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Lady Mackworth was standing helplessly on the deck of
the ship. There was pandemonium on board. Everyone was
trying to get into the lifeboats. Suddenly, she felt
herself surrounded by water as the ship sank. Terrified
that she might be caught by something and held under,
she went right down. When she came to the surface of the
water, she was only half conscious. She managed to seize
a boat that she saw in front of her and held on to it
for dear life. The water was crowded with wreckage and
people swimming. There were some boats far away. The
victims shouted for help but their efforts were futile.
Lady Mackworth lost consciousness. It was on 1st May
1915, that the Lusitania, a magnificent passenger liner,
set sail from New York with about two thousand people on
board. A week later, the passengers were looking forward
to arriving in Liverpool when suddenly and without any
warning, two torpedoes were fired from a German U-boat.
They ripped the liner and caused a huge explosion. A
great pillar of water and shattered wood rose high into
the sky. The ship went out of control as its engines
were damaged. It sped through the sea at more than 36
km/h for what seemed like an endless ten minutes.
Most of the lifeboats were smashed against the side
of the ship and could not be lowered. When the ship
finally slowed down, the crew and passengers struggled
to release some lifeboats and rafts. There was
insufficient room in the lifeboats for everyone on
board.
Captain Turner remained on the bridge of the ship to
see to the safe evacuation of the passengers and the
crew. He stayed with the ship to the last. Eighteen
minutes after the ship was hit, it sank. Many passengers
were still on board. Dozens of fishing boats and small
crafts rushed to the rescue. The death toll stood at
1,198.
Lady Macworth remembered being on board the Bluebell.
A sailor was bending over her. He said, "You are safe
now." |
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1. |
Why was the victims' shout for help not answered ? |
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2. |
Where was the Lusitania sailing to ? |
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3. |
How many passengers were there on the ship ? |
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4. |
What caused the explosion ? |
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5. |
What happened to the ship ? |
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6. |
Why was there not enough room in the
lifeboats for everyone ? |
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7. |
Why did the captain remain on the ship ? |
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8. |
How many people died in that tragedy ? |
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9. |
Write the sentence which shows that Captain
Turner was an honorable and respectable man. |
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10. |
What does the last paragraph tell us about
Lady Macworth ? |
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| Answers |
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1. |
The boats were too far away. |
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2. |
It was sailing to Liverpool. |
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3. |
There were about two thousand passengers. |
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4. |
Two torpedoes fired from a German U-boat
caused the explosion. |
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5. |
The ship went out of control and later sank. |
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6. |
Most of the lifeboats were smashed and could
not be lowered.. |
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7. |
He had to see to the safe evacuation of the
passengers and the crew. |
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8. |
One thousand, one hundred and ninety eight
people died. |
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9. |
The sentence is, 'He stayed with the ship to
the last.' |
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10. |
She was saved. |
