EXTENSIVE READING FORM - ADVANCED
Student's name and course: Shirley Solano López
Teacher's name: Antonio Rios Date: September 12th.2012
Title of Article: History at Ellis Island
Source (book, e-book, online publication, etc.): Newspaper – English News.
1. Write about an event, issue, or idea in the reading that strikes you as important, interesting, or surprising. Tell why it is so.
The title of the Article is "History at the Ellis Island" which talks about twelve million people who immigrated to The United States from 1892 to 1954.The immigrants were from most parts of Europe and many of them were very poor.
The immigrants crossed the Atlantic Ocean in large steamships and the cheapest way to travel was in third class or steerage.
The conditions on steerage were terrible. Around 200 people were packed in one large room where there were only two toilets and beside that the food wasn´t good , there were bed bugs and lice. The smell was awful and people became seasick.
People emigrated their countries to escape hunger and seek for a better life for their children.
When they got to Ellis Island , they had to go through the inspection to show their documents to prove they had a job waiting for them or to prove they had someone to support them and after more than 12 hours they had still go in long lines for the medical inspection. Some immigrants got sick from the conditions on the steerage.
Some people did not pass the medical inspection. Immigrants with handicaps and certain diseases were not allowed to enter to the United States , they had to go back to Europe.
The fare back to Europe was free for sick people. But imagine the family who didn't have money to go back with them. If the person was a mother, or a child ……….., they just had to leave without them. For that reason, Ellis Island got the nickname of "The Island of tears".
That is something that really breaks my heart. I can´t even stand the idea of the pain heart they felt when they had to leave their family by themselves in an unknown place. I think it was a very hard shocking moment at that time.
I have a child and since the moment I had her in my arms for first time , I don´t want to separate myself from her. I wouldn´t know what to do without her. I can't even think of my life how it would be without her.
2. Pick out 5 lexical items (verbs, phrasal verbs, expressions, fillers, etc.) and write down examples of at least 2 different meanings of the lexical item.
Stagger / / v. to walk or move in an unsteady way, almost falling over:
I got out of bed and staggered to the window.
Staggering / / adj. very surprising, shocking, and hard to believe:
A staggering $ 3 million was spent in building the US nuclear arsenal.
1. Immigrant//noun. A person who has left his country to live in a new one:
° In Europe there are many Turkish immigrants.
Immigrate//v. To come to a country of which one is not a native, usually for
permanent residence. :
° Every year many people immigrate to other countries to escape hunger.
2. Handicap // noun. The disadvantage or advantage itself.
A physical or mental disability making participation in certain of the usual activities of
daily living more difficult:
°A mentally handicap has a child mind.
Handicap // v. To place at a disadvantage; disable or burden:
° He was handicapped by his injured ankle.
3. Disease //noun. A disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or
system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection,
poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental
factors; illness; sickness; ailment:
°She got a skin disease by getting suntan .
4. Fare //noun. The price for a ride in a bus, train, airplane, or other vehicle.
°The fare bus has gone up recently.
Fare //v. To experience good or bad fortune, treatment, etc.; get on:
°He fared well in his profession.
5. Escape//v. To slip or get away, as from confinement or restraint; gain or regain liberty:
°Prisoners want to escape from jail.
Escape//noun. An act or instance of escaping. The fact of having escaped:
° We used the tunnel as an escape.
