He 20th Century technology time line

Read the questions. Circle the best answer.
1. Why did the bells ring?
a. 
to warn people about the earthquake
b. 
the earthquake shook the bells
2. What did the people do when the tenement house collapsed?
a. 
They screamed.
b. 
They ran outside.
3. What was making a lot of noise?
a. 
dust rising and Father’s coughing
b. 
metal tearing and bricks crashing
4. Who is in the room with the boy?
a. 
Father
b. 
Miss Whitlaw
5. Who is Miss Whitlaw?
a. 
someone who lives on the other side of the city
b. 
someone who lives very nearby

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San Francisco | 61
IV. VOCABULARY BUILDING
A.
Synonyms
Some of the words in this article have synonyms with very similar meanings. 
Read the following words and their synonyms. Then complete the sentences 
with an appropriate word. More than one answer is possible for each sentence. 
Use the correct form for the verbs.
shudder (v.) 
shake
collapse (v.) 
fall down
twist (v.) 
turn
immense (adj.) 
huge
debris (n.) 
rubble
mound (n.) 
pile
1. The dogs were looking for victims in the ___________________.
2. There are still some buildings in San Francisco that didn’t 
___________________ during the 1906 earthquake.
3. The earthquake caused ___________________ problems for San Francisco.
4. There was a ___________________ of clothing on top of the washing machine.
5. Be careful. The road ___________________ sharply up ahead.
6. The whole house ___________________ during the earthquake, but it didn’t 
collapse.
7. Many people were injured when the roof ___________________ on top of them.
8. He hurt his ankle when he ___________________ it during the earthquake.
9. They put the rocks in large ___________________ by the side of the road.
10. The economic loss caused by the earthquake was ___________________.
11. They had to clear the ___________________ from the old building.
12. People ___________________ when they are cold or frightened.
V. UNDERSTANDING GRAMMAR
A.
Read about the past perfect
The past perfect is formed with had + the past participle of a verb. It shows that 
one action or event happened before another one in the past. It often appears 
in past tense narratives like this story.
Look at these examples of the past perfect from the story:
the earthquake had shaken them in their steeples
(The earthquake shook the bells before the boy heard them.)
what man had built came undone

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62 | Better Reading English
(Man built the buildings before the earthquake knocked them down.)
the next moment it had fallen
(The building was already completely collapsed.)
B.
Identify time order
Each sentence contains two verbs. Underline the verb that happened first.
1. He had moved to San Francisco several years before the earthquake hit.
2. They picked up the debris that had fallen during the quake.
3. They helped neighbors that had gotten hurt.
4. They couldn’t ight the ire because water pipes had broken in the 
earthquake.
C.
Use the grammar
Complete each sentence with the verbs in parentheses. Put one verb in the 
simple past and the other verb in the past perfect.
1. He _________________ (wake up) early the morning that the earthquake 
_________________ (hit).
2. The people _________________ (realize) that they _________________ (not 
prepared) for such a disaster.
3. The ire _________________ (destroy) many buildings that 
_________________ (not fall) in the quake.
4. She _________________ (go) back to her house, but it _________________ 
(collapse).
5. He _________________ (remember) that the building _________________ 
(shudder) violently before it fell down.
VI. READ IT AGAIN
Read the excerpt again. Answer the questions.
1. What were the houses made of?
2. What words does the writer use to describe sounds?

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San Francisco | 63
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ALCATRAZ
I. PRE-READING
A.
Background information
Alcatraz Island is right in the middle of beautiful San Francisco Bay and visible 
from the many high places in the city. These days it seems like a strange place 
for a prison. However, prisoners of different kinds were held on Alcatraz for over 
100 years. The prison closed in 1963, and the island is now a popular tourist 
destination. These paragraphs tell a small part of Alcatraz’s long history.
B.
Words to know before you read
____ 1. fortress 
a. prisoner
____ 2. lighthouse 
b. a stream or movement of water
____ 3. mineral resources 
c. amount something can hold
____ 4. miner 
d. useful metals and rocks, like gold and 
silver
____ 5. current 
e. a tower with a warning light for ships
____ 6. captive 
f. a person who works to take minerals 
from the earth
____ 7. capacity 
g. a strong, well-protected building or 
group of buildings
C.
Reading strategy
You can learn what period of history is covered by a reading by scanning for 
dates before you begin. Look quickly for the dates in this reading and write 
them in order.
__________ __________
__________ __________
__________ __________
__________
II. READ
Read the text. Mark the words you don’t know, but don’t stop reading to look 
them up.
By 1853, U.S. Army engineers had started constructing a military fortress on the 
island, along with the Paciic Coast’s irst operating lighthouse. In 1848, the 
discovery of gold along the American River in California brought shiploads of 
miners from around the world to the West Coast in search of the precious 
metal. As word spread around the globe of abundant wealth in California, the 

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64 | Better Reading English
III. COMPREHENSION CHECK
These events are not in order. Write the correct date next to each event.
__________ Gold was discovered in California.
__________ The cell house was almost full.
__________ Prisoners from the Spanish-American War came to the island.
__________ The army began building a fortress.
__________ Nonmilitary prisoners were transferred to the prison because of the 
earthquake.
__________ A three-story prison building was built on the island.
__________ Civil War prisoners started coming to Alcatraz.
IV. VOCABULARY BUILDING
A.
Word families
Read the word families in the table. Then choose the correct form for each of 
the following sentences.