Let’s do a Black Tuesday listening practice.
Source: The Great Depression Time Line
Vocabulary
the Stock Market – Several exchanges where shares (percentages of ownership) of companies are bought and sold
stocks – a fraction of ownership in a publicly traded company
the Dow Jones Industrial Average – Also called the Dow Jones, or simple the Dow, it is an index that is considered a gauge of the general U.S. economy.
in the hole – in debt
nose dive – to drop quickly and dramatically
a cap – a limit of the amount of money that can be spent or invested
Before we begin, try to make a prediction.
Based on the image and the vocabulary, predict what the Black Tuesday listening practice is about.
Listening Activity
Listen to the 5 Minute History podcast about Black Tuesday.
Answer the questions as you listen. You will hear the audio only once! Have a pencil and paper ready. On the paper, write the numbers 1 to 15 down the left side of your page before you begin. Once you are done, you can check your answers, which are listed at the bottom of the page.
Questions 1 to 5 – Write no more than two words and/or a number to complete each answer.
1.) Before the crash, even small businesses were showing increases in ______.
2.) The Black Tuesday ______ machines could not keep up with the volume of transactions.
3.) ______ allows people to make a small investment on a stock.
4.) Over ______ trades were made on Black Tuesday.
5.) By Black Tuesday, stocks had already been falling for about ______.
Questions 6 to 10 – Write the letter that corresponds with the correct answer.
6.) The Dow had already fallen ______ by the end of Black Tuesday.
A. 10%
B. 20%
C. 30%
D. 40%
7.) By November 30th, 1929, the Dow was down ______.
A. 19.86%
B. 90.69%
C. 198.69%
D. 119.86%
8.) This corresponded with a drop of ______.
A. 4.8%
B. 48%
C. 8.4%
D. 84%
9.) In the crash, investors lost over ______.
A. a million dollars
B. a billion dollars
C. 13 billion dollars
D. 30 billion dollars
10.) Stock prices finally stabilized by ______.
A. 1932
B. 1936
C. 1941
D. 1945
Questions 11 to 15 – Write True/False/Not Given.
11.) The film It’s a Wonderful life is about Black Tuesday.
12.) The Securities and Trades Commission was created to keep a cap on bonds.
13.) FDCI stands for the ‘Federal Banking Insurance Fund’.
14.) A lack of capital resources caused many businesses to close.
15.) The Hover dam is in Oregon.
Bonus Writing Activity:
Select one of the 2 topics, and write an essay outline, with a main point and 2 or 3 supporting point.
1.) The crash happened because of a vicious circle. What was it?
2.) Measures were taken to prevent a crash like the one in 1029 from happening again. What were some of these measures?
ANSWERS
1.) stock values
2.) ticker tape
3.) margin
4.) 60 million
5.) 7 weeks
6.) D
7.) C
8.) B
9.) D
10.) A
11.) Not Given
12.) False
13.) True
14.) True
15.) False
For students: Return to the IELTS Preparation Lessons. (Restricted access)
