Reading passages

198 -Apart from being a transportation route, the 
Rhine ---- .
A) contributes to the tourist industry in the Ruhr 
region 
B) is seen by the Dutch as a link to the east 
C) provides natural beauty for the local people 
D) serves as a political barrier as well 
E) has no other important function 
Herodotus 
was a Greek historian born in 
Halicarnassus four years before the battle of 
Thermopylae. He is believed to have been exiled in 
his later life because of his opposition to the tyrant 
Lygdamis. He spent much time on Samos, thereafter 
travelling in the Persian Empire, Scythia and Egypt, 
observing with fascination the local customs and 
beliefs. He lived some time in Athens and travelled 
as an Athenian colonist to Thurli, in Italy, where he 
is supposed to have spent the rest of his life writing 
The Persian 
Wars, 
earning the title of Father of 
History from Caesar. This 9 -book work is 
an 
inquiry 
into the origins of, and a description of, the Persian 
invasions of Greece. The first 6 books tell of the 
customs, geography and history of the combatants 
and their neighbours; the last three treat the war 
itself. 
199-The passage suggests that Herodotus ---- .
A) made a fortune from the sale of his books 
B) is one of the earliest historical writers 
C) did not actually visit the places he wrote about 
D) played a major role in the history of the Persian 
Empire 
E) could speak Persian, Arabic and Scythian 
 
 
200 -It can be inferred from the passage that 
during the battle of Termophylae, Herodotus --
- .
A) took detailed notes and did not fight 
B) attacked the evil king Lygdamis 
C) was too young to have played a role 
D) lost his father through a Persian arrow 
E) was assisting the enemy Persian army