How did Texas pay the people who built the capitol?
Basic Understanding of Spoken English · TELPAS Grades 8–9 listening. The correct answer, and the reasoning behind it.
Reporting category 2: understand the main points and important details of spoken stories and informational passages, about everyday life and school subjects.
Listen to the lesson.
A Capitol Paid For With Land
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Ms. Howard: If you've ever visited Austin, you've probably seen the Texas State Capitol, with its tall dome and its pinkish red stone. It was finished in eighteen eighty-eight, and it is actually a little taller than the United States Capitol in Washington.
Ms. Howard: Here's the surprising part. Back then, Texas was land rich but cash poor. The state owned millions of acres of open land, but it didn't have much money to spend. So instead of paying the builders with money, Texas paid them with land, about three million acres in the Panhandle.
Ms. Howard: The builders could not sell that much land all at once, so they turned it into an enormous cattle ranch, one of the largest in the world at that time.
Ms. Howard: The stone came from a hill near Marble Falls. It is a kind of granite that Texans call sunset red. So the next time you see the capitol, remember that it was paid for with land, not with money.
The question
Choose the best answer.
How did Texas pay the people who built the capitol?
- With granite from Marble Falls
- With cattle from a ranch
- With land in the PanhandleCorrect answer
- With money from the United States
Why “With land in the Panhandle” is correct
This is a detail question. Ms. Howard says Texas paid the builders "with land, about three million acres in the Panhandle," and repeats the idea at the end. The wrong answers use other details from the lesson in the wrong place.
Why the other answers are wrong
- With granite from Marble Falls — The granite was used to build the capitol, not to pay for it.
- With cattle from a ranch — The builders made a ranch after they got the land.
- With money from the United States — The lesson says Texas paid with land, "not with money."
Practice more of this
More listening practice for Grades 8–9, or see the TELPAS practice test for 8th and 9th grade.
This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Texas Education Agency or the official TELPAS program. All questions here are original practice material written to match the published test design.