Escape To Freedom

July 2014
www.deepenglish.com
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
INDEX
NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE
02
Deep English, 2011-2014
www.deepenglish.com
03
ACTIVE LISTENING MAIN STORY
06
ACTIVE LISTENING VOCABULARY
07
ACTIVE SPEAKING - PART A
11
ACTIVE SPEAKING - PART B
15
ACTIVE SPEAKING - PART C
20
FUTURE
23
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
26
PAST CONTINUOUS
29
PRESENT PERFECT
32
CONVERSATION LESSON
47
CONVERSATIONAL VOCABULARY
ACTIVE
LISTENING
VOCABULARY
ACTIVE
SPEAKING
FOUR
TENSES
CONVERSATION
LESSON
ACTIVE LISTENING MAIN STORY

ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Its hard to believe, but just a little over 150 years ago, it was legal in the US for one human being to
own another.
There are people still alive today, who had grandparents that were slaves. In the mid-1800s, the US
was a country divided by slavery. In the South, it was legal to own slaves, but in the North slavery
was illegal. Ellen and William Craft were a married slave couple who risked their lives to escape the
South and make it to freedom in the North.
Before making their escape, Ellen and William were owned by separate slave owners. William was
put up for auction when he was 16 to settle some debts of his previous owner, and was bought by a
bank cashier in Macon, Georgia. He lost touch with his family as they were sold to different owners
all over Georgia.
Ellen was also separated from her family at a young age. A plantation mistress gave Ellen to her
daughter when Ellen was only 11 years old. Ellen was mixed race, and had very light skin, which
often caused people to mistake her for being white.
Ellen and William eventually met and were married, despite being owned by different masters. They
both wanted children, but couldn't bring themselves to have them. Having experienced separation
from their families, they didnt want to see the same thing happen to their children.
03
www.deepenglish.com
During this time many slaves attempted escape in the dead of night, and had to run from vicious
dogs or equally vicious slave hunters. The punishment for trying to escape was harsh, but Ellen and
William were desperate for the opportunity to raise a family in freedom. They knew they wouldnt
stand a chance if they just tried to run. So they came up with a plan that they thought might just be
crazy enough to work.
In those days, the only way a slave was allowed to travel was if they were with their master. Since
Ellen had such light skin, they decided she would go with William to the North and pretend to be his
master. If they reached the North, where slavery was no longer accepted, they could live in freedom.
There was just one problem though. At that time in American history, it would also be unheard of for
a female to be traveling accompanied only by her slave. So instead of pretending to be a white
woman, Ellen needed to pretend to be a white man. William helped Ellen cut her hair to neck length,
to make her appear more like a man.
Ellen also put her arm in a sling, hoping that people would not ask her to sign any documents along
their journey. Back then, slaves weren't allowed to learn how to read or write. If Ellen couldn't make a
signature, it would expose them instantly.
They decided to make their escape over Christmas. Ellen and William were favorites of their
masters, so they didnt have much trouble getting time off for the holidays. This was important,
because their masters wouldnt be suspicious about them being missing until they made it to the
North.
Right before they left, William also helped Ellen put bandages on her face. Bandages meant she
wouldnt have to talk with too many people, as every person she spoke with could possibly expose
them. She wore a pair of mens pants which she sewed herself, and wore a pair of green spectacles
and a top hat. Once the outfit was convincing enough, they headed for the Macon train station. Ellen
used the little money they had to buy train tickets.
They had a couple of close calls on that train. William boarded the negro train where he spotted
the owner of the cabinetmaking shop where he worked looking into the window of his train car. He
turned his head the other way and sat lower in his seat to avoid the owners stare. Thankfully, the
train started and the two never met.
04
www.deepenglish.com
Ellen was sitting looking out the window in the white peoples train, until she turned around and saw
that the person sitting next to her was a good friend of her master. This person had known Ellen for
years. He didnt recognize her in her disguise, but Ellens heart was leaping out of her chest for
the entire ride.
On the next train to Charleston, South Carolina, many people warned Ellen about abolitionists in
the North. They said abolitionists would try and encourage William to run away from her. A slave
trader on board even offered to buy William on the spot and take him back to the Deep South.
For the last leg of their trip, the two were almost refused tickets, because Ellen wasnt able to sign
her name. The ticket seller refused to sign for Ellen despite her arm being in a sling. Because they
were so close to the North, people were on the lookout for abolitionists and escaping slaves. Slave
owners needed to provide proof that the slaves they were traveling with were really their property. At
the last minute though, the captain came by and signed for Ellen, before they could be detained.
The train stopped in Baltimore, before reaching their final destination of the free state of
Pennsylvania. This time, the two were detained. Ellen was asked to give proof of ownership, and
was told they wouldnt be let go. The two both thought it was all over at that point. They had made it
so far, and were almost free, only to be stopped just before Pennsylvania.
Then the departure bell rang, and the officer had a change of heart. He decided it was unfair to
detain a sick man, noting the sling and bandages Ellen was wearing. He decided to let them pass
and go on to Pennsylvania.
When they arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania it was Christmas day. As they left the station, Ellen
began crying because she knew they were safe.
Even after arriving in Philadelphia, their troubles werent over. Since Ellen was still disguised as a
slave owner, many people told William to run away.
Once Ellen took off her disguise, they were helped by an underground abolitionist group. There they
learned to read and write, and after a while they both moved to Boston. William resumed working as
a cabinetmaker and Ellen became a seamstress. So life was good.
After two years though, slave hunters arrived, looking to find the two and send them back to
Georgia. Once again, they fled, only this time to England. Once in England, they were finally free to
have children together, without the fear of ever being separated from them. They had five children in
England, and after 20 years, finally returned to the United States.
05
www.deepenglish.com
When they arrived, they found that the slavery situation in the US had changed for the better after
their 20 years abroad. Slaves were now legally free in the South. However, so many of them had few
opportunities available to them, as all they had known was the slave life. Ellen and William saw this
as an opportunity to help. Rather than go and live in the North, where things were much easier, they
decided that they would return to Georgia in order to open a school to help newly freed black people.
Their story had come full circle.
ACTIVE LISTENING VOCABULARY

ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
lost touch: no longer able to communicate with someone

plantation: a large farm with resident workers or slaves
plantation mistress: the wife of a plantation owner
couldnt bring themselves: not be able to do something unpleasant
dead of night: late at night or in the middle of the night
stand a chance: have a chance to succeed
close calls: narrow escapes from danger
heart was leaping out of her chest: was feeling very nervous or anxious
abolitionist: a person working to end slavery
on the spot: immediately; right then and there
on the lookout: watchful for something or someone
change of heart: a change of opinion or attitude
06
www.deepenglish.com
come full circle: return to a past situation or state of affairs; carries the connotation of having
completed something with new beginnings on the horizon
ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART A

ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Its hard to believe, but just a little over 150 years ago, it was legal in the US for one human being to
own another.
How long ago was slavery legal in the US? Slavery was legal in the US just a little over 150
years ago.
There are people still alive today, who had grandparents that were slaves.
Are there people alive today, who had grandparents who were slaves? Yes, there are people
alive today who had grandparents who were slaves. Does this surprise you?
In the mid-1800s, the US was a country divided by slavery.
What was the US divided by? The US was divided by slavery.
In the South, it was legal to own slaves, but in the North slavery was illegal.
Was slavery legal in the North at this time? No, slavery was illegal in the North at this time.
Ellen and William Craft were a married slave couple who risked their lives to escape the South and
make it to freedom in the North.
07
www.deepenglish.com
Were Ellen and William Craft slave owners? No, Ellen and William Craft were slaves. What
were they trying to escape? They were trying to escape slavery in the South. Where were
they trying to go? They were trying to make it to freedom in the North.
Before making their escape, Ellen and William were owned by separate slave owners.

ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Who owned Ellen and William? Separate slave owners owned Ellen and William.
William was put up for auction when he was 16 to settle some debts of his previous owner, and was
bought by a bank cashier in Macon, Georgia.
Who bought William when he was 16? A bank cashier bought William.
He lost touch with his family, as they were sold to different owners all over Georgia.
Who did he lose touch with after he was sold? He lost touch with his family after he was sold.
Ellen was also separated from her family at a young age.
What happened to Ellen at a young age? Ellen was separated from her family at a young age.
A plantation mistress gave Ellen to her daughter when Ellen was only 11 years old.
How old was Ellen when she was given away? Ellen was 11 when she was given away.
Ellen was mixed race, and had very light skin, which often caused people to mistake her for being
white.
08
www.deepenglish.com
Did Ellen look like a black slave? No, Ellen had a very light skin and was often mistaken for
being white.
Ellen and William eventually met and were married, despite being owned by different masters. They
both wanted children, but couldn't bring themselves to have them. Having experienced separation
from their families, they didnt want to see the same thing happen to their children.

ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Were Ellen and William in a hurry to have children? No, they werent in a hurry. They couldnt
bring themselves to have children. Why couldnt they bring themselves to have children?
They couldnt bring themselves to have children because they didnt want to be separated
from them.
During this time many attempted escape in the dead of night, and had to run from vicious dogs or
equally vicious slave hunters.
What did some slaves attempt in the dead of night? Some slaves attempted to escape in the
dead of night. Who would chase these escaped slaves? Vicious dogs and equally vicious
slave hunters would chase these escaped slaves.
The punishment for trying to escape was harsh, but Ellen and William were desperate for the
opportunity to raise a family in freedom.
Were Ellen and William desperate? Yes, they were desperate. What were they desperate for?
They were desperate for the opportunity to raise a family in freedom.
They knew they wouldnt stand a chance if they just tried to run.
Did they have a good change of successfully escaping if they just ran? No, they wouldnt
stand a chance if they just ran.
09
So they came up with a plan that they thought might just be crazy enough to work.
In those days, the only way a slave was allowed to travel was if they were with their master.
www.deepenglish.com

ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
What was the only was a slave was allowed to travel? A slave was only allowed to travel if
they were with their master.
Since Ellen had such light skin, they decided she would go with William to the North and pretend to
be his master.
Did they decide that William would pretend to be Ellens master? No, they decided that Ellen
would pretend to be Williams master. Why did they think this might work? They thought this
might work because Ellen had very light skin.
If they reached the North, where slavery was no longer accepted, they could live in freedom.
Was slavery accepted in the North? No, slavery was no longer accepted in the North. Could
they live in freedom in the North? Yes, they could live in freedom in the North.
10
www.deepenglish.com
ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART B

ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
a female to be traveling accompanied only by her slave.
At that time would it be strange for a woman to be traveling with a slave? Yes, it would be
strange for a woman to be traveling with a slave. Was this a problem? Yes, this was a big
problem.
So instead of pretending to be a white woman, Ellen needed to pretend to be a white man.
Did Ellen pretend to be a white man? Yes, Ellen pretended to be a white man.
William helped Ellen cut her hair to neck length, to make her appear more like a man.
How did William help Ellen look more like a man? William helped Ellen look more like a man
by cutting her hair short.
Ellen also put her arm in a sling, hoping that people would not ask her to sign any documents along
their journey. Back then, slaves weren't allowed to learn how to read or write. If Ellen couldn't make a
signature, it would expose them instantly.
Could Ellen write? No, Ellen couldnt write. Why did Ellen put her arm in a sling? Ellen put her
arm in a sling to stop people from asking her sign documents.
11
www.deepenglish.com
They decided to make their escape over Christmas. Ellen and William were favorites of their
masters, so they didnt have much trouble getting time off for the holidays. This was important,
because their masters wouldnt be suspicious about them being missing until they made it to the
North.

ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
When did they decide to escape? They decided to escape over Christmas. Was it difficult to
get time off for the holidays? No, it wasnt difficult because both Ellen and William were
favorites of their masters.
Right before they left, William also helped Ellen put bandages on her face. Bandages meant she
wouldnt have to talk with too many people, as every person she spoke with could possibly expose
them.
What did William put on Ellens face? William put bandages on Ellens face. Why did William
put bandages on Ellens face? William put bandages on Ellens face to try to stop people from
talking to her.
She wore a pair of mens pants which she sewed herself, and wore a pair of green spectacles and a
top hat.
What kind of clothes did Ellen where? Ellen wore a pair of mens pants, a pair of green
spectacles and a top hat.
Once the outfit was convincing enough, they headed for the Macon train station. Ellen used the little
money they had to buy train tickets.
What train station did they go to first? They went to the Macon train station.
12
www.deepenglish.com
They had a couple of close calls on that train.

Was the train trip trouble free? No, the train trip wasnt trouble free. They had a couple close
calls on the train.

ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
William boarded the negro train where he spotted the owner of the cabinetmaking shop where he
worked looking into the window of his train car.
Who did William see looking through the window of his train car? William saw the owner of
the cabinetmaking shop where he worked looking through the window of his car.
He turned his head the other way and sat lower in his seat to avoid the owners stare. Thankfully, the
train started and the two never met.
Did the shop owner see William? No, thankfully he didnt see him.
Ellen was sitting looking out the window in the white peoples train until she turned around and saw
that the person sitting next to her was a good friend of her master.
Who sat next to Ellen in the white peoples train? A good friend of her master sat next to Ellen
in the white peoples train.
This person had known Ellen for years. He didnt recognize her in her disguise, but Ellens heart was
leaping out of her chest for the entire ride.
Did this person know Ellen well? Yes, this person knew Ellen for years. Did he recognize her?
No, he didnt recognize her in her disguise. Was Ellen nervous? Yes, her heart was leaping
out of her chest.
13
www.deepenglish.com
On the next train to Charleston, South Carolina, many people warned Ellen about abolitionists in the
North.
What did people warn Ellen about? They warned Ellen about abolitionists in the North.

ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
They said abolitionists would try and encourage William to run away from her.
What did they say abolitionists in the North would do? They said abolitionists in the North
would encourage William to run away.
A slave trader on board even offered to buy William on the spot and take him back to the Deep
South.
Did the cabinet shop owner offer to buy William on the spot? No, the slave trader offered to
buy William on the spot.
14
www.deepenglish.com
ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART C

ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
For the last leg of their trip, the two were almost refused tickets, because Ellen wasnt able to sign
her name.
Why were they almost refused tickets? They were almost refused tickets because Ellen
wasnt able to sign her name.
The ticket seller refused to sign for Ellen despite her arm being in a sling.
Did the ticket seller accept that Ellen couldnt sign because her arm was in a sling? No, the
ticket seller didnt accept that Ellen couldnt sign because her arm was in a sling. He refused
to sign for Ellen.
Because they were so close to the North, people were on the lookout for abolitionists and escaping
slaves.
Who were people on the lookout for? People were on the lookout for abolitionists and
escaping slaves. Why were they on the lookout? They were on the lookout because they
were so close to the North.
Slave owners needed to provide proof that the slaves they were traveling with were really their
property.
What kind of proof did slave owners need to provide? Slave owners needed to provide proof
that the slaves they were traveling with were really their property.
15
At the last minute though, the captain came by and signed for Ellen, before they could be detained.
Who signed for Ellen at the last minute? At the last minute, the captain signed for Ellen.
www.deepenglish.com

ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
The train stopped in Baltimore, before reaching their final destination of the free state of
Pennsylvania. This time, the two were detained.
Was Baltimore in a free state? No, Baltimore wasnt in a free state. Was Pennsylvania a free
state? Yes, Pennsylvania was a free state. What happened in Baltimore? They were detained
in Baltimore.
Ellen was asked to give proof of ownership, and was told they wouldnt be let go.
What did they ask Ellen for? They asked Ellen for proof of ownership.
The two both thought it was all over at that point. They had made it so far, and were almost free, only
to be stopped just before Pennsylvania.
Were they almost free? Yes, they were almost free. Where were they stopped? They were
stopped just before Pennsylvania.
Then the departure bell rang, and the officer had a change of heart.
Who had a change of heart? The officer had a change of heart.
He decided it was unfair to detain a sick man, noting the sling and bandages Ellen was wearing.
16
Why did he think that it was unfair to detain Ellen? He thought it was unfair to detain Ellen
because she was a sick man.
He decided to let them pass and go on to Pennsylvania.
www.deepenglish.com

ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Did he let them pass? Yes, he let them pass. Did he let them go on to Baltimore? No, he let
them go on to Pennsylvania.
When they arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it was Christmas day. As they left the station, Ellen
began crying because she knew they were safe.
When did they arrive in Philadelphia? They arrived in Philadelphia on Christmas day. What
did Ellen do when they arrived? Ellen began to cry when they arrived.
Even after arriving in Philadelphia, their troubles werent over. Since Ellen was still disguised as a
slave owner, many people told William to run away.
What did people tell William to do when they arrived? They told William to run away from
Ellen.
Once Ellen took off her disguise, they were helped by an underground abolitionist group.
Who helped Ellen? An underground abolitionist group helped Ellen.
There they learned to read and write, and after a while they both moved to Boston. William resumed
working as a cabinetmaker and Ellen became a seamstress. So life was good.
17
www.deepenglish.com
What did they both learn to do? They both learned to read and write. Where did they move?
They moved to Boston. What kind of work did William get? William got work as a
cabinetmaker. What about Ellen? What kind of work did she get? She became a seamstress.
After two years though, slave hunters arrived, looking to find them and send them back to Georgia.

ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Who came looking for Ellen and William two years later? Two years later, slave hunters came
looking for Ellen and William. Where did they want to send them back to? They wanted to
send them back to Georgia.
Once again, they fled, only this time to England.
Where did they run away to? They ran away to England.
Once in England, they were finally free to have children together, without the fear of ever being
separated from them. They had five children in England, and after 20 years, finally returned to the
United States.
Did they finally feel safe to have children? Yes, they finally felt safe to have children. How
many children did they have? They had five children. When did they return to the US? They
returned to the US after 20 years.
When they arrived, they found that the slavery situation in the US had changed for the better after
their 20 years abroad. Slaves were now legally free in the South.
What had changed in the US since they were gone? Slaves were now legally free in the
South.
18
www.deepenglish.com
However, so many of them had few opportunities available to them, as all they had known was
the slave life.
Did free slaves have lots of opportunities? No, they had few opportunities. What was one of
the reasons they had few opportunities? There were many reasons, but one of the reasons
was that all they had known was the slave life.

ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Ellen and William saw this as an opportunity to help.

