The Titanic

Posted by: Jaksyn Peacock

The tragedy of the most famous sunken ship.

Pre-listening vocabulary

• voyage: a journey across an ocean
• construct: to build something
• luxury: designed for comfort and pleasure
• collide: to crash into something
• evacuate: to leave a dangerous place
• lifeboat: a small boat used to escape a sinking ship

Listening activity

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Gapfill exercise

The Titanic was a British passenger ship that sank to the bottom of the during its first voyage. The ship was constructed during the 1900s by a transportation known as White Star. This was a part of their plan to introduce a new set of luxury passenger ships that would transport wealthy people across the Atlantic Ocean. White Star finished building the Titanic in 1911. At that time, it was the biggest ship that had ever been . The Titanic was designed with safety compartments that could fill up with water if any issues occurred. Because of this, many people that the Titanic was unsinkable. In April 1912, the Titanic began its trip from England to the United States, carrying over 2,000 passengers. While at sea, the ship collided with an iceberg and began to overflow. Passengers and crew evacuated the ship, but there were not enough lifeboats on board to save everyone. Out of the original 2,000 passengers, only 705 . The sinking of the Titanic has since been known as one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century.

Comprehension questions

1. The purpose of the Titanic was

to bring goods from England to the United States

to set a record for the biggest ship ever built

to transport people across the Atlantic Ocean

Correct! Wrong!

The purpose of the Titanic was to transport people across the Atlantic Ocean.

2. People believed the Titanic was unsinkable because

it had safety compartments to prevent overflowing

it had lots of extra lifeboats

it was the biggest ship in the world

Correct! Wrong!

People believed the Titanic was unsinkable because it had safety compartments to prevent overflowing.

3. The Titanic began its journey in

1911

1912

1900

Correct! Wrong!

The Titanic began its journey in 1912.

Discussion/essay questions

1. The sinking of the Titanic has inspired many books, movies, and conspiracy theories. Why do you think people are still so fascinated by this event?

Transcript

The Titanic was a British passenger ship that sank to the bottom of the ocean during its first voyage. The ship was constructed during the 1900s by a transportation company known as White Star. This was a part of their plan to introduce a new set of luxury passenger ships that would transport wealthy people across the Atlantic Ocean. White Star finished building the Titanic in 1911. At that time, it was the biggest ship that had ever been built. The Titanic was designed with safety compartments that could fill up with water if any issues occurred.  Because of this, many people believed that the Titanic was unsinkable. In April 1912, the Titanic began its trip from England to the United States, carrying over 2,000 passengers. While at sea, the ship collided with an iceberg and began to overflow. Passengers and crew evacuated the ship, but there were not enough lifeboats on board to save everyone. Out of the original 2,000 passengers, only 705 survived. The sinking of the Titanic has since been known as one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century. 

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• EnglishClub Site Of The Month April 2012 ~ Listen and Write

Written and recorded by Jaksyn Peacock for EnglishClub

© EnglishClub.com

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44 comments

• Karen says:
  

  That was great

• Olena Shkilniuk says:
  

  Thanks

• talha says:
  

  This is easier to gain knowledge about many things and improve English listening skill.

• Olive says:
  

  The content of the song is very good even though I am Vietnamese, but when I listen to it, I am very impressed.

• Rosnelly Hernandez says:
  

  Interesting history

• Juliana Moraes says:
  

  It was a great exercise. A interested history . The listening and speaking was very good to improve my skill.

• Wateen says:
  

  Good story

• Nielson says:
  

  Why people are fascinating by this event?

  I knew this event through the movie, which tells the story in a fantastic way. I believe the many people’s first contact was also through the movie.
  The story narrated by movie make us ask ourselves a lot of questions, like what in the movie is true and what is not? What happened to the ship? How was recording of the movie?

• Juan Cruz says:
  

  spectacular and very interesting story to capture the attention of those who want to learn by trying another way than the traditional one.

• Mari Lins says:
  

  Good history

• Ishwor shrestha says:
  

  Titanic ship is very interesting ship and this 19th century before history.

• Felix Nwaguru says:
  

  The sinking of the Titanic remains spectacular. It goes a long way in making us understand that life can sometimes be unpredictable. In as much as we can not trust our body systems, we should not trust our technologically produced handworks.

• william duran says:
  

  the history is very fascinated

• Adín says:
  

  Very good¡¡¡

• SONIA TEJEIRO says:
  

  In my opinion this is a very good exercise

• Kashindi yafasa says:
  

  i heard about this history long time ago but i didn’t believe it if it was true i was just think it was a prank but now through this story i notice if all the things i had been heard long time ago it was true.

• oscar says:
  

  Thank you a lot. One time again, you get show us a part of the history teaching english and having fun.

• Sasikala says:
  

  It is helpful to improve my english

• Hang says:
  

  I really like EnglishClub.com
  There are many useful stories Not only to learn English but also to expand your knowledge

• Tahany El sherif says:
  

  The titanic move one of my best movies ever.
  I love to see movies that tells a true story.

• Giyas Ayberk says:
  

  big tragedy

• aly says:
  

  this is very useful to improve my listening skills thank you

• Passoni says:
  

  The Titanic is a wonderful film and has a great song . And also Di Caprio showed us why he is one the most famous actor of the cinema

• Anderson says:
  

  I loved. It is improving my English skills.
  Thank you.

• Carlos E. Troytiño says:
  

  It was very good, and easy, helpful to brush up my English.
  Thanks.

• Anastasija Pipina says:
  

  it was so easy

• Shukeba says:
  

  Hello everyone I hope you are save From Coronavirus. In this listing I know about world I like the blank and story.

• Vibhuti says:
  

  Helpful to improve listening skill

• Erica Soto says:
  

  The titanic was tragic, pain, sadness and sorrow. A tragic that happened in history and will stay in history. We must talk and share it with the world.

• Atiya says:
  

  Its amazing and very useful side. I really feel it very helpful

• Melanie Cabrera says:
  

  Fine 🙂

• Benjamin Yapp says:
  

  The method of online learning in simple English is excellent as it is interesting and informative. The exercises are interesting for readers too.
  I am pleased to recommend this excellent online learning to children.
  Thank you

• Pedro says:
  

  Great listening exercise!!

• sandhya says:
  

  This is very useful for my listening skill,understanding skill and i’m looking forward for more interesting stories.Thanks to everyone !

• Iram fatima says:
  

  It is very effective and useful for listening skills

• Oumar A DICKO says:
  

  The EnglishClub.com is very interesting in terms of providing people with information, learning, practising and quick environment.

• Manuel says:
  

  Over a hundred years ago there are still a lot of questions about the Titanic that need convincing replies.

• Aissa says:
  

  Thank you

• Shaikha says:
  

  O

• Sang Phan says:
  

  It’s easy for me to fill in the five gaps of this audio-text today.
  I ever watched a movie about the sinking of the Titanic many years ago. Yeah, it was really one of greatest tragedies in 20th century. Nowadays, I think people are still so fascinated by this event because the story of the sunken ship was full of drama!
  Thank you.

• Ngọc Huệ says:
  

  It’s very useful for my listening skill.

• Dessi says:
  

  I think it will be very useful to improve my understanding skills. Thank you

• Rosidalia Morales says:
  

  This is very helpful and easy to use to speak better.

• oscar says:
  

  I believe that it is very useful for improve my english listening. thank