ELL

English
Reading Practice
B
Very short reading texts for teenage and adult
English Language Learners
Elementary Level (A2)

Unit 3: The Titanic

Diane Smithson
 Unit 3: The Titanic

Text Skill Focus

3a. Reading text An introduction to the topic.

3b. Reading text

A Check your understanding
B Past tense verbs
C Gap fill
D Writing the date
comprehension
past simple verb – regular
past simple verb – irregular
nouns and verbs from Text 3b
day/month/year
month/day/year

E Past continuous verb chart, examples, practice

3c. Reading text

F Check your understanding comprehension
G Compound words
H Gap Fill past simple verbs
I An adjective titanic, mammoth–meaning
comparative, superlative
J Sequence
K Multi-choice
L Writing a recount
M Matching vocabulary

3d. Reading text some other aspects of the sinking of the

Titanic
Special notes
Vocabulary lists
Texts consulted when writing these texts
Answers

DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3 1

 The Titanic

The Titanic

Text 3a

In 1912, the Titanic was the biggest ship in the

world.
On 10 April, 1912 the Titanic left England. At
night, on 14 April, men saw large blocks of ice
near the ship. The ship hit the ice. The ice
made holes in the ship. The ship filled up with
water.
The ship was going down. The people on the
ship tried to get into small boats. Many
women and children left the ship first in these
little boats. The other people jumped into the
very cold water. The ship went down.
(92 words)

blocks boats holes ice

jumped left ship

Note: For further information on the photograph on this page see the Special Note on Page 12.

DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3 2

 an iceberg

A large part of an iceberg is under the water.

Text 3b
In 1912, the Titanic was the biggest ship Everyone wanted to get off the ship.
in the world. People said it was a very Many women and children got into the
safe ship. Some people thought the ship small boats first. However, there were
could not sink. only 20 small boats and there were over
2200 people on the ship. Many people
On 10 April 1912, the Titanic left
could not get into the small boats. They
England. It was going to the United
jumped into the very cold water. The
States of America.
ship sank.
At night, on 14 April, it was near some
Over an hour later, another ship arrived
icebergs. The men saw a very big
to help.
iceberg in front of them. They tried to
(146 words)
turn the ship away from it. The ship hit
the iceberg. The ship filled up with
water.
Vocabulary: Words not in the first thousand-word list (NGSL).

boats jumped left safe

ship sank sink

A. Check your understanding

1. What was the name of the ship?
2. How many small boats were there on the ship when it sailed from England?
3. Where was the ship going?
4. What was the date when some men on the ship saw the very big iceberg?
5. How many days had the ship been sailing when it hit the iceberg?

DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3 3

B. Past Simple Verbs
Some verbs in Text 3b are in the past tense.
Most past tense verbs are regular. They end in __________ed.
However, some verbs are irregular. They do not end in ___________ed.
Irregular verbs in the simple past tense are in the middle column in the Irregular
Verbs list.
Here are some of the regular past simple verbs in Text 3b.

• start started
• fill filled
• try tried (change the “y” to “i” + ed)
• jump jumped
• want wanted

Here are some irregular verbs in Text 13b:

Base verb Past simple verb

sink sank
be was
say said
see saw
hit hit
get got

The past simple tense of the base word: say

Singular (only 1) Plural (2+)

I said we said
you said you said
she, he, it said they said

The past simple tense of the base word: get

Singular (only 1) Plural (2+)

I got we got
you got you got
she, he, it got they got

DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3 4

 Change the present simple verbs into the past simple. Use the chart to help you.
The Irregular Verbs chart is at the end of this unit.

present simple past simple

I like the book. I liked the book.
1. You are very happy.

2. She talks very quickly.

3. We love the new song.

4. He goes to work in his car.

5. They eat their food in the kitchen.

C. Gap fill – nouns and verbs

sank boats hit iceberg

sink said arrived jumped

In 1912, the Titanic was the biggest ship in the world. People (1) _________ it
was a very safe ship. Some people thought the ship could not (2) __________.
On 10 April 1912, the Titanic left England. It was going from England to the
United States of America.

