America’s past

Track 16

Decide which of the following titles would be the best for each paragraph (1-6). There is one title more than you need. Time to celebrate a successful harvest Fighting for independence The end of the natives of the land The first colonies depended on Britain The settlers move west Brave pioneers The first settlers

READING

1 _________________________ On September 6th 1620, the one hundred and two men and women who were emigrants known as the Pilgrim Fathers set sail from England on the Mayflower. Two months later they landed in the region known as New England and founded the first settlements there. They found the Indians there who had lived as natives on the American continent for a long time.

2 _________________________ The Indians showed them how to plant their crops, how to grow corn and as a result, they had a plentiful harvest which gave them sufficient food for the next winter. After they had collected the crops, they prepared a feast to thank God and the Indians for a good harvest. That was the first Thanksgiving Dinner.

3 _________________________ In the following years, more people settled on the east coast of America. They brought with them their language and their institutions. By 1733, the settlers had founded thirteen colonies and although not all of the colonists had come from Great Britain, all were subject to the rule of the British crown.

4 _________________________ However, the disagreement over the way in which Great Britain treated the colonies gradually began to develop. These growing tensions, which lasted for a long time, finally broke out into open conflict in 1775, when the settlers revolted against England. The colonies gained their freedom in 1783 after they had signed a peace treaty with England. George Washington became the first President of the United States.

5 _________________________ At the beginning of the 19th century, a new migration started westward. Men and women left their homes in New England, where the soil was not good for growing crops, and headed west to take advantage of the fertile land.

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6 ________________ As the new settlers began moving away from the east, they came up against dangerous mountains, dense forests, Indians, and wild animals. A few brave hunters found a pass through the mountains and they led expeditions into the wild lands. These pioneers were daring and tough men who established new American states, such as Indiana, Mississippi and Missouri.

Glossary

Pilgrim Fathers – the English colonists who settled in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620 settler – a person who settles in a new colony or moves to a new country feast – a splendid meal with many good things to eat and drink sufficient – enough crop – a plant that is grown in large quantities on a farm treaty – a written agreement between countries to do something to gain – obtain, win, get

COMPREHENSION

Complete the sentences using the information from the text.

1. The Indians lived on the American continent before ________________. 2. The Mayflower emigrants were referred to as _____________________. 3. It took the immigrants ______________ to sail from England to America. 4. The settlers organized the Thanksgiving Dinner after ________________. 5. War broke out between _______________________________. 6. The peace treaty brought _________________ to the colonies. 7. The settlers moved west because ________________________________. 8. Thanks to some brave men, the wild lands became __________________.

VOCABULARY

a cb

Use these definitions to find the words in the text America’s Past.

1. someone who is born in a certain country or region (paragraph 1) 2. in large quantities or numbers (p. 2) 3. crops that are ripe and ready for gathering (p. 2) 4. to take violent action against the ruler of a country (p. 4) 5. make good use of something (p. 5) 6. willing to do things that might be dangerous (p. 6)

PHRASAL VERBS with BREAK

Study the phrasal verbs with BREAK and then complete the sentences below.

break out - escape break out - start suddenly break down - stop working break down - start crying break in/into - get into a building by force break up with (someone) - end a relationship

1. The news was terrible and we _______________ and cried. 2. The cat was so wild that it _______________of the cage and ran away. 3. Tim ________________ Jane because she was always late. 4. The car ________________ so they had to take it to the garage. 5. War between the two neighbouring countries ______________ suddenly, leaving people in a panic. 6. The burglars __________________ the house through the living room window and stole a valuable painting.

WORD FORMATION

Making nouns (1) 1 Complete the table making nouns from the given verbs, using the suffixes in the box.

-ment -ation/-ion -ance -er/or -dom

V

sail

N V

free

compete entertain

N V

expect

agree

N V

collect

appear

N

2 Use the correct word (verb or noun) to complete the following sentences. settle, settlement, settler

1. The new ___________________ on the left bank of the river is developing quickly. 2. Moving house was very stressful, but finally we ____________ in.

found, foundation, founder

1. Kate’s relatives ______________ the first sports club in this town. 2. Jean-Henri Dunant was the _____________ of the Red Cross.