What kind of opportunity did Ellen and William see? They saw an opportunity to help.
Rather than go and live in the North, where things were much easier, they decided that they would
return to Georgia in order to open a school to help newly freed black people. Their story had come
full circle.
Do you think that life was riskier for a black person in Georgia? Would you have returned to
Georgia if you were a black person during this time?
19
www.deepenglish.com
FUTURE
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
The train will stop in Baltimore, before they reach their final destination in the North.
Where will the train stop? The train will stop in Baltimore. Where will their final destination
be? Their final destination will be in the North.
This time, the two will get detained. Ellen is going to be asked to give proof of ownership, and will be
told they wont be let go.
What is Ellen going to be asked to do? Ellen is going to be asked to give proof of ownership
Both of them are going to think it is all over at that point.
Are they going to be hopeful? No, they are going to think it is all over at that point.
They will have made it so far, and will almost be free, only to be stopped just before Pennsylvania.
Will they have almost made it to freedom when they get stopped? Yes, they will have almost
made it to freedom when they get stopped.
Then the departure bell will ring, and the officer will have a change of heart.
Will the officer have a change of heart? Yes, the officer will have a change of heart.
He will think its unfair to detain a sick man, noting the sling and bandages Ellen will be wearing.
20
www.deepenglish.com
Will he feel bad for Ellen? Yes, he will feel bad for Ellen. He will think its unfair to detain a
sick man.
He will decide to let them pass and go on to Pennsylvania.
FUTURE
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
What will he decide? He will decide to let them pass.
When they arrive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it will be Christmas day. As they leave the station,
Ellen will cry because she will know they are safe.
What will Ellen do as they leave the station? Ellen will cry as they leave the station. Why will
Ellen cry? Ellen will cry because she will know they are safe.
Even after arriving in Philadelphia, their troubles wont be over. Since Ellen will still be disguised as
a slave owner, many people will tell William to run away.
Will their troubles be over after arriving in Philadelphia? No, their troubles wont be over
after arriving in Philadelphia. Will people tell William to run away from Ellen? Yes, people
will tell William to run away from Ellen.
Once Ellen takes off her disguise, an underground abolitionist group will help them.
Who will help them? An underground abolitionist group will help them.
They are going to learn to read and write, and after a while they both are going to move to Boston.
What are they going to learn to do? They are going to learn to read and write. Where are they
going to move to? They are going to move to Boston.
21
William will resume working as a cabinetmaker and Ellen will become a seamstress. So life will be
good.
What kind of work will William get? William will work as a cabinetmaker. What about Ellen?
What kind of work will she get? Ellen will become a seamstress.
www.deepenglish.com
FUTURE
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
After two years though, slave hunters will arrive, looking to find the two and send them back to
Georgia.
Who will the slave hunters be looking for? The slave hunters will be looking for Ellen and
William.
Once again, they are going to flee, only this time to England.
Are they going to flee to England? Yes, they are going to flee to England.
Once in England, they will finally be free to have children together, without the fear of ever being
separated from them.
Will they finally be free to have children in England? Yes, they will finally be free to have
children in England.
They are going to have five children in England, and after 20 years, will finally return to the United
States.
How many children are they going to have? They are going to have five children. When will
they return to the US? They will return to the US after 20 years.
22
www.deepenglish.com
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Right before they are about to leave, William is helping Ellen put bandages on her face.
Whats William helping Ellen do? William is helping Ellen put bandages on her face.
She is wearing a pair of mens pants, which she sewed herself. Shes also wearing a pair of green
spectacles and a top hat.
Is Ellen wearing pants that she sewed herself? Yes, Ellen is wearing pants that she sewed
herself. What else is she wearing? Shes also wearing a pair of green spectacles and a top
hat.
A bit later, they are heading for the Macon train station. Ellen is using the little money they have to
buy train tickets.
Where are they heading? They are heading for the Macon train station. What is Ellen buying?
Ellen is buying train tickets.
They have a couple of close calls on that train. William then gets on the negro train. Hes looking
out the train window when he sees the owner of the cabinet making shop where he works.
What is he doing when he sees the owner of the cabinet making shop? Hes looking out the
train window when he sees the owner of the cabinet making shop
23
www.deepenglish.com
The shop owner is looking into the window of Williams train car.
What is the shop owner doing? The shop owner is looking into the window of Williams train
car.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
William is turning his head the other way and is sitting lower in his seat to avoid the owners stare.
Thankfully, the train is starting and the two never meet.
Is William trying to avoid the owner? Yes, hes turning his head the other way and is sitting
lower in his seat
Ellen is sitting, looking out the window in the white peoples train.
Whats Ellen doing? Ellen is sitting, looking out the window in the white peoples train.
As she is turning around, she notices that the person sitting next to her is a good friend of her
master.
Who is turning around? Ellen is turning around. What does she notice as shes turning
around? As she is turning around, she notices that the person sitting next to her is a good
friend of her master.
This person has known Ellen for years. He isnt noticing who she really is because of her disguise.
Ellens heart is leaping out of her chest for the entire ride.
Is Ellen feeling nervous? Yes, she is feeling very nervous. Ellens heart is leaping out of her
chest for the entire ride.
24
www.deepenglish.com
On the next train to Charleston, South Carolina, many people are telling Ellen about abolitionists in
the North.
What are they telling Ellen about? They are telling Ellen about abolitionists in the North.
They are telling Ellen that abolitionists will try and encourage William to run away from her. A slave
trader on the train is offering to buy William on the spot and take him back to the Deep South.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
What is the slave trader offering to do? Hes offering to buy William on the spot.
For the last leg of their trip, the ticket seller is refusing to sell them tickets, because Ellen cant sign
her name.
Why is the ticket seller refusing to sell them tickets? The ticket seller is refusing to sell them
tickets, because Ellen cant sign her name.
The ticket seller is refusing to sign for Ellen despite her arm being in a sling.
Is William refusing to sign for Ellen? No, the ticket seller is refusing to sign for Ellen.
Because they are so close to the North, people are looking for abolitionists and escaping slaves.
Who are people looking for? People are looking for abolitionists and escaping slaves.
The ticket seller is telling Ellen that slave owners need proof that the slaves they are traveling with
are really their property.
Who is telling Ellen that slave owners need to show proof? The ticket seller is telling Ellen
that slave owners need proof.
25
www.deepenglish.com
PAST CONTINUOUS
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
During this time many slaves were attempting to escape in the dead of night, and were running from
vicious dogs or equally vicious slave hunters.
When were they attempting to escape? They were attempting to escape in the dead of night.
Who were they running from? They were running from vicious dogs or equally vicious slave
hunters.
The punishment for trying to escape was harsh, but Ellen and William were feeling desperate.
How were Ellen and William feeling? Ellen and William were feeling desperate.
They were thinking that they wouldnt stand a chance if they just tried to run. So they were planning
something crazy.
Were they thinking running would be easy? No, they werent thinking running would be easy.
They were thinking that they wouldnt stand a chance if they just tried to run. Were they
planning something crazy? Yes, they were planning something crazy.
In those days, the only way a slave was allowed to travel was if they were with their master. Since
Ellen had such light skin, Ellen was planning to flee to the North with William and pretend to be his
master.
Where were they planning to flee to? They were planning to flee to the North.
26
www.deepenglish.com
They were hoping that if they reached the North, they could live in freedom.
Were they hoping theyd find freedom in the North? Yes, they were hoping theyd find
freedom in the North.
PAST CONTINUOUS
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
a female to travel alone with a slave. They were thinking that they needed a different plan.
Were they thinking they needed a different plan? Yes, they were thinking they needed a
different plan.
Instead of pretending to be a white woman, Ellen was pretending to be a white man.
Was Ellen pretending to be a white woman? No, Ellen was pretending to be a white man.
William was helping Ellen cut her hair to neck length, to make her appear more like a man.
What was William doing to Ellens hair? William was helping Ellen cut her hair.
They were worrying about getting caught because slaves weren't allowed to learn how to read or
write.
What were they worrying about? They were worrying about getting caught.
If Ellen couldn't make a signature, it would expose them instantly. They were thinking about what to
do when they found a solution.
What were they thinking about? They were thinking about what to do.
27
www.deepenglish.com
Ellen would put her arm in a sling. She was hoping that people would not ask her to sign any
documents along their journey.
PAST CONTINUOUS
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
What was Ellen hoping for? She was hoping that people would not ask her to sign any
documents along their journey.
They were planning to make their escape over Christmas.
When were they planning to make their escape? They were planning to make their escape
over Christmas.
Ellen and William were favorites of their masters, so they werent worrying about getting time off for
the holidays. This was important, because their masters werent thinking about them being missing
until they made it to the North.
Why werent their masters thinking about them being missing? Their masters werent
thinking about them being missing because they had taken time off for the holidays.
28
www.deepenglish.com
PAST PERFECT
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Before making their escape, Ellen and William had been owned by separate slave owners.
Who had owned Ellen and William before their escape? Before their escape, Ellen and
William had been owned by separate slave owners.
William had been put up for auction when he was 16 to settle some debts of his previous owner.
How old was William when he had been put up for auction? William was 16 when he had
been put up for auction. Had he been put up for auction to settle some debts? Yes, he had
been put up for auction to settle some debts.
He had been bought by a bank cashier in Macon, Georgia. He had lost touch with his family as they
were sold to different owners all over Georgia.
Had he been bought by a bank cashier? Yes, he had been bought by a bank cashier. Who
had he lost touch with? He had lost touch with his family.
Ellen had also been separated from her family at a young age.
Had Ellen also been separated from her family? Yes, Ellen had also been separated from her
family.
A plantation mistress had given Ellen to her daughter when Ellen was only 11 years old.
29
www.deepenglish.com
Had a plantation mistress given Ellen her freedom? No, a plantation mistress had given Ellen
to her daughter.
Ellen was mixed race, and had very light skin, which often had caused people to mistake her for
being white.
PAST PERFECT
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Had Ellens looks caused people to mistake her for being a man? No, Ellens looks had
caused people to mistake her for being white.
Ellen and William had eventually met and were married, despite being owned by different masters.
What had eventually happened? Ellen and William had eventually met and were married.
They both had wanted children, but couldn't bring themselves to have them.
What had they both wanted? They both had wanted children.
Having had experienced separation from their families, they didnt want to see the same thing
happen to their children.
What had they both experienced? They both had experienced separation from their families.
Years later, after they had escaped slavery and had lived in England for many years, they raised a
family of five.
What had they escaped before moving to England? They had escaped slavery before moving
to England.
Despite having had a good life, they decided to return to the US.
30
www.deepenglish.com
Had they had a good life in England? Yes, they had had a good life in England.
PAST PERFECT
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
When they returned, they found that the slavery situation in the US had changed for the better.
What had changed for the better in the US? The slavery situation had changed for the better
in the US.
Slaves had been freed in the South.
Where had slaves been freed? Slaves had been freed in the South.
However, so many of them had had few opportunities available to them, as all they had known was
the slave life.
Who had had few opportunities? The freed slaves had had few opportunities.
Ellen and William saw this as an opportunity to help. Rather than go and live in the North, where
things had been much easier, they decided to open a school to help newly freed black people.
Where had things been easier? Things had been easier in the North.
31
www.deepenglish.com
CONVERSATION LESSON
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Aaron:
This month we're talking about the story of Ellen and William Craft. Ellen and William
Craft, two married slaves in the mid-1800s who escaped.
Can you just briefly give us summary of the story?
Dan:
Okay, right. Ellen and William Craft, they were two slaves that were owned, had
different owners, and they were married. They both had, at an earlier age, had been
separated from their families. Because of that, they were afraid to have children on
their own. The fact that they were married is something I really never considered. Of
course, we know that slaves had families in the U.S., but the idea of them actually
getting married, I don't know if they
Aaron:
Yeah, I wonder if that was actually recognized by the Whites, their owners; if their
marriages were recognized or if those marriages were just in spirit only.
Dan:
I mean certainly they were respected as a legal right to stay together because that's
one of the reasons that Ellen and William felt they needed to take the risk to escape
was the fact that they wanted children
Aaron:
They wanted to stay together. They had to, yeah.
Dan:
As children themselves, they had been separated from their families. Ellen and William
Craft, they knew that if they had children, there was always the risk that they would
lose their children, which I can't imagine the thought of
Aaron:
Yeah, I can't. Yeah.
32
www.deepenglish.com
CONVERSATION LESSON
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
33
www.deepenglish.com
Dan:
Legally, somebody being able to rip you away from your children, but that was the
situation. They were actually the favorite slaves of their owners, which meant that they
had some degree of, I won't say freedom, but they had some time off. They had the
ability to ask for time like in the holiday.
Aaron:
Right, where they could actually leave the plantation grounds and maybe go into the
town or something like that.
Dan:
Right. I think some of these slaves We think of slaves only working on farms, but
