City Life in the Early 1900s

① In the 1890s,electrie streetcars had replaced horse-drawn vehicles, and they ran above or below ground to avoid the crowded streets. After Henry Ford introduced his Model T car in 1908,people soon had to avoid getting hit by various kinds of vehicles.

② Many city people lived in apartment buildings then. Their buildings were four to six stories（层）high，with four apartments on each floor，and held two or three families in each apartment. And people just threw their garbage in the street. But laws were passed to stop it later on.

③ At that time， the newest invention in construction was the skyscraper（摩天大楼）. Advances in technology allowed people to build the Woolworth Building in 1913. It was the world's tallest building then.

④ On the streets，one might pass all sorts of newcomers（新来的人）to the city. Actually. more people lived in urban areas than rural ones for the first time in American history. Millions of immigrants poured into the cities, trying to get jobs and make a better life. The political leaders helped them out with jobs and food when they could.

The labor shortage after 1914 also brought millions of blacks to the cities. There they faced a lot of discrimination. They lived in neglected and overcrowded sections like Harlem in New York City. The white middle-class used to live in those places before they moved to the suburbs. The blacks still did not have much political power, but it was beginning to grow.



Task 1

16. Paragraph ①:

17. Paragraph ②:

18. Paragraph ③:

19. Paragraph ④:

20. Paragraph ⑤:

A. The appearing of tall buildings

B. Growth of urban population

C. Discrimination against the blacks

D. Transportation in the city

E. Development of the suburbs

F. Apartment buildings in the city



Task 2

21. Streetcars which replaced horse-drawn vehicles _______

22. Many apartment buildings _______

23. Laws were passed to stop people from_______

24. Political leaders helped immigrants solve their _______

25. Many white people left places like Harlem and moved to

A. the suburbs

B. food and job problems

C. living in neglected sections

D. ran above or below ground

E. throwing garbage in the street

F. were four to six stories high