Ford and the Motor Industry - Reading Worksheet

1. Now, read the first part of the text and focus on key vocabulary in context.
a. In pairs, fill in the chart below (you can draw it in your notebook, fill it in online or download it). Use the context to guess the meaning of the words in the red boxes.

b. Confirm or correct your guesses by matching each definition to a target word.

• A moving surface that carries objects through a factory
• The structure of something before it’s finished
• A system where each worker does only one part of the work
• A change that makes something bigger
  

c. Underline or highlight all the numbers/figures in the paragraph.

• What do the numbers tell you about the change in production?
  
• What do you think “cut down the time” means? Why is that important?
  
• Now, what do you think “mass production” means?
  

d. Connect: What things do we use every day that are probably mass produced?

2. Read the second part of the text.
a. Break down the word “lowered”. What word do you recognise inside lowered? So what do you think happens when something is lowered?
b. What was lowered first? What was lowered next? Who is this good for?
c. If prices go down, is it easier or harder to buy something? What word do we use when something is easier to buy (in the text)?
d. Look at the diagram below and complete the rest of the cycle by adding the effects mentioned in the text and thinking of logical consequences based on what you have understood.

3. “Draw the Impact”: Comic Strip.
Read the last paragraph.
In small groups draw a simple 3-4 panel comic showing how the car boom changed American life.
Include short sentences under each panel.
You may use the elements in the Toolbox below.

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Toolbox
Nouns:
car = automobile – vehicle
tourism
transportation
new homes
mobility
independence

Verbs:
travel
drive
visit = go sightseeing
shop = go shopping

Adjectives:
far ≠ close
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