some of them actually worked in factories or stores. They might not even work in the
stores of their owner. I think in the case of William, he actually worked for a different
White man.
Aaron:
I see, I see.
Dan:
Maybe there was some arrangement where William's owner would rent him out.
Aaron:
I see.
Dan:
William was working for a cabinet maker who was not his owner, but he was able to
get time off from the cabinet maker and his owner. Ellen also, a different owner, she
was able to get time off. This time off was crucial because they needed to have some
space of time where they could make it. It was a long journey for them, a couple of
days.
Aaron:
Oh yeah, I mean because they were in Georgia and they were trying to make it to
Pennsylvania, right?
Dan:
Right. That involved multiple trains.
CONVERSATION LESSON
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
34
www.deepenglish.com
Aaron:
Oh yeah. Even nowadays, with the highway system and you're in a car going sixty
miles per hour, that takes a good That's probably a good eight to ten hour drive, I
would imagine. That's a long way.
Dan:
Right.
Aaron:
Yeah.
Dan:
I'm not sure how long their journey was, but I imagine it was at least three days of
trains
Aaron:
I bet it.
Dan:
Both rides.
Aaron:
Yeah, at least, in those days. Sure. That was a pretty risky thing they did. I mean had
they been caught, I wonder what the consequences would have been.
Dan:
I think, for one, they certainly would have lost any privileges they had and would have
been separated for good as punishment.
Aaron:
Yeah.
Dan:
Certainly they would have been beaten severely.
Aaron:
At least, yeah.
Dan:
Whippings and branding of slaves is common.
CONVERSATION LESSON
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
35
www.deepenglish.com
Aaron:
Sometimes they would put them in isolation in holes in the ground and keep them
there without food or water for days on it.
Dan:
Another thing they did was to hobble slaves, which meant to
Aaron:
Break their bones, and
Dan:
Break their ankles so that some of them would never walk again, and certainly, you
would never be able to run.
Aaron:
Right.
Dan:
They were taking a huge risk. Of course, they also could be killed.
Aaron:
Yeah, but I guess they-
Dan:
They were property.
Aaron:
I guess they felt though that it was worth the risk because what kind of life is it being a
slave and having absolutely no freedom. Maybe if it were me or you or any of our
friends and family, we might have taken the same risk.
Dan:
Right.
Aaron:
Yeah.
Dan:
When you think about somebody taking away your children, certainly, that would
probably push anyone, of getting risk.
CONVERSATION LESSON
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Aaron:
Oh yeah. Yeah, I'd be willing to risk my life for that, for sure.
Dan:
I actually read about this. It's going off on a tangent.
Aaron:
That's okay.
Dan:
I heard about this other amazing story of the slave called Henry Brown.
Aaron:
Henry Brown.
Dan:
He decided to take the risk of escaping because his family had been sold by his
owner.
Aaron:
Oh, wow. Okay.
Dan:
He realized that there is nothing left to live for, so it was worth dying since he would
never see his family ever again. He had a really Ellen and William is a really unique
story of using disguise, but Henry's plan to freedom was he mailed himself to the
north.
Aaron:
Are you kidding?
Dan:
He put himself in a box, and with the help of a slave friend and a White person who
helped him
Aaron:
Was sympathetic to his
Dan:
Was sympathetic.
36
www.deepenglish.com
CONVERSATION LESSON
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Aaron:
Yeah, right.
Dan:
He was put inside a very small, I think, two meter by two meter box.
Aaron:
Oh my gosh.
Dan:
Which even though it had a right side up arrow on it, he was put upside down for a lot
of the trip.
Aaron:
Oh no.
Dan:
He was in that box for a couple days. He almost died by the time he made that box
made it to the north. It was mailed to a pastor, a Christian pastor in the north who was
sympathetic to escaping slaves. When they opened that box, he was almost dead.
Aaron:
Wow.
Dan:
Unfortunately The story goes. He spent his life giving speeches about his escape.
Because of that, it became very well-known.
Aaron:
It drew attention to them, yeah. Right.
Dan:
Some people have theorized that many more slaves would have been able to use that
route of escape, but he gave some speeches about it.
Aaron:
Uh-oh.
Dan:
Then maybe they were checking lots of boxes.
37
www.deepenglish.com
CONVERSATION LESSON
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Aaron:
Oh, no.
Dan:
Anyhow, Henry "Box" Brown.
Dan:
Anyhow, Henry "Box" Brown.
Aaron:
Henry "Box" Brown.
Dan:
Interesting story.
Aaron:
That sounds like an interesting story.
Dan:
Ellen and William were They had an ingenious plan too, because Ellen was mixed
race. Her mother was half-Black, half-White. She was a three-quarters White.
Aaron:
She was very light skinned.
Dan:
Yes. Both her grandfather and her father were White slave owners. I'm sure she wasn't
treated as, "Hey, granddaughter or daughter" by these people.
Aaron:
No, of course not. No.
Dan:
She was treated as property, but she looked White. They realized this was their ticket
to freedom. That people wouldn't be able to recognize her as a slave if they dressed
her up in slave owner clothes.
Aaron:
Not just slave owner clothes, but the clothes of a man.
Dan:
Right, right.
38
www.deepenglish.com
CONVERSATION LESSON
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
39
www.deepenglish.com
Aaron:
Who was traveling with a slave, with property.
Dan:
Right, right. Because for a White woman to be traveling alone with a slave, that would
be way too strange and you draw attention.
Aaron:
Yeah, that will draw attention.
Dan:
To add to the disguise dressing up like a man, they also put bandages on her to make
her look like she was a very sick person that you wouldn't want to bother and talk to.
They put her arm in a sling to try to cover the fact that she couldn't read and write,
because they knew she would have to sign for tickets when they buy tickets and to
prove that you are the owner of the slave that you're traveling with.
Aaron:
Yeah, that's pretty crafty.
Dan:
Yeah, they're pretty smart.
Aaron:
Yeah.
Dan:
Yes. They made it to the North. Slave owners came looking for them. They had to flee
again and they fled to England. Once in England, they felt that they were really safe
and they did have children.
Aaron:
Right. They had five, right?
Dan:
Five children, right.
Aaron:
Yeah.
CONVERSATION LESSON
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
40
www.deepenglish.com
Dan:
Then, I think, what was it? Twenty years later?
Aaron:
Something like that. About twenty years later, they decided to come back to the
States because the Civil War, I assume, had ended and slaves were now free.
Dan:
Right. Now, they decided to not just come back to the U.S., but they went back to the
south. While slavery was now illegal, of course, that didn't mean things were good for
Black people.
Aaron:
Of course not.
Dan:
It's still a very dangerous time. In fact, all the way up until a good sixty years, sixtyseven years after slavery was made illegal, there were Black people being killed,
being lynched
Aaron:
Yeah, lynchings.
Dan:
which means being hanged till death from trees by mobs of White people that were
not accountable to the law. In fact, some of these lynchings probably were by policemen. Aaron:
Yeah. There's a group in the United States that's quite famous for a legacy, a history of
lynching. That's the Ku Klux Klan.
Dan:
Right, the KKK.
Aaron:
Yeah.
Dan:
Fortunately, they're on the decline, but they still exist to this day.
Aaron:
Yeah, they do. They do.
CONVERSATION LESSON
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
41
www.deepenglish.com
Dan:
White power extremist. Back in the day, they and this time, certainly, they weren't
just full of criminals. They were full of respected members of the community.
Aaron:
Sure. Doctors, lawyers, politicians
Dan:
Doctors, lawyers, policemen, politicians sure.
Aaron:
Yeah, yup.
Dan:
They (Ellen and William) obviously had a lot of courage, not just to make their escape,
but maybe even more so, to choose to come back to the South. They chose to come
back to the South because they wanted to do something to help the freed slaves that
had no education
Aaron:
That's right, yeah.
Dan:
and very little opportunity. They were taking a huge risk in coming back, really risk
with their lives.
Aaron:
Yeah, but I mean I'm trying to imagine being in their shoes and in that situation
where you're coming back to a country. You've started a family. You've raised your
children. Your children are now older. What are you going to do when you get back to
the States? I mean their choices probably were to go to the North somewhere and
maybe continue working and just live like a normal life.
Wow, to go back to the South? They must have felt a really strong sense of purpose
and responsibility to do something good for society. That was their way of giving back
to where they came from. In that sense, they came full circle. Yeah.
CONVERSATION LESSON
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
42
www.deepenglish.com
Dan:
It definitely wasn't the easy way out and it wasn't the path of least resistance. They
knew that they would be facing lots of discrimination and danger. Like I was just
saying, up until the '20s and '30s, people were being lynched. Even until the 1950s, I
think, they were making laws about Black people's rights to vote or Black people's
rights to go to public schools.
Aaron:
My parents and I assume your parents as well, back in the '50s and the early '60s,
grew up in a segregated times where there were different bathrooms for Blacks and
Whites and there were different sinks to wash your hands for Blacks and Whites and
there were different sections of the restaurant for Blacks and Whites. In some
restaurants, the Blacks had to eat in the backroom. They couldn't even be seen in the
main dining area. Yeah. Then, of course, the buses. The Blacks had to sit in the back
and the Whites had to sit in the front.
Dan:
Sure.
Aaron:
Of course, the famous Rosa Parks incident in the '60s was related to that.
Dan:
Right.
Aaron:
That's when things started to change and segregation was starting to unravel and
people were starting to integrate more. Yeah, that was not long ago. That was not long
ago, yeah.
Dan:
Yeah. In the 1950s, my grandfather was the City Manager of Compton, a small town or
suburb outside of L.A.
Aaron:
Oh yeah, Compton, sure.
CONVERSATION LESSON
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
43
www.deepenglish.com
Dan:
Of course, famous in the 1980s and 1990s for gangster rap, but at that time it was a
very segregated White town. My father told me that at sundown, all the Black people
had to leave.
Aaron:
Really?
Dan:
Now, sure, it wasn't like a law that they had to leave by 6 PM but I think it was
understood that you had your employees come in during the day and they were to be
out by nighttime.
Aaron:
Wow, it's such a
Dan:
That's in my father's childhood.
Aaron:
Yeah. Even today, I mean even though the U.S. has a Black president, Barack
Obama, I mean there certainly has been a lot of progress towards greater equality and
integration. Even today, there are still racism in the United States and institutionalized
racism, in fact. Blacks do not have, even to this day, do not still have the opportunities
that Whites have to them. It's just more difficult. There are still a lot of struggle and
change to be made.
Dan:
Right.
Aaron:
Yeah.
Dan:
Yeah. You think about how a lot of people today will say, "Well, slavery, that doesn't
have anything to do with me. Everything is all fair. Everything is a level playing field.
We're all good now." Clearly, you can't separate the fact that just a few generations
back, White people owned other human beings from the fact that today, that Black
people have much less opportunity in the U.S.
CONVERSATION LESSON
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
44
www.deepenglish.com
Aaron:
I don't think it's I mean, of course, in the United States, it's always been a WhiteBlack issue. Around the world, it's not necessarily an issue of White and Black. In
many case, its an issue of money and power, because slavery still exists in places in
the world today. It's people with lots and lots of money who are enslaving, in different
forms, people to do work for them. Yeah, slavery goes beyond race. It also delves into
power structure and also economic wealth and, of course, lack of morals and ethics.
Dan:
Yeah. I mean to this day, a lot of In a lot of countries, there are farms and factories
where you could compare the life that they lived to slavery.
Aaron:
Absolutely.
Dan:
That they're beholden to their owners, not to their owners, to their bosses.
Aaron:
Their employers, right, yeah.
Dan:
That they have no opportunity to leave and that they are indebted. Yes, slavery does
exist maybe not in the same form, but for sure.
Aaron:
Right, yeah.
Dan:
I think in the Western world, we benefit from having cheaper iPads and Snickers
Aaron:
That's right, yeah, yeah.
Dan:
Based on the labor, that could be compared to slavery.
CONVERSATION LESSON
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Aaron:
Mm-hmm (affirmative), absolutely. It's quite a well-known fact that in many of these
factories around the world; of course, there are some in China and Southeast Asia and
I'm sure in other countries, maybe in Latin America, and even maybe in the developed
countries. I don't know to what extent this problem exists but the amount of money that
they're paying these people to work sixteen-, eighteen-, twenty-hour days is minimal,
like almost nothing.
A lot of times they "hold" their passports for them. They couldn't flee. Where are they
going to go?
45
www.deepenglish.com
Dan:
Right, right.
Aaron:
Yeah. It's still a problem. It's still a problem, slavery. Yeah. Of course, there's another
meaning of the word "slavery." We're talking about humans owning other humans, but
we can also talk about being a slave to something that you are enslaved by. Some
people are enslaved by money. Some people are enslaved by their desire. Some
people are enslaved by their job or their situation in life. Some people are enslaved by
drugs, whatever you have such a strong attachment to something. You can't let go of
it. It controls you. That's a form of slavery; maybe a mental form of slavery or an
emotional form of slavery.
I think all of us have issues that we have to deal with concerning our freedom or lack
of freedom and feeling enslaved by certain situations in life. I think everybody has the
capacity to understand, at least, on an experiential level a very small aspect of slavery.
The kind of slavery that Ellen and William and all the Blacks in the U.S. endured, I
don't think any of us could even come to close to imagining the pain and the suffering
and the absolute horrific situation they must have been.
CONVERSATION LESSON
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
46
www.deepenglish.com
Dan:
Yeah. I don't think we can compare the idiomatic use of slavery to drugs or alcohol or
slavery to our need for approval from others, or But it's important to understand, we
can't compare that to what actually happened historically to people who had no
freedom over their own selves.
Aaron:
Right.
Dan:
It is useful to understand how that word is used idiomatically.
Aaron:
Yeah, because there are other meanings to it, right.
Dan:
How you could say that our own minds can be a prison. Because like you're saying,
our attachments, our ideas with things that we think we need can imprison us or cause
us to feel less free. Yeah, people do talk about being a slave to things, being a slave to
my iPhone, or being a slave to drugs and alcohol, or being a slave to my need for
status, or worrying too much about what other people think of you.
Aaron:
Yeah. I think freedom, that opposite term, "freedom," from slavery is one of the key
components for just a well-being and happiness in life. I think it's good to examine this
concept of slavery and freedom in all of our lives, so yeah.
Dan:
Free your mind.
Aaron:
Free your mind.
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Okay everyone. Aaron here. I'm now going to talk about some of the language that Dan and I used
in our conversation about Ellen and William and their escape from slavery to freedom.
1. cant imagine
We're going to start with the first little phrase, and that is can't imagine. Dan is talking about Ellen
and William not wanting to have children in the South because of the possibility that someone might
