London Underground

High school (ages 12+)
Transportation

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/london-underground

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How deep is London Underground?Hampstead station, at 192 feet (58.5 meters) below ground level
2. What is the inaugural line?Metropolitan Railway, opened January 10, 1863
3. What is the geographic scope?Serves Greater London, United Kingdom
4. Why did London build the Underground?In 1863, London streets were crowded with horse traffic, so engineers built a tunnel railway to speed up travel and ease congestion.
5. How did the first trains run?The first trains used steam engines that made the tunnels smoky, but they proved the idea worked and helped cut travel time.

Cut-and-cover construction: A tunneling method involving excavation of a trench, construction of the tunnel, and subsequent backfilling.
Deep-level tunneling: Construction of tunnels bored at significant depths below the surface, often using mechanical shields.
Electric traction: The propulsion of vehicles, such as trains, using electric motors powered by an external source.
Urban mass transit: Public transportation systems designed to move large numbers of people within urban areas.