Reading Club-Level 5
Steeplechase Park
American amusement parks became popular recreational destinations in the late 1800s and early 1900s. By the year 1900s, one of the largest, most popular destinations was Coney Island, New York. It featured three parks filled with rides, shows, and food and gift vendors.
Steeplechase Park was one of the grand parks of Coney Island. It began somewhat modestly when the park’s creator, George Tilyou, ordered a 125-foot-tall Ferris wheel to be built, delivered, and put up on his Coney Island property. This attraction featured twelve large cars that held eighteen passengers each. It quickly became a hit with vacationers.
Tilyou soon added new attractions to bring in more eager visitors and, of course, their cash. These included boat rides, pony rides, the Giant See-saw, and the Earthquake Stairway.
One of the park’s main attractions was the Steeplechase Ride. It featured six 1, 100-foot-long, parallel metal tracks, along which wooden horses raced, pulled by gravity and boosted by their momentum down, up, and around to a finish line.
The popularity of amusement parks declined later in the 1900s, yet the many rides of Steeplechase Park helped it stay open well beyond the turn-of-the-century amusement park golden age.
Instructions:Read each question carefully and choose the best answer
1. Why did the author call the turn of the century a “golden age” for amusement parks?
a. Amusement parks were most successful during this time
b. Amusement parks painted their rides with gold during this time
c. Amusement parks used golden tokens during this time
d. Amusement parks were new and shiny like gold at this time
2. Read the example sentence: One early attraction at Steeplechase Park was George Tilyou’s Ferris wheel. What does attraction mean in this sentence?
a. to be drawn to something
b. something that grips the dirt
c. the force of a magnet
d. something that people enjoy
3. What was the steeplechase Ride?
a. a ride involving six mechanical horses racing on a track
b. a giant seesaw that held eighteen passengers
c. a 125-foot-tall Ferris wheel that featured twelve large cars
d. a 1, 100-foot-long stairway that shook like an earthquake
4. Which of the following best summarizes the passage?
a. Amusement parks became popular American recreational destinations in the late 1800s and early 1900s
b. Steeplechase Park, one of the great parks of Coney Island, had many attractions that kept it open long after the height of amusement-park popularity.
c. By the year 1900, one of the largest, most popular destinations was Coney Island, New York, which featured three enclosed parks filled with rides, shows, and food and gift vendors
d. The creator of Steeplechase Park, George Tilyou, added boat rides, pony rides, and the Earthquake Stairway
5.What helped keep steeplechase Park open into the 1900s?
a. Its focus on food and gift vendors
b. its many interesting rides
c. Its location near the beach
d. the large earthquake that destroyed competing businesses
Benchmark Passage Quick Check Answer Sheet
1. Why did the author call the turn of the century a “golden age” for amusement parks?
(A) Amusement parks were most successful during this time. Make Inferences/ draw Conclusions
2. Read the example sentence: One early attraction at steeplechase Park was George Tilyou’s Ferris wheel.
What does attraction mean in this sentence?
(D) something that people enjoy vocabulary
3. What was the steeplechase Ride?
(A) a ride involving six mechanical horses racing on a track. Main idea and details
4. Which of the following best summarizes the passage?
(B) Steeplechase Park, one of the great parks of Coney Island, had many attractions that kept it open long after the height of amusement-park popularity. Main Idea and Details
5. What helped keep steeplechase Park open into the 1900s?
(B) its many interesting rides. cause and Effect