want to take them away in a legal way which is pretty horrific. It's pretty terrible. Dan says, "I can't
imagine the thought of someone being able to rip you away from your children," but that was the
situation.
We use this little phrase, "can't imagine, I can't imagine" when we're trying to communicate the idea
of extremity, something extreme, something either too painful to imagine or too difficult to imagine or
too problematic or complicated to imagine. Let me give you a few other examples. My uncle, for
example, has nine children. He and his wife. It's difficult to raise children. I have two children of my
own and that's difficult enough. I can't imagine raising nine children. My goodness, that's a lot of
work. I just can't imagine. I don't know how he and his wife did it. That's one example.
Another example may be I'm going to a concern with some friends and someone asks me, "Hey,
Aaron. Do you know how much money those tickets are going to cost us?" and I said, "No. I haven't
checked, but I can't imagine they would be more than 50 dollars each." In this case, I'm saying that
probably 50 dollars is the higher limit of what they're going to cost. In fact, they're probably more like
30 or 40 dollars. I identify the upper limit, and I say, "I can't imagine them being more than 50
dollars" which really means I think they're less than 50.
47
www.deepenglish.com
Another example might be a woman in my neighborhood, I just found out both of her parents died in
the same week, and I just can't imagine how she much feel right now to lose both parents in the
same week. Man, I just can't imagine that. I haven't even lost 1 parent. I don't even know what that
feels like.
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
You don't have to use these in negative ways. You can use them in positive ways. This phrase can't
imagine, For example, "Oh wow. Today is such a beautiful day. I'm with my friends and my family.
The sun is shining. Everyone is smiling and laughing and having fun. I can't imagine a happier day."
There's a positive. The day is so happy that there could no possibly be a happier day. I can't
imagine. It's too extreme.
That's can't imagine. Let's move on.
2. a good
A bit later in the conversation we're talking about how far Ellen and William traveled to get away
from the South and to arrive in the North. Then went from Georgia to Pennsylvania. I said, "Even
nowadays with a modern highway system in a car, that's probably a good 8 to 10 hour drive. Right."
That's a long way.
I want to focus your attention on this phrase "a good." It's always followed by an amount. Either a
distance, a time, a weight, an age. Some kind of number, some kind of measurement. You can also
say, "A full," or "a solid." A solid 8 to 10 hours, a full 8 to 10 hours. When we use this, what we're
actually saying is, it's as much as or more than you expect. When I say that the trip takes a good 8
to 10 hours by car, what I'm actually saying is, you probably expected it to be less, but in fact, it's
much more. Any time that amount is more than what people expect or more than what people
imagine, you can use "a good." Let me give you an example. That's an example of time.
48
www.deepenglish.com
Distance. How far away is the nearest shopping center? I'd say, "Wow, the nearest ... well, that's a
good 10 miles" meaning that you probably think there's a shopping center within 1 to 2 miles but
actually it's a good 10 miles. I wouldn't say a good if in fact the shopping center were within 1 or 2
miles because that's what you would expect living in a city. If someone sais, "Hey, where's the
nearest chopping center?" I would say, "Oh, it's a, you know, it's about 2 miles away." Or, "It's a mile
away." I wouldn't say, "It's a good 2 miles away," because it is what people expect. I only use a good
if it's more.
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Let me give you another example. "How old do you think that guy is? See that guy standing over
there? How old do you think he is?" "Oh, you know. He looks like he's probably 40, 42 years old."
"Oh no, he's not 42. He's a good 60 years old." "Really? He looks so young." We use a good when
the amount is more than we expect. Again, you can do this with weight or time or distance or any of
those amounts. We use it with money, too. "Yeah. It's a good 1000 dollars. Be careful. It's very
expensive." That is a good.
3. going off on a tangent
We're now going to move on to going off on a tangent. Dan says this. We're talking about risking our
lives for freedom. Then he bring sup the story of Henry Brown, this amazing story, and before he
mentions it, he says, "It's going off on a tangent," meaning that he's warning me that he is going to
tell me something that is slightly off topic but is related to the topic, but slightly off topic. Actually this
word tangent comes from geometry. It comes from trigonometry. It's basically a line that touches a
curve at a point. We can use that line for calculations. Really what it means is a change of course
when we're using this in conversation. A change of course, a digression, an aside, a linguistic
excursion if you will.
We do this when we get off topic. That's another way to day it. "I'm going to go off topic." I'm going
to get off topic. I'm going to slightly change the subject. I'm not going to fully change the subject.
Fully changing the subject is when you have a complete break in the topic and you talk about
something completely different. That's not what going off on a tangent is. Going off on a tangent is
when something is connected to what you're saying, and you start talking about it, and if you're a
good speaker you will remember the main topic and you'll come back to it.
49
www.deepenglish.com
We might say, in formal speaking, if you're giving a speech or a presentation it's okay to go off on a
tangent as long as you get back to the main topic quickly. Some people don't. For example I know
this one guy who every time I have a conversation with him, he always goes off on tangents,
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
constantly. The problem is that he can't remember what the main topic was. He can't remember
what he started talking about. He just talks in complete circles and he's very difficult to follow. When
I talk to him, I have to remind him what he originally talked about so he can get back on topic
because he goes off on too many tangents.
4. Are you kidding?
Okay. Let's move to the next one. A bit later, I respond to something Dan says by saying, "Are you
kidding?" This is Dan talking about Henry Brown and Henry's plan to freedom was to put himself in
a box and mail himself from the South to the North. I said, "Are you kidding?" Basically this is an
expression of surprise. I could have said, "Are you kidding me?" Or I could have said, "Are you
joking?" Or "Are you serious?" Or I could have phrased it as a statement rather than a question. I
might have said, "You're kidding. You're joking.
In a previous learning strategies, we talked about rejoinders. These are examples or reminders we
use when we're shocker or surprised. Just to remind you, some of those might be, "What? Really?
No way. Get out of here. I can't believe it. Wow." I could have used any of those in response to
Dan's revelation that Henry mailed himself in a box which was pretty surprising.
50
www.deepenglish.com
5. Oh my gosh.
Next one is, "Oh my gosh." Dan tells me just a few lines later that Henry Brown was put inside a
very small, 2 meter by 2 meter box, and I said, "Oh my gosh." That's just an exclamation, a way of
expressing, "Wow. I understand you, but I can't believe it. Oh my gosh. That's amazing. That's
incredible. What I really want to direct your attention to is the word gosh, because it's not really a
word in English. What is it is we're actually using a word that sounds like another word, which would
be God. Oh my God.
In American society as in some other English speaking cultures, we don't ... It can be dangerous to
use the word God in this way as an exclamation or as they use to use it in vain. Oh my God. That
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
can actually offend certain people who happen to be deeply Christian. There are many other words
that are very strong that are not religious related but that are words that can cause people to feel
uncomfortable. We soften them. We use, for example, gosh in place of God, where we would
normally say, "God," we say, "Gosh." Oh my gosh or oh, gosh. I can't believe it. Oh gosh. Another
one might be Jeez. Oh Jeez. I forgot. Which means Jesus.
Another, very strong word is damn it. Of course, we use it all the time. I use it all the time. If I'm in
a situation where I want to be a little more polite, maybe there are some older people around me
that I don't know very well, and I want to show them that I'm a polite person, I will switch these
statements to darn or dang. Like darn it or dang it. Or that darn dog keeps barking. Will someone
tell him to be quiet? Dang it. I forgot, again. I lost my keys. Dang it. We say that instead of damn it.
Shucks instead of shit. Fudge instead of fuck. Fricking instead of fucking. These are
expressions that you might hear, and I'm trying to point out that they are actually substitutes for
stronger words. Oh my gosh.
6. ticket to
Next one is ticket to. Dan's talking about Ellen and her very light skin and because of her light skin
she and her husband realize that this was their ticket to freedom. People wouldn't be able to
recognize her if they dressed her up in slave owner clothes. They wouldn't realize she's actually a
slave because of her light skin. That was their ticket to freedom. Ticket to, we use this in common
speech, and it basically means getting access to, a means of attaining, a means of getting
something. Her white skin was their means of attaining freedom, their means of getting freedom. We
can use this ... Let me give you another example or two.
51
www.deepenglish.com
Maybe I'm a father, and my son is in high school, and he's telling me he doesnt want to go to
college. I might tell him, "Oh you better get that college degree, son. It's your ticket to a good job."
Or I might tell my students, "Hey, speaking English is your ticket to the world. If you can speak really
good English, you'll have so many opportunities outside of the country you live so it's your ticket to
the world." It just means it's your way of opening doors, of getting opportunities you might not have
otherwise if you didn't speak English well.
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
We can also use this in a negative way. I might tell my son the opposite. I might say "Look, if you
don't have your college degree, that's a ticket to unemployment." I might tell my daughter who I saw
driving around in her car while she was texting on her smart phone ... I might tell her, "Look. Driving
while texting is a ticket to death. That's a ticket to disaster." It's a way of getting to somewhere you
don't want to go. A ticket to.
7. something like that
A little bit later, I am talking with Dan and we're mentioning the fact that Ellen had 5 children, and
Dan says, 5 children. Right. They had 5 children. Then Dan says, when was that? 20 years later? I
said, "Yeah, something like that. About 20 years later." This little phrase something like that is used
all of the time, but I rarely hear my students use it. It basically means "about that much." I don't
really know exactly how much. I'm just making a guess, but it's about that much. It's something like
that. It actually doesn't really matter much anyway because something else is more important.
This is used when there's a detail, a numerical detail, using or some sort of a descriptive detail that's
not critical to the discussion. It's related, and it might be a little bit important, but it's not very
important. Something like that. Let me give you another example. "I met this really interesting man
at a party last night. He said his name was James or Jason or Jeffrey or something like that.
Anyway, he told me this really interesting story about ..." Then I'll go in. Really, in that situation, the
story is what is important. The man is what is important. Really, his name doesn't matter that much.
It's James or Jason or Jeffrey or something like that. You use something like that when you are not
sure what the detail is, and you just want to move on to the most important part of the discussion or
the message that you want to give.
52
www.deepenglish.com
Let me give you another example. "Hey, when's out next meeting?" "Oh, it's next Thursday at 1 or
1:30 or 1:20 or something like that. Anyway, if you're there at that time, we can get together and
meet. We can talk about the important things." Actually we don't know what time it is, but we know
about what time it is, and it doesn't really matter so much. Something like that.
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
8. being in their shoes
All right. A few more here. The next one is being in their shoes. I say this when we're talking about
Ellen and William's courage to make the choice to move back to the South after living abroad in
England for such a long time. I say, "Yeah, but I'm trying to imagine being in their shoes and in that
situation where they're coming back to a country. You've started a family. You've raised your
children, and what are you going to do when you get back to the states? I'm trying to imagine what
that's like." Being in their shoes ... That comes actually from a proverb. It's a Native American
proverb that goes something like this. Never judge a man until you have walked a mile in his
moccasins.
eat buffet and it was unbelievable. I mean all around the room, they just had foods from all over the
world. They had everything thrown in there from meat to fish to pasta to salads to desserts to Indian
food to Thai food. It was just all thrown in there. That's how you would use this phrase when you're
talking about a big list of things that makes up a bigger hole.
Okay, so those are the vocabulary terms and phrases that I wanted to talk a little bit about. I hope
that you got something out of it. The real question is, are you going to use it? Are you going to put
these things into practice or not? That's the real question.
53
www.deepenglish.com
The reason I know that proverb is because I looked it up on the internet, because when I was a boy
my father and my teachers always told me, "Never judge a man until you've walked a mile in his
shoes." That's the proverb that I grew up with. My dad used to say that a lot, and I've heard it from
other adults and teachers. Never just a person, never judge a man, never judge a woman until
you've walked a mile in her shoes or in his shoes. As you probably can figure out, this just means
you should never judge a person until you've considered their perspective very closely, until you
really understand what their life is like.
I can combine this with the very first thing I talked about, I can't imagine. I could say, Wow, I can't
imagine being in their shoes. I can't imagine being in Ellen and her husband's shoes. I can't imagine
being in their shoes.
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Another way to use this is put yourself ... "Hey. Stop laughing at me. You should put yourself in my
shoes. I bet you'll stop laughing then." If you understood my situation, you wouldn't be laughing. Or,
"Hey. Why don't you put yourself in her shoes for a moment, and then you'll understand why she
acted the way she did." I think that's actually a good practice to put yourself in the shoes of other
people from time to time to get an idea of what it's like to be them, and see if you can imagine. If you
can imagine what it's like to be another person, I think it's easier to treat that person nicely and
kindly."
9. level playing field
Let's move on to the next one: a level playing field. This is what Dan mentions when he's talking
about a lot of people today say that slavery doesn't have anything to do with me. Everything is all
fair. Everything is a level playing field. We're all good now. Basically, this phrase a level playing field
probably comes from sports somewhere. It's expressing the idea of equality meaning that the rules
of the game should apply equally to all participants and nobody should have any unfair advantages
over another. That way, each person has an equal opportunity to succeed. I think this is also related
to the American dream and ideals of democracy. You hear it a lot in conversation. People will say,
"It's not a level playing field," or, "It should be a level playing field." It's just that idea of fairness that
everything should be equal and fair for everyone.
54
www.deepenglish.com
10. quote unquote