At night, on 14 April, it was near some icebergs. The men saw a very big

(3)__________ in front of them. They tried to turn the ship away from it. The
ship (4) __________ the iceberg. The ship filled up with water.
Everyone wanted to get off the ship. The women and children got into the small
__________ first. However, there were only 20 small boats and there were
(5)
over 2200 people on the ship. Many people could not get into the small boats.
They (6) __________ into the very cold water. The ship (7) __________.
One hour and twenty minutes later, another (8) __________ arrived to help.

DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3 5

D. Writing the date
In some countries you write the 10 April 1912 in digits as 10/04/1912.
In other countries you write the 10 April 1912 in digits as 04/10/1912.

1. Find out how to write the date in the country you are in now.
2. Write these dates in digits:
(The digits are: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
a) your birthday
b) today
c) your friend’s birthday
d) the last day of the year

3. Write these dates in words for the country you are in now.
a) O6/04/2011
b) 12/02/2019

E. The past continuous verb (the past progressive verb)

The action started and it stopped sometime in the past.
now
__________________________________________
XXXXXX
When you write about something that started and has stopped, you will need to
use the past tense. We have looked at the past simple verb form in Units 1 and 2,
and in this unit we are going to look at the past continuous.
So… the two past tense verbs we are looking at are:

the past simple the past continuous

Or and
The action started and
The action started and it
went on for a while before
stopped.
it stopped.
e.g. I smiled.
e.g. I was smiling.

The past continuous has two parts to it.

the be verb in the past tense + a base verb + ing

e.g. He was jumping
Examples:
• He was working on his motorbike.
• They were cooking dinner for everyone.
• We were studying hard for our exam.
• I was trying to jump over the fence.

DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3 6

 The past continuous of the base word: jump

Singular (only 1) Plural (2+)

I was jumping we were jumping
you were jumping you were jumping
she, he, it was jumping they were jumping

Use the past continuous when:

• The action went on for some time.

• The action started at some time in the past. It is usually not important when
it started and when it stopped. However, it is important that it was going on.
• Sometimes there are two things happening at the same time. You can show
which action went on longer than the other action.
long action = past continuous
short action = past simple
For example:

• I was reading my book when the phone rang.

• They were jumping on the trampoline when their mum called them in for
dinner.
• She was learning to ride her bicycle when she fell off (her bicycle).

Look at these two sentences in Text 3b.

On 10 April, the Titanic left England. It was going to the United States of America.

• The ship was going from one place to another place.

• It was going (sailing) for many days.
This also tells us … that something is going to happen, but we don’t know yet what
is going to happen!

Complete these sentences using the past continuous verb.

1. The men _____ __________ on the building. (work)

2. The woman _____ __________ a picture of the trees. (paint)
3. The ship _____ __________ around the islands. (sail)
4. The dentist _____ __________ the boy’s teeth. (clean)
5. The cars _____ __________ around the track. (race)

DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3 7

 Question: What is a
lifeboat?

Answer: A lifeboat is a small

boat that people get into
when their ship is sinking.

Text 3c
In 1912, the Titanic was the biggest ship in the world. People said it was the safest
ship in the world. Some people thought the ship could not sink. However, the ship did
sink; it sank to the bottom of the sea and many people died.

How did this happen?

On 10 April, the Titanic sailed from England. It was going to the United States of
America. After it left England, it went to France and then to Ireland. More people got
on the ship at both places. Then it started to sail across the Atlantic Ocean. It was
sailing towards New York.

However, at night on 14 April, the crew saw a very large iceberg in front of the ship.
The captain tried to turn the ship away from it. The ship hit the iceberg. The iceberg
made holes along the side of the ship. The ship began to fill up with water through
these holes.

At first, most people did not worry. They thought there was only a little problem. They
also thought the crew would fix the problem. People say the orchestra played music
to keep everyone happy. However, the ship was filling up with water very quickly.
Soon everyone knew there was a very big problem.

The crew tried to get people into the lifeboats. The women and children were first in
the lifeboats, but there were not enough lifeboats for everyone. There were only 20
lifeboats for over 2200 people. The ship was sinking fast. They did not have time to
put two of the lifeboats into the sea. The people who did not get into a lifeboat
jumped into the freezing water.

It took under three hours for the Titanic to sink. It took longer for another ship to
arrive to help.
(298 words)

Vocabulary: Words not in the first two-thousand-word lists (NGSL)

crew sailed sailing sank sink

sinking three two captain orchestra

DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3 8

F. Check your understanding
1. What was the name of the ocean that the Titanic was sailing on?
2. Who saw the large iceberg first?
3. Why did people not worry in the beginning?
4. How did the crew try to keep the people happy?
5. How many lifeboats were in the water?
6. Why didn’t the crew put the other lifeboats in the water?

