Reading comprehension

1. Read the text and fill in the gaps
The Living Conditionsof Slaves inAmerica
Slavery was practiced throughout the American colonies in the 17th and
18th centuries. It started in 1671 when the first _____________
arrived in America. In 186O, there were 3.5 million enslaved African
Americans in the US due to the Atlantic __________
________________. Captured men, women and children were brought
from Africa to America on slave ____________ then sold to the
merchants who brought their 'merchandise'. It was a very
________________ business.
A lot of ___________ helped build the new nation by working on _____________ to ____________ crops
such as tobacco, sugar cane crops and cotton. They were ill-treated and were denied any form of citizenship.
They weren't _______________ to speak their own language or even use their ____________ name
because slave __________ wanted to ______________ their culture and identity. They were considered
as livestock and by their owner.
Most slaves had to work from sunrise to sunset. Some owners made their slaves work ____________ day,
others allowed slaves one day a month off and some allowed their slaves to have Sundays as a rest-day.
Slaves were allocated an area of the plantation for their ___________ quarters.
On some plantations the owners would provide the slaves with housing, usually
small ________, on others the slaves had to build their own homes. Living
conditions were __________ with sometimes as many as ten people sharing a hut.
They had to rely on their owners providing them with housing or building
materials, pots and pans for cooking and eating, food and clothing.
Slaves would be given one pair of shoes and three items of underwear a year.
Although these and other clothing would be provided by their owner, they were
often ____________and made of coarse material.
Slaves would spend their __________ __________ mending their huts, making pots and pans and relaxing.
Some plantation owners allowed their slaves a small ___________ of land to grow things to supplement
their diet.
Slaves were not allowed to read or write, but some were allowed to go to church.
Most did not __________ complain for fear of receiving a whipping or worse _____________. Many slaves
tried to _____________ themselves either by revolts or by fleeing, but most of them were caught and
killed. Those who fled went to Canada, thanks to the help of the Underground Railroad, freed slaves and
white sympathisers.
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Declaration. This act made all slaves free. It
was not at all a humanist decision though. Lincoln ___________ the act mainly because of the Civil War. The
Northern and the Southern States fought in a _____________ and the __________ of the latter relied
heavily on slavery. Texas was the last state to ____________ African Americans in 1865. Even though
African Americans were freed, they were still second-class citizen. After slavery, black people experienced
__________________.
www.historyonthenet.com
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ships slaves punishment harvest slave trade plot ill-fitting profitable real free
signed owner free time dare war economy emancipate

2. Work out the questions and find the answer in the text.
Wh-word Auxiliary Subject Verb Complement?
1)did / The Dutch West India Company / slavery / when / introduce
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2)Massachusetts / when / slavery / did / recognize
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3)slaves / there / how many / in 1860 / were
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4)Abraham Lincoln / write / did / in 1863 / what
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5)Texas / did / when / slaves / emancipate
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Describe the two doument
Document 1 Document 2
What are the documents?
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What was the pupose of eachof the documents?
Document 1 ________________________________________________________
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Document 2 ________________________________________________________
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3. Describe what you see and analyse the document
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