Canals - How well did you understand the podcast?
Quiz
When were most of the canals in Britain built?
- in the eighteenth century
- in the nineteenth century
- in the eigteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century
- since the end of the Second World War
Where is the centre of the canal system in England?
- Venice
- Birmingham
- London
Why were the canals built?
- to carry people
- to carry things like coal and pottery
- for recreation and leisure
What sort of engines did the first canal boats have?
- Diesel engines
- Steam engines
- They did not have engines. Horses were used to pull the boats.
On a canal, what is a "lock"?
- A place where the canal changes level, and boats are moved either up or down.
- A place to keep a canal boat safely
- Something to stop people from sealing canal boats.
English canals:
- are big, like the canals in the Netherlands and Germany
- are narrow
- have lots of locks and bridges
The traditional boats of the English canals are called:
- canal boats
- narrowboats
- colourful boats
Why did people stop using the canals?
- the old industries like coal mining and iron making declined
- it was expensive to move things on the canals
- it was much quicker to move goods by railway or by road
What happened when people stopped using the canals?
- the canals were not maintained properly and many of them were abandoned
- people used lorries to carry goods instead of narrowboats
- people bought the old narrowboats and used them for their holidays
Today the canals are used for recreation. What does "recreation" mean?
- rebuilding (ie the canals have been rebuilt)
- water sports like water ski-ing and surfboarding
- leisure or holiday activities