The document provides information about Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, which was once the toughest prison in the United States. It describes Alcatraz as a small, rocky island in San Francisco Bay that was difficult for prisoners to escape from, surrounded by cold waters with dangerous currents. Over one million tourists now visit Alcatraz annually on ferry rides from San Francisco. The document also notes some details about the harsh conditions prisoners faced in the small cells at Alcatraz, and that while many attempted escape, few succeeded with some being killed or drowned in the attempt. It closes by mentioning that Alcatraz now operates as a historic site.

1. Level: Intermediate
Time estimated: 50”
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2. ◦ 1. How are the following two texts different?

3. Extract 1
Police? I want to report a burglary,
somebody has stolen my house!
“I went to put the key in the door and the
door had gone,” Mr. McSharry said
yesterday. “Not only that, but also
somebody had taken the stone around the
door too. Inside there was almost nothing
left, and I thought there must have been a
terrible mistake. It is the worst theft I have
ever seen. There was nothing left but the
walls!”
The police believe an organised gang
carried out the theft. “It is important the
police catch them,” said Mr. McSharry.
“You can replace a door; but you can’t
replace a whole house.”
The police will investigate the case.
Extract 2
Police? I want to report a burglary,
my house has been stolen!
“I went to put the key in the door and the
door had gone,” Mr. McSharry said
yesterday . “Not only that, but also the
stone around the door had been taken too.
Inside there was almost nothing left, and I
thought there must have been a terrible
mistake. It is the worst theft I have ever
seen. Nothing was left but the walls!”
The police believe the theft was carried out
by an organized gang. “It is important they
are caught,” said Mr. McSharry. “A door
can be replaced; but a whole house can’t
be replaced.”
The case will be investigated by the police.

4. Extract 1
Police? I want to report a burglary,
somebody has stolen my house!
“I went to put the key in the door and the
door had gone,” Mr. McSharry said
yesterday. “Not only that, but also
somebody had taken the stone around the
door too. Inside there was almost nothing
left, and I thought there must have been a
terrible mistake. It is the worst theft I have
ever seen. There was nothing left but the
walls!”
The police believe an organised gang
carried out the theft. “It is important the
police catch them,” said Mr. McSharry.
“You can replace a door; but you can’t
replace a whole house.”
The police will investigate the case.
Extract 2
Police? I want to report a burglary,
my house has been stolen!
“I went to put the key in the door and the
door had gone,” Mr. McSharry said
yesterday . “Not only that, but also the
stone around the door had been taken too.
Inside there was almost nothing left, and I
thought there must have been a terrible
mistake. It is the worst theft I have ever
seen. Nothing was left but the walls!”
The police believe the theft was carried out
by an organized gang. “It is important they
are caught,” said Mr. McSharry. “A door
can be replaced; but a whole house can’t
be replaced.”
The case will be investigated by the police.

5. Extract 1
Police? I want to report a burglary,
somebody has stolen my house!
“I went to put the key in the door and the
door had gone,” Mr. McSharry said
yesterday. “Not only that, but also
somebody had taken the stone around the
door too. Inside there was almost nothing
left, and I thought there must have been a
terrible mistake. It is the worst theft I have
ever seen. There was nothing left but the
walls!”
The police believe an organised gang
carried out the theft. “It is important the
police catch them,” said Mr. McSharry.
“You can replace a door; but you can’t
replace a whole house.”
The police will investigate the case.
Extract 2
Police? I want to report a burglary,
my house has been stolen!
“I went to put the key in the door and the
door had gone,” Mr. McSharry said
yesterday . “Not only that, but also the
stone around the door had been taken too.
Inside there was almost nothing left, and I
thought there must have been a terrible
mistake. It is the worst theft I have ever
seen. Nothing was left but the walls!”
The police believe the theft was carried out
by an organized gang. “It is important they
are caught,” said Mr. McSharry. “A door
can be replaced; but a whole house can’t
be replaced.”
The case will be investigated by the police.

6. ◦ The police will investigate the case.
Subject Verb Object
◦ The case will be investigated by the police.
◦ What happens to the word order?
◦ What happens to the verb and the tense?

7.  When do we use passive voice?
1. When the subject (the person/thing that does the action)
is unknown or unimportant.
E.g. Somebody has stolen my house!
My house has been stolen!
(I don’t know who has stolen it.)
2. When the action is more important than the doer.
Ex: Someone stole secret documents from the bank.
Secret documents were stolen from the bank.
(What is important is that the documents were stolen,
not who did it.)

8. How do we make a passive sentence?
 First, the object of the active sentence becomes the
subject of the passive sentence.
The police will investigate the case.
The case will be investigated by the police.
•Then we use the appropriate “to be + V3” form.
The police will investigate the case.
The case will be investigated by the police.
•Finally, we can add the doer of the action at the end of the
sentence using the preposition “by” (IF we want).
The police will investigate the case.
The case will be investigated by the police.

9. Activity 2

10. ALCATRAZ
Alcatraz, which was once the toughest prison in the USA, can be reached0
(reach) by a short ferry ride from San
Francisco and every year over one million tourists _______________1
(visit ) it.
Alcatraz is a small, rocky island in the San Francisco Bay. It is hard to get to and it is even harder to escape from.
It _________________ 2
(surround) by icy cold waters with dangerous currents. It was first a military fortress, but
by the end of the 1860s the army realized it was an ideal place for putting dangerous prisoners. So they
started building a prison, and from the 1930s to the 1960s, Alcatraz was America’s top security prison.
The cells were very small. Each cell measured just 1.5 meters by 2.7 meters and had a small sink and toilet, and
a narrow bed. Prisoners _______________3
(not/allow) to talk to each other much, there were very strict rules
with harsh punishments for those who broke them. Each prisoner __________________4
(allow) one visitor per
month.
In spite of the difficulty of getting from the island to the mainland, there were many attempts by prisoners to
escape. Thirty-six men tried to escape, including two who tried to escape twice. The security _______________5
(recapture) twenty-three men, six others _____________6
(kill) during their escape, and two drowned trying to
swim across the bay. The other five ________________7
(still/list) as ”missing”.
In 1963, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy decided to close it as it was very expensive to operate and the bay
_______________8
(pollute) badly by the prison’s sewage. And now it ________________9
(use) as a historic site
operated by the National Park Service. Despite the proposition of razing the prison and building a global
peace center there, the National Park Service ______________10
(administer) by until Congress change that.
Alcatraz ________________11
(feature) in many movies. The Hollywood
film Escape from Alcatraz tells the story of three of those men. Clint
Eastwood played the part of real-life prisoner Frank Morris, who,
along with two friends planned a very clever escape over seven
months. The three men disappeared one night and nobody
________________12
(see) them again.

11. Activity 3

12. GONDOLA
CART

13. CRUISE SHIP

14.  REFERENCES
◦ Falla T.& Davies P.A. 2010. Solutions Pre-Intermediate Coursebook, OUP
◦ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcatraz
◦ http://www.scribd.com/Passive-Voice-Texts/d/16257407
◦ http://www.gettyimages.com