The leaders of the Virginia Company recruited more settlers and reorganized the colony. They allowed the new settlers to own land. Those settlers began to grow tobacco, a crop they learned about from the Indians. By 1612, Virginians were shipping tobacco to England, which led other settlers to come over and try their hand at raising the crop. Because growing tobacco required large plots of land, the small tobacco farms grew into large farms, or plantations. Tobacco soon became the backbone of the Virginia economy and the first cash crop grown in America.

1.What is the main idea expressed in the reading?

a. the bad effects of growing tobacco.

b.the role tobacco played in the economy.

c.the attempts of the Virginia Company to recruit settlers.

d.the favorable conditions in Virginia for growing tobacco.

2.According to the reading, which statement contains a prediction of what might happen as a result of growing tobacco?

a.The settles will not have enough to eat since all their time will be spent growing tobacco.

b.The settlers will leave Virginia.

c.The large plantations will need more workers.

d.The market will be flooded with tobacco, causing the price to increase.