Unit3_First Headlamps

Before electricity, light was tricky business.

What does "tricky" mean?

• strict, firm

• very strong

• easy to carry

• difficult

Flames cast limited light, are vulnerable to winds and weather, and can lead to disaster.

What does "vulnerable" mean?

• difficult

• weak; without defense

• strong; able to stand rough treatment

• able to work without waste

Flames cast limited light, are vulnerable to winds and weather, and can lead to disaster.

What does "disaster" mean?

• an object that sends light back or makes it stronger

• a terrible event

• a hard bump in wood

• an object that produces light

Making fire portable and dependable was so difficult that lights on moving vehicles were hardly ever considered.

What does "portable" mean?

• easy to carry

• very strong

• able to work without waste

• strong; able to stand rough treatment

In the late 1830s, railroad traffic became heavy enough for freight trains to delay passenger trains.

What does "freight" mean?

• cargo  carried by a train, truck,or ship

• an object that produces light

• an object that sends light back or makes it stronger

• the engine of a train

Horatio Allen's 1 831 innovation, the 'Track illuminator," was suddenly in demand. It was a pile of pine knots burning in an iron grate that sat in a box of sand on a platform car. 

What does "innovation" mean?

• a problem; disadvantage

• a new idea or product

• an object that produces light

• a hard bump in wood

Horatio Allen's 1831 innovation, the "Track illuminator",was suddenly in demand. It was a pile of pine knots burning in an iron grate that sat in a box of sand on a platform car. 

What does "illuminator" mean?

• a problem; disadvantage

• a method or type

• an object that produces light

• a terrible event

It was a pile of pine knots burning in an iron grate that sat in a box of sand on a platform car.

What does "knot" mean?

• a problem; disadvantage

• a hard bump in wood

• an object that produces light

• a new idea or product

The car was pushed ahead of the locomotive.

What does "locomotive" mean?

• a new idea or product

• the engine of a train

• a problem; disadvantage

• an object that produces light

 

The illu­minator did not cast much light, but it warned of the approaching train and was the best technology available.

What does "cast" mean?

• to provide with something

• to throw light on something

• to show or exhibit

• to make or produce