Let's move on to the very last one, and that is quote unquote. I say this when we're talking about
modern forms of slavery in factories in Southeast Asia or in China, and other places in the world. I'm
saying that the employers actually quote unquote hold the passports of the workers. What I mean
by quote unquote is I'm drawing attention to the fact that this word hold does not mean what it
sounds like because when you hear the word hold, it sounds like the employers are just helping the
workers by keeping their passports safe, but in fact, what they're doing is they have stolen those
passports, they have taken those passports and they're keeping them against the consent of the
employees, but the employees have no power to get them back. They're not really holding their
passports even though they say, "We are holding their passports. They can have them back
whenever they want." The fact is, they're not holding them. They are keeping them away from the
employees.
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Another example of this might be let's imagine I went to a foreign country last month. I rented a
motorcycle and was driving around. Suddenly a police man pulled me over, and he said that I was
speeding even though I know I wasn't speeding. I wasn't even close to speeding. I asked him what
the quote unquote fine was, and he said 100 dollars, so I gave him the cash right there on the spot,
and he quickly left. He took my quote unquote fine and he left. In this case, policeman, of course,
have the power to charge fines for breaking the law, but in this case, he was taking a bribe. He took
the cash, and he left. It wasn't really a fine even though that's what I said. "What's the fine." The fact
is, he took a quote unquote fine which is not really a fine. It's actually a bribe.
That is the meaning of quote unquote. If you hear it, immediately search for a different meaning, a
double meaning or something that is not what it appears to be. That's quote unquote.
All right. That brings us to the end of this commentary. I hope that these explanations have been
helpful to you, and if you have any further questions, please, email us at
members@deepenglish.com or post your questions in our secret Facebook group that way other
people can benefit from the answers. All right. Enjoy. Good bye.
Note: You will never see the words quote unquote written. It is only what people say. You will only
see the quotation marks in written form. For example, successfully may be pronounced quote
unquote successfully.
55
www.deepenglish.com
PHOTO CREDITS
ESCAPE TO FREEDOM
Photo Cover, Artist Unknown, The Liberator newspaper (1831-1865) files (http://
www.theliberatorfiles.com/liberator-photo-gallery/)
56
www.deepenglish.com

