Read the text and answer the question! The first kind of air transportation was not a plane. It was a balloon. People traveledby balloon 100years before there were planes or jetaircraft. Thoseearlydaysof ballooningwereexciting, buttheywerealso dangerous. However, the danger did not stop the balloonists. The first real balloon flight was in France in 1783. Two Frenchmen, the Montgolfier brothers, made a balloon. They filled a very large paper bag with hot air. Hot air is lighter than cold air, so it goes up. The Montgolfier’s hot air balloon went up 1,000 feet in the sky. Later that same year, two other Frenchmen ascendedin the basket under a balloon. They built a fire under the balloon to make the air hot. This made the balloon stay up in the air for a few hours. But their balloon was tied to the ground. So it could not go anywhere. The first free balloon flight was in December1783. The balloon flew for 25 minutes over Paris. It traveled about 5 ½ miles.Soon balloonists tried longer flights. A major event in the history of ballooning was the first long flight over water. In 1785, an American and a Frenchman flew over the English Channel. They left England on a cold, clear January day. Afterabout an hour, their balloon began to descend toward the water. They threw out some equipment and food to make the balloon lighter. The balloon continued to fall, so they threw outalmosteverythinginthebasket—evensomeoftheirclothes. Finally, after about three hours, they landed in France, cold but safe. During the nineteenth century, ballooning became a popular sport. There were balloon races in Europe. Balloons were also used by scientists to study the air and by armies in wartime. After the airplane was invented, people lost interest in balloons. Planes were much faster and easier to control. But some people today still like to go up in balloons. High up in the balloon basket, they find quiet. They have a wonderful view of the world below. The writer’s purpose in writing the passage is ....

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    The first kind of air transportation was not a plane. It was a balloon. People traveled by balloon 100 years before there were planes or jet aircraft. Those early days of ballooning were exciting,  but they were also dangerous. However, the danger did not stop the balloonists.

    The first real balloon flight was in France in 1783. Two Frenchmen, the Montgolfier brothers, made a balloon. They filled a very large paper bag with hot air. Hot air is lighter than cold air, so it goes up. The Montgolfier’s hot air balloon went up 1,000 feet in the sky. Later that same year, two other Frenchmen ascended in the basket under a balloon. They built a fire under the balloon to make the air hot. This made the balloon stay up in the air for a few hours. But their balloon was tied to the ground. So it could not go anywhere.

    The first free balloon flight was in December 1783. The balloon flew for 25 minutes over Paris. It traveled about 5 ½ miles. Soon balloonists tried longer flights. A major event in the history of ballooning was the first long flight over water. In 1785, an American and a Frenchman flew over the English Channel. They left England on a cold, clear January day. After about an hour, their balloon began to descend toward the water. They threw out some equipment and food to make the balloon lighter. The balloon continued to fall, so they threw out almost everything in the basket—even some of their clothes. Finally, after about three hours, they landed in France, cold but safe.

    During the nineteenth century, ballooning became a popular sport. There were balloon races in Europe. Balloons were also used by scientists to study the air and by armies in wartime. After the airplane was invented, people lost interest in balloons. Planes were much faster and easier to control. But some people today still like to go up in balloons. High up in the balloon basket, they find quiet. They have a wonderful view of the world below.

The writer’s purpose in writing the passage is ....