module 3 LISTENING COMMUNICATION THE FIRST INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION Read the following text about The first Industrial Revolution and choose the correct answer in the activity below. Then listen and check. Our modern world, with its enormous cities, transport systems, sophisticated technologies and mass production is the result of the Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the 18th century. The term Industrial Revolution, first used in the 1820s, became a common expression after 1884. Its meaning was the end of a world dominated by agriculture and the beginning of an era dominated by changes in machinery. It changed the way people lived and worked, transforming an agricultural society of villages and farms into an industrial society of cities, factories and offices. Instead of craftsmen making objects in their homes, workers were brought together into factories where goods were produced using great machines powered by steam engines. New materials were used in production, especially cotton, iron and steel. The first area to feel the effects of technology was the cotton industry in the textile mills of Lancashire. Railways and steamships were developed to transport goods and people more rapidly from place to place. The Industrial Revolution improved the standard of living for everyone. However, at the beginning, living and working conditions were terrible in the new industrial cities. The water and air were dirty and disease was common. Factories and mines were dangerous places where men, women and even children had to work. The use of machinery led to great changes in people s lives: they no longer worked in their own homes, but they had to spend many hours, often 14 or 16 a day, in ugly buildings, under the orders of an overseer. The result of all this was that crowded unhealthy towns grew up around the factories. Millions of British boys and girls had to live as slaves. GLOSSARY craftsman: artigiano to lead: condurre, portare overseer: sorvegliante steam: vapore a. At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution cities and towns 1. were unhealthy and crowded. 2. became dangerous places to live. 3. were delightful and relaxing places. b. The term Industrial Revolution means 1. a change in the world. 2. the ending of the agricultural period. 3. the invention of the steam engine. c. Steamships and railways were used to 1. encourage movement from cities to countries. 116 textile mill: fabbrica tessile unhealthy: insalubre 2. help people to move quickly. 3. support people in job searching. d. Men, women and children worked 1. until sunset. 2. till they were tired. 3. for 14 and more hours a day. e. Lancashire was a 1. new cotton factory. 2. British area of cotton industries. 3. railway.