Escape To Freedom

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Оригинальное название

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

Escape To Freedom

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

July 2014

ACTIVE LISTENING MAIN STORY

ACTIVE LISTENING VOCABULARY

ACTIVE SPEAKING - PART A

ACTIVE SPEAKING - PART B

ACTIVE SPEAKING - PART C

ACTIVE LISTENING MAIN STORY

ACTIVE LISTENING VOCABULARY

lost touch: no longer able to communicate with someone

ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART A

ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART A

ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART A

Deep English, 2011-2014

ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART A

ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART B

ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART B

They had a couple of close calls on that train.

ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART B

ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART B

ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART C

Deep English, 2011-2014

ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART C

Deep English, 2011-2014

ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART C

ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART C

ACTIVE SPEAKING / PART C

Ellen and William saw this as an opportunity to help.

Deep English, 2011-2014

They wanted to stay together. They had to, yeah.

Yeah, I can't. Yeah.

Right. That involved multiple trains.

Certainly they would have been beaten severely.

Whippings and branding of slaves is common.

Another thing they did was to hobble slaves, which meant to

Break their bones, and

Yeah, but I guess they-

They were property.

I actually read about this. It's going off on a tangent.

Oh, wow. Okay.

Are you kidding?

Was sympathetic to his

It drew attention to them, yeah. Right.

Then maybe they were checking lots of boxes.

Anyhow, Henry "Box" Brown.

Anyhow, Henry "Box" Brown.

Henry "Box" Brown.

That sounds like an interesting story.

She was very light skinned.

No, of course not. No.

Not just slave owner clothes, but the clothes of a man.

Who was traveling with a slave, with property.

Yeah, that will draw attention.

Yeah, that's pretty crafty.

Yeah, they're pretty smart.

Right. They had five, right?

Five children, right.

Then, I think, what was it? Twenty years later?

Right, the KKK.

Yeah, they do. They do.

Sure. Doctors, lawyers, politicians

Doctors, lawyers, policemen, politicians sure.

That's right, yeah.

Oh yeah, Compton, sure.