Three Dogs Survived the Titanic
Did first-class pets on the Titanic have special privileges?
Interesting Facts in Easy English
Pre-Listening Vocabulary
- ill-fated: doomed; unlucky
- evacuate: to leave due to danger
- capacity: the ability to safely hold a certain amount of people
- undetected: not noticed
- kennel: a confined place where animals are held
- disembark: to get off a ship or plane
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Three Dogs Survived the Titanic
Comprehension Questions
- What is this reading mainly about?
- What does the reading say about Lifeboat 1?
- What rumour is mentioned at the end of the reading?
Discussion Question: Many stories have been told about the Titanic passengers. One is about a woman who refused to evacuate without her Great Dane. According to rumour, her body was found with her dog. Do you think this actually happened? Do you know someone who would sacrifice his or her own life for a pet?
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Three Dogs Survived The Titanic
It is a well-known fact that there weren’t enough lifeboats for the passengers on the ill-fated Titanic. But did you know that three dogs were among the survivors? Two Pomeranians and one Pekingese dog evacuated safely onto the lifeboats. Some people would call this a crime, since over 1500 humans didn’t make it onto a lifeboat. The reality is that many of the lifeboats were not filled to capacity. Lifeboat 1 carried 12 people though it had a capacity for 40. In addition, these dogs were so tiny that they didn’t take up any space and probably went undetected. About nine other dogs went down with the ship. These dogs were in the ship’s kennel. The captain’s dog normally sailed with him, but his daughter had taken the animal off the ship before it set sail. There is also a rumour that a cat and her kittens disembarked at Southampton before the Titanic continued its journey towards New York.
- This reading is mainly about the animals that were onboard the Titanic.
- The reading says that Lifeboat 1 had room for many more passengers. It was not filled to capacity.
- The end of the reading mentions a rumour about a cat and her kittens who reportedly got off the ship before it sank.