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develop, development, developer

1. This country needs rapid economic __________________. 2. John needs _____________ his reading abilities.

rule, rule, ruler

1. Mark has learned the names of the English __________ from the 16th to the 19th century. 2. When did Henry VIII _______________ England?

collect, collection, collector

1. My friend Martin has got a huge _____________ of CDs with the music of the Eighties. 2. Do you know anybody who is a stamp ________________?

SPEAKING 

1 Explain in your own words 1. how the colonization of America started. 2. how the Indians helped the settlers. 3. the conflict between the colonies and Great

Britain. 4. what kind of people headed west and why.

2 About you and your country 1. Have you heard about Thanksgiving before? 2. Is there a holiday in your country that celebrates the harvest? 3. Which are the most popular national holidays in your country? 4. Which dishes are prepared then?

58 READING AND VOCABULARY

Thanksgiving Day Complete the sentences using the words given in the box. dinner feast practice pumpkin sufficient celebrated seeds the Pilgrims harvest holiday

The Plymouth colony did not have_________ food to feed the 102 colonists, so the Native Americans helped ___________by providing _________ and teaching them how to fish. That’s

why after a good __________in 1621 the Pilgrims organized a Thanksgiving __________ to thank God and the Indians. The ___________of holding an annual harvest festival became a regular event in the late 1660s.

Today Thanksgiving Day is __________ in America on the fourth Thursday in November. It is a national ____________of great importance. The Thanksgiving ___________cannot be imagined without roast turkey, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes and ____________ pie.

GRAMMAR

THE PAST PERFECT TENSE

Look at these sentences:

1. After they had collected the crops, they prepared a feast. 2. The colonies gained freedom after they had signed the peace treaty with England.

• The past perfect tense is used to describe an action which happened before another past action or a particular time in the past. We use the past perfect tense for the action that happened first and the past simple tense for what happened later.

By the time I got home, my parents had finished their lunch.

It was 11 o’clock. The bus had left at 10.30.

We often use the past perfect with the following words:

when / after / before / already / since / by / by the time

For more information, see the Grammar summary.

PRACTICE

1 Complete the sentences with verbs from the list in either the past simple or the past perfect. make arrive disappear write suffer buy start grow check win

1. I finally ___________ my son see the dentist. He __________ great pain for almost a week. 2. When I ____________ at school, the teacher ______already ___________ the lesson. 3. I knew, even without looking at the drawer, that the money ____________________. 4. I was amazed when I saw her. She_______________________ a lot taller. 5. Tom finally stopped working. He ________________all the answers. 6. She _________________an essay which ____________ first prize. 7. When we __________________the book, we found out that the cover was damaged.

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2 Independence Day Complete the sentences with the correct verb form, past simple or past perfect. send reach sign want be decide

The American colonies and Great Britain ___________ at undeclared war for a year when the colonists ___________to break all ties with their mother country. The colonies only _________ to trade with Britain, so the British king _________more British soldiers to the colonies. On July 4th 1776, 12 colonies __________ the Declaration of Independence after they ______________ a final agreement. That’s why the Fourth of July is often called Independence Day. Fireworks, music parades and family picnics are just some of the ways in which the USA celebrates their independence today.

LISTENING

Track 17 New York City – past and present 1 Listen to the article about New York and complete the sentences. Be careful to use the correct tense of the verbs and the correct articles with the nouns.

1.The first settlers were _______________ who ____________ Manhattan from _________________ very cheap. 2. New York got its name from _______________. 3. Today New York is the largest city in ____________________. 4. Millions of _______________ came to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 5. A lot of Chinese people live in __________________. 6. There are a lot of banks in ______________________. 7. Americans are well-known for building ___________________________. 8. The five districts of New York are connected by ___________________________.

2 Look at these dates and tell the class why they are important for New York. 1626 ____________________________________ 1664 ____________________________________ 1790 ____________________________________

September 11th 2001 ________________________