G. Compound Words
In Text 3c there are three compound words — two words that are joined together
to make one word.
• life + boat = lifeboat
• every + one = everyone
• ice + berg = iceberg

a) Join two words together to make one new compound word.

1. no + where =
2. some + how =
3. every + one =

b) Match these to make a compound word. More than one answer is possible.

1. for________ ever

2. some________ thing

3. no________ where

c) Match each word from 1–7 with a word in the box to make a new compound
word. There is more than one answer for some of these.

foot + berg football, footman, footwork

1. for + man
2. life + work
3. teen + boat
4. super + market
5. ice+ age
6. home + ball
7. Bat + ever

DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3 9

H. Gap fill
Use these past simple verbs to fill in the blank spaces in the following text.

tried died began got

saw thought sank sailed

were was played took

In 1912, the Titanic was the biggest ship in the world. People said it was the safest
ship in the world. Some people thought the ship could not sink. However, the ship
did sink. It __________ (1) to the floor of the sea and many people __________ (2).

How did this happen?

On 10 April 1912, the Titanic __________ (3) from England. It was going to the
United States of America. After it left England, it went to France and then to
Ireland. More people __________ (4) on the ship at both places. Then it started to
cross the Atlantic Ocean. It was sailing towards New York.

However, at night, on 14 April, the crew __________ (5) a very large iceberg in front
of the ship. The captain tried to turn the ship away from it. The ship hit the iceberg.
The iceberg made holes along the side of the ship. The ship _________ (6) to fill up
with water through these holes.

At first, most people did not worry. They __________ (7) there was only a little
problem. They also thought the crew would fix the problem. The orchestra
__________ (8) music to keep everyone happy. However, the ship was fillingup
with water very quickly. Soon everyone knew there __________ (9) a big problem.

The crew __________ (10) to get people into the lifeboats. The women and children
___________ (11) first in the lifeboats, but there were not enough lifeboats for
everyone. There were only 20 lifeboats for over 2200 people. The ship was sinking
fast. They did not have time to put two of the lifeboats into the sea. The people
who did not get into a lifeboat jumped into the freezing water.

It took under three hours for the Titanic to sink. It __________ (12) over another
hour for a ship to arrive to help.

over = more than, a greater number than, plus, above

+
under = less than e.g. 3 ≤ 5, smaller than, minus, below
-

DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3 10

I. An adjective: titanic, mammoth
The word titanic comes from the word titan in Greek. When the words titanic and
mammoth are used as adjectives, they both mean very, very big; very, very strong
or very, very difficult.
o He tried to eat a mammoth hamburger.
o He cleaned the garage. It was a mammoth job.
o I finished my homework. It was a titanic effort!

a. Write adjectives that have the same meaning as very big in the boxes. Use
a dictionary or thesaurus if you need to. Use your first language if you want
to.

titanic mammoth

b. Complete this chart to show the adjective to use when you compare one
thing with another thing or with other things.

adjective when there are only when there are

two things three or more things

fast faster fastest

big bigger biggest
safe
quick
slow
long

c. Complete these sentences.

1. People said the Titanic was the __________ ship in the world. (big)
2. She was the __________ runner in the school. (quick)
3. Mammoths were once the __________ animals in the world. (large)
4. This car is __________ than that car over there. (slow)
5. His hair is __________ than his friend’s hair. (long)
6. This is the __________ way to go. (safe)
7. Jennifer is a ___________ swimmer. (fast)

DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3 11

J. Sequence
Put these sentences into the correct order.
the event the sequence
(the order)
a) The ship hit an iceberg.
b) The Titanic left Ireland.
c) The Titanic left England. 1
d) The Titanic left France .
e) Another ship came to the rescue.
f) The crew saw an iceberg.

K. Multi-choice.
Choose the best answer for each of these.

1. What is the main idea of Text 3c?

a. The sinking of the Titanic.
b. People said the Titanic was unsinkable.
c. Another ship came to the rescue of the people in the water.

