Philadelphia is a city known for many things. It is where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, and it was also the first capital of the United States. But one fact about Philadelphia is not so well-known: it is home to nearly 3,000 murals painted on the sides of homes and buildings around the
city. In fact, it is said that Philadelphia has more murals than any other city in the world, with the exception of Rome. How did this come to be?
More than 20 years ago, a New Jersey artist named Jane Golden started a program pairing troubled youth with artists to paint murals on a few buildings around the city. From this small project, something magical happened. The young people involved helped to create magnificent pieces of art, but there were other, perhaps more important benefits. The young people learned to collaborate and get along with many different kinds of people during the various steps required to paint and design a mural.
They learned to be responsible, because they needed to follow a schedule to make sure the murals were completed. They also learned to take pride in their community. It is hard for any resident to see the spectacular designs and not feel proud to be a part of Philadelphia.
Take a walk around some of the poorest neighborhoods in Philadelphia, neighborhoods full of broken windows and littered front steps, and you will find beautiful works of art on the sides and fronts of buildings. Of course the murals are not just in poor neighborhoods, but more affluent ones as well. Special buses take tourists to different parts of the city to see the various murals, which range from huge portraits of historical heroes, to cityscapes, to scenes depicting the diverse ethnic groups that call Philadelphia home.
As a result of its success, the mural program created by Jane Golden has now become the nation’s largest public art program and a model for other cities throughout the country seeking to help troubled youth.
Questions
1) The main focus of the passage is
A. an art program designed to help troubled youth
B. the many tourists who come to Philadelphia to see murals
C. the reasons why Philadelphia is a unique city
D. how Jane Golden came up with the idea to start a mural program
2) As used in paragraph1, the phrase “it is said” suggests that the author is
A. knowingly misleading the reader
B. using a quote from someone else
C. referring to something that is widely believed, but may be untrue
D. referring to something that he or she does not personally believe
3) As used in paragraph 1, the phrase “with the exception of Rome” means that
A. Rome has fewer murals than Philadelphia
B. Philadelphia has fewer murals than Rome
C. Rome has the most beautiful murals of all
D. Rome and Philadelphia are the only cities with murals
4) According to the passage, the murals in Philadelphia
I. draw tourists who want to see them
II. instill responsibility and pride in the people who paint them
III. are solely designed by the youth who paint them
A. I only
B. I and II only
C. II and III only
D. I, II, and III
5) As used in paragraph 3, which is the best definition of affluent?
A. popular
B. clean
C. well-known
D. wealthy
6) Based on information in the passage, the author most likely believes that
A. there are too many murals in Philadelphia
B. the mural program was an inspirational idea
C. all troubled youth should learn how to paint
D. every city in the country should adopt the mural program
7) Based on information in the passage, it can be inferred that the author believes the two best reasons for other cities to adopt the mural program are to
A. beautify their city and draw tourists
B. help troubled youth and beautify their city
C. have as many murals as Philadelphia and help troubled youth
D. draw tourists and surpass Philadelphia in terms of number of murals
8) In order to make this passage more engaging to readers, the author could have included
I. a brief history of Philadelphia
II. pictures of some of the murals
III. an interview with a program muralist
A. I only
B. I and II only
C. II and III only
D. I, II, and III