THE pioneering St Petersburg to Pavlovsk railway officially opened on October 30th, 1837. Timothy Hackworth’s steam locomotive whisked a train of eight carriages thirteen miles from St Petersburg to Tsarskoye Selo in just 35 minutes, where it was welcomed by the Tsar himself. Regular steam-hauled trains began the following May.
A second line connecting Warsaw in modern-day Poland to the Austrian border began service on April 1st, 1848, and once again British engineering was in demand: the first five steam locomotives were supplied by Lancashire-born engineer John Cockerill from his foundry in Belgium.
At last, a railway linking St Petersburg and Moscow 400 miles away opened on November 1st, 1851.* Unlike the railways in Britain, it was a Goverment initiative and built using forced labour, and travel passes were strictly reserved for the elite. Their 22-hour journey, however, looked quaintly rustic beside that of working-class Britons, who had been dashing between London and Glasgow in 12½ hours since the summer of 1848.*
Owing to political and financial intrigue, it took ten years to complete, and it was grievously negligent in terms of human life. Nikolai Nekrasov composed a poetical lament in 1864 taken today as ‘anti-capitalist’, even though the project was jealously state controlled. On a similar theme, see Samuel Smiles in A Monument to Liberty.
Direct trains between Euston and Glasgow began on March 1st, 1848, leaving at 9am and arriving at 10pm, a 13-hour trip for 405 miles. However, the time was cut to 12 hours 10 minutes that summer. From October 1849, the timing was eased back to 12½ hours, which remained the standard for some years. Today, the journey takes 4½ hours.
Précis
Following the success of the St Petersburg to Pavlovsk line, the Russian Empire opened a railway from St Petersburg to Moscow in 1851. However, despite all the advantages of twenty years of technological progress, trains were much slower than those on the London to Glasgow route, and the king of social progress brought by Britain’s railways was strenuously resisted. (59 / 60 words)
Following the success of the St Petersburg to Pavlovsk line, the Russian Empire opened a railway from St Petersburg to Moscow in 1851. However, despite all the advantages of twenty years of technological progress, trains were much slower than those on the London to Glasgow route, and the king of social progress brought by Britain’s railways was strenuously resisted.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: although, because, if, may, not, or, since, unless.
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Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Could. Her. Near.
2 Follow. Hold. Own.
3 Class. Himself. Visit.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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