's Samuel M. Kier, a manufacturer in western Pennsylvania, began　collecting the oil from local scapages and refining it into kerosene. Refining, like smelting, is a　process of removing impurities from a raw material.

　　Kerosene was used to light lamps. It was a cheap substitute for whale oil, which was becoming harder to get. Soon there was a large demand for kerosene. People began to search for　new supplies of petroleum.

　　The first oil well was drilled by E. L. Drake, are tired railroad conductor. In 1859 he began　drilling in Titusville, Pennsylvania. The whole venture seemed so impractical and foolish that　onlookers called it "Drake's Folly". But when he had drilled down about 70 feet(21 meters),　Drake struck oil. His well began to yield 20 barrels of crude oil a day.

　　News of Drake's success brought oil prospectors to the scene. By the early 1860's these　wildcatters were drilling for "black gold" all over western Pennsylvania. The boom rivaled the　California gold rush of 1848 in its excitement and Wild West atmosphere. And it brought far　more wealth to the prospectors than any gold rush.

　　Crude oil could be refined into many products. For some years kerosene continued to be the　principal one. It was sold in grocery stores and door-to-door. In the 1880's and 1890's refiners　learned how to make other petroleum products such as waxes and lubricating oils. Petroleum　was not then used to make gasoline or heatingoil.

　　26.What is the best title for the passage?

　　A) Oil Refining: A Historical Perspective

　　B) The California Gold Rush: Get Rich Quickly

　　C) Private Property: Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted

　　D) Kerosene Lamps: A Light in the Tunnel

　　27.It can be inferred form the passage that kerosene was preferable to whale oil because whale　oil was too____.

　　A) expensive B) thick

　　C) hot D) polluted

　　28.According to the passage, many people initially thought that E. L. Drake had made a mistake　by____.

　　A) going on a whaling expedition

　　B) moving to Pennsylvania

　　C) searching for oil

　　D) retiring from his job

　　29.Why does the author mention the California gold rush?

　　A) To explain the need for an increased supply of gold

　　B) To indicate the extent of United States mineral wealth

　　C) To describe the mood when oil was first discovered

　　D) To argue that gold was more valuable than oil

　　30. Which of the following words could best replace the word "one" (Underlined)?A) Oil. B) Door.

　　C) Store. D) Product.

　　Passage Three

　　Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:

　　"Welcome to the U.S.A.! Major credit cards are accepted!"

　　By the millions they are coming no longer the tired, the poor, the wretched masses longing for a better living. These are the wealthy. "We don't have a budget," says a biologist from Brazil, as she walks with two companions through New York City's South Street." We just use our credit cards."