2. Why did the ship go to France and to Ireland?

a. to let people off the ship
b. to pick up more people
c. to get more coal

3. How long did it take for the ship to sink?

a. two days
b. under three hours
c. from 10 April to the 14 April

A special note about the picture on page 2.

The picture on page 2 shows a ship with four funnels. This

was the design of the Titanic. However, only three of these
funnels were used on the Titanic. The smoke coming from
the fourth funnel, in this picture, therefore, is incorrect. The
fourth funnel was for ventilation and for aesthetic purposes
only i.e., to make it look more powerful than it was.

DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3 12

L. Writing
Write about a disaster or a very happy event. (Write about a negative or a
positive event.)
This could be a disaster such as the Titanic or it could be a little problem in your
life such as falling off a bike, baking a cake which did not look nice, waiting to
meet some friends but the friends did not arrive or … something that was a
happy event. (It does not have to be true!)

Use the writing frame on the following page to help you.

Step 1: State the topic of the recount. i.e Write what the story is about.

Step 2: Write about who, where, when.

Step 3: Write what happened first, then, after that, finally.

Step 4: Write how you felt at the end, or write a conclusion that links with the first
sentence.

An example of a recount:
I remember the first time I tried to climb a very big tree. The tree was in a park. The
park was near our house.

I was playing with my two friends in the park. I was about eight years old. Some big
kids told us to climb the tree. I was very scared, but I started to climb.

First, I climbed up to a big branch. Next, I went up higher to the second branch. I felt
brave. Then, I climbed up to the third branch. I looked down. Oh, no! It was a long way
to the ground. I knew I was not brave anymore.

After that, I started to shake. I thought the branch was shaking too, but it was only
me shaking so much. Then I started to cry. The big kids shouted at me to go higher. I
could not go up. I could not go down. I was stuck.

Finally, my two friends came up and helped me down. We went down very slowly.

That was a scary day for me but in the end, we were very happy. We had all climbed
the tree!

First, … (191 words)

Next, …
Then, …
After that,
Finally, …
…

DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3 13

 A plan for writing a recount at the Elementary/A2 level

Title:

Opening sentence
What is the recount
about?
Orientation
This is the overview, or
the main idea, of the
picture.
(1–2 sentences)

When?
Where?
Who?
(2+ sentences)

What?

This is the main part

of the recount.
The events are in
sequence
of time.

(3+ sentences)

Final sentence
(re-orientation)
• feelings or
• outcome
Look back at your first
sentence. Link this
sentence with your
first sentence.
It might be a sentence
about your feelings or
about the outcome.
(1 sentence)

DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3 14

Text 3d
Some possible reasons why the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank so quickly.
• There were six warnings about
icebergs, but the captain of the ship
ignored the warnings. He did not slow
the ship down.
• The Titanic was going too fast. Some
people think the captain was trying to
show that the Titanic was the fastest
ship in the world. However, another
theory is that they were burning their
coal as quickly as possible because of a
fire in one of the coal bunkers.
• The lookouts saw a very big iceberg in
front of them, but the ship could not go
around the iceberg. Five minutes after
they saw it, the Titanic hit the iceberg.
Some problems when the Titanic was sinking.
• There should have been 64 lifeboats on
the ship, but there were only 20
lifeboats on the ship.
• Some of those lifeboats left the ship
before they were full.
• There was not enough time to get two
of the lifeboats in the water.
DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3
• The low-grade iron rivets that joined
the metal (steel) sheets together
became weak in the freezing water
temperatures.
• The side of the Titanic tore open.
Water went into the ship.
• The front of the ship (the bow) went
down. The back of the ship (the stern)
went up in the air. The ship broke into
two pieces.
• The bow sank. The stern was then
almost vertical. It sank very quickly.
• The Titanic sank in only two hours and
forty minutes (2hrs 40mins).
• Many people could not get into the
lifeboats.
• Many people had to jump into the sea.
The water temperature was very cold.
The water temperature was -2°C (or
28°F). It was below freezing point.
(281 words)
15
M. Matching
Match a word in column A with the meaning in column B.

A B
1. bow a) how hot or cold something is
2. vertical b) the back of a ship
3. steel c) the leader on a ship (the boss)
4. stern d) up and down, the opposite of horizontal
5. temperature e) ripped, the past tense of to tear
6. tore f) a metal
7. coal g) the front of a ship
8. captain h) a material that comes out of the ground, a
sedimentary rock that can burn

N. Extra reading

1. There are various opinions as to what caused the extreme

damage on the Titanic and why it sank so quickly. The
reasons given in these texts for the tearing of the metal
sheets of the hull and the rivets are those presented in the
engineering analysis by V. Bassett, and is one theory.

