He 20th Century technology time line

questions.
get under way 
begin
take [someone] back 
remind someone of the past
turn the tide 
cause the circumstances to reverse
get hooked on 
get addicted to
go back in time 
travel to the past
look on 
watch an event without participating
ind out 
discover information
1. What reminded the visitors of 1780?
2. Who feels like he is traveling to the past?
3. What were the people watching the reenactment wearing?
4. Why did Dennis Marcone get addicted to history?
5. When did the circumstances of the Revolution start to reverse?
6. Where did the British discover that they hadn’t won the war?
7. What happened as the reenactment began?

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70 | Better Reading English
B.
Use the vocabulary
Complete the sentences using the expressions from Part A. Use the correct 
verb form.
1. The crowd of people __________________________ as the men fought.
2. She ___________________________ that TV show last year. Now she 
watches it every week.
3. The demonstration ___________________________ at 10:00 and inished at 
12:15.
4. They arrived at 4:00 and ___________________________ that they had 
missed the reenactment.
5. Looking at those photos ___________________________ to my childhood.
6. They were losing the war until that battle ___________________________.
V. UNDERSTANDING GRAMMAR
A.
Read about as if
As if is used to express what a situation seems like. Look at this sentence:
The reenactments immerse him in the past as if he was really there.
Using the past tense after as if indicates that the situation is unreal.
He spends money as if he had a million dollars. (He doesn’t have a million 
dollars.)
They fight as if they were going to win. (They are not going to win.)
The present tense can also be used after as if to indicate that the statement 
might be true.
He spends money as if he has a million dollars. (Maybe he has a million 
dollars.)
They fight as if they are going to win. (It seems like they are going to win.)
As though has the same meaning as as if.
Note: Don’t confuse as if with as. As means while—at the same time. For 
example:
As Saturday’s action got under way, shots rang out from the woods.
As can appear at the beginning of a sentence or in the middle.
Shots rang out as Saturday’s action got under way.
As if doesn’t usually appear at the beginning of a sentence.

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The Early United States | 71
B.
Use the grammar
Complete the sentences with as or as if.
1. __________ they fought, the sky illed with smoke.
2. He fell down __________ he had been shot.
3. They dressed __________ they lived in the 18th century.
4. The people watched __________ the ighting got more intense.
5. The militia prepared their defense __________ the Redcoats surrounded 
the building.
6. It sounds __________ there was a real battle going on.
VI. READ IT AGAIN
Read the story again. Answer the question.
Why was the Battle of Huck’s Defeat important?
___________________________________________________________________________
“PAUL REVERE’S RIDE”
I. PRE-READING
A.
Background information
The night before the irst battles of the American Revolution, Paul Revere rode 
through Middlesex County in Massachusetts to warn the colonists that the 
British army was coming. The colonists were prepared for the British, and they 
won this irst battle. Revere was not the only rider that night, but everyone 
knows his name because of this poem about his ride. It was written in 1861 by 
the famous poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It is a long poem—the lines 
here are from the beginning and near the end.
B.
Words to know before you read
lantern