Before the Civil War, a vast, loosely organized and constantly changing set of routes known as the Underground Railroad helped up to 100,000 slaves escape to the Northern free states. From “conductors” to "stationmasters , here are some of the Underground Railroad's most notable participants.

 

Harriet Tubman

 

Nicknamed “Moses”，she was the Underground Railroad's most famous “conductor", involved in about 13 rescue operations and leading at least 70 slaves to the "promised land” of Canada. Being a master of tricks, such as leaving on Saturday, two days before slave owners could post runaway notices in the newspapers, she  never  lost  a single passenger.

 

William still

 

From the last Underground Railroad station in the slave state of Delaware, many runaways made their way to the office of William Still, Recording the personal histories of his visitors. Still eventually published a book that told about how the Underground Railroad operated. One arrival to his office turned out to be his long-lost brother.

 

Levi Coffin

 

Known as the "president of the Underground Railroad" , Levi Coffin determined to help slaves at age 7 when he witnessed chained slaves being driven to be  sold. Later，he grew to be a stalionmaster”. He claimed to have assisted about 3，300 slaves, saying  he and his wife rarely passed a week without hearing a telltale(告密者）nighttime knock on their side door.

 

Elijah Anderson

 

Light skinned enough to pass for a white slave owner，Anderson took numerous trips into Kentucky，where he successfully rounded up 20 to 30 slaves at a time and took them to the free states. The work was extremely dangerous. Later he was accused of helping slaves to run away and arrested. On the very day of his release in 1861 he was found dead his cell.

 

1. What was the duty of “conductors” in the Underground Railroad?

 

A. Guiding slaves to their destination.

B. Giving away free tickets to slaves.

C. Providing hiding places for slaves.

D. Donating money and goods to slaves.

 

2. Who contributed a lot to people's learning about the Underground Railroad?

 

A. Harriet Tubman. B. Levi Coffin.

C. William Still. D. Elijah Anderson.

 

3. Why was Elijah Anderson put into prison?

A. He pretended to be a white.

B. He assisted slaves to escape.

C He killed several slave owners.

D. He betrayed his partners.

 

4 What can we infer about the people mentioned in the text?

 

A.All of them were born slaves.

B They lost their lives for the freedom of slaves.

C They are founders of modern subway.

D They are contributors to the Underground Railroad.

答案 1. A 2. C 3. B 4. D