2. However, a discovery of photographs of the Titanic before it

sailed indicate that there had been an out-of-control fire
burning in a coal bunker, where the coal was stored, in
Boiler Room 6. The crew tried to burn the coal in this storage
area very quickly. This may go some way to explain the
reason for the ship going so fast, and the reason for ignoring
the iceberg warnings.

3. The extreme heat of the fire weakened the bulkhead (the steel
wall) of the ship. The bulkhead came under pressure following
the collision with the iceberg when water poured in through the
torn exterior shell of the ship. The weakened interior metal
sheets of the bulkhead gave way, and water rushed into the
other levels of the ship.

DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3 16

 Unit 3: Vocabulary lists
NGSL MSVL
3a. NGSL 2 Off list K2
blocks blocks
boats hit
holes holes
ice ice
jumped jumped
left
ship
3b. NGSL 2 NGSL 3 K2
boats sank hit
jumped sink jumped
left sank
safe sink
ship
3c. NGSL 2 NGSL 3 K2 Off list
bottom crew bottom crew
freezing sail freezing orchestra
holes sailed hit
jumped sailing holes
left sank jumped
safest sink quickly
ship sinking sank
three sink
two sinking
worry
Off list
captain
orchestra
3d. NGSL 2 NGSL 3 K2 MSVL
burning coal bow grade
freezing five freezing ignored
grade forty hit theory
ignored iron jump vertical
jump sank quickly
left sinking sank Off list
metal six sheets bunkers
sheets steel sinking rivets
ship two slow stern
slow temperature warnings
temperature NAWL weak
tore vertical
warnings
weak Off list
bow
bunkers
captain
rivets
stern

DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3 17

 Compound words
iceberg ice + berg
lifeboat life + boat
lookout look + out

Texts consulted in the writing of these texts:

http://writing.engr.psu.edu/uer/bassett.html
https://www.nbcnews.com/sciencemain/10-causes-titanic-tragedy-620220
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/engineering/titanic.html
https://www.ducksters.com/history/us_1900s/titanic.php
https://www.imdb.com › “Secret History” Titanic: The New Evidence, Director: Sam
Taplin, Blink Films, 2017

All photographs and vectors used in this series were purchased through Deposit Photos:
https://www.depositphotos.com

Proper Noun What is this or where is it?

April
Atlantic Ocean
England
France
Ireland
New York
Titanic
United States of America

DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3 18

Unit 3 Answers

A. Check your F 4 The orchestra played. Ic

understanding 5 18 1 biggest
1 Titanic 6 there was no time 2 quickest
2 20 the ship was sinking 3 largest
3 The United States of 4 slower
America G. Compound words 5 longer
4 14 April 1912 a 1 nowhere 6 safer or safest
5 4 days 2 somehow 7 fast
3 everyone
B. Past simple verbs J. Sequence
1 were b 1 forever a 5
2 talked 2 2something or somewhere b 3
3 loved 3 nothing or nowhere c 1
4 went d 2
5 ate c a forever e 6
b blifeboat f 4
C. Gap fill c teenage
1 said d supermarket K. Multi-choice
2 sink e iceberg 1 a
3 iceberg f homework 2 b
4 hit g Batman or footman 3 b
5 boats
6 jumped H. Gap fill M. Matching
7 sank 1 sank 1 g
8 ship 2 died 2 d
3 sailed 3 f
D. Writing the date 4 got 4 b
1 Answers will vary. 5 saw 5 a
2 Answers will vary. 6 began 6 e
3 Answers may differ. 7 thought 7 h
8 played 8 c
E. Past continuous verbs 9 was
1 were working 10 tried
2 was painting 11 were
3 was sailing 12 took
4 was cleaning
5 were racing I. Comparing
a Answers will vary.
F. Check your
understanding b 1 safer, safest
1 the Atlantic Ocean 2 quicker, quickest
2 the crew 3 slower, slowest
3 They thought there was 4 longer, longest
only a little problem.

DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3 19

NOTES:

DMS Reading Practice B: Unit 3 20