The Alcatraz Lesson

What do you know about Alcatraz? Brainstorm ideas in a group.

CC Alcatraz Island by Alex Green (licence)



Now watch the video and answer the questions (0:00-7:37):

Why was Alcatraz built?
How was it built?
Who are the people interviewed in the film?
What do they say?

Watch the video again and explain the context for the following words and phrases:

1. organised crime
2. mobsters
3. supergangster
4. superprison
5. my first glimpse of
6. a mug shot
7. a thug
8. the slammer
9. icy currents
10. out it would go
11. the fate of Alcatraz was sealed
12. would have cost millions to repair

After you have watched the video twice, look at fragments (1:30) and (6:30).
Note down 2 sentences where the word supposedly is used.
Why is it used? What is the position of the word in the sentences?













Alcatraz was the biggest concrete structure in the world and, supposedly, the most secure prison on the planet.
An investigation revealed that the supposedly escape-proof concrete was to blame for the breakout.
The OLAD dictionary entry for supposedly
The BNC corpus examples

Come up with 2 sentences with the word which would be true for you.

Discussion:
What do you think may have happened to the three prisoners? Do you think they survived? Why? Why not? Try and use hypothetical conditional structures in your answers:
If they had..., they might have..., could have..., would have....



Now read the following article. Do you think the Dutch scientists could be right?:

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30349106

Analyse the two options below and make at least two hypothetical conditional sentences (one for each):
Start like this:  Had they....., they .... (hint: think about what would have happened depending on the moment they decided to get in the water)

Worst Case Scenario

Best Case Scenario

Go back to the article. Compare your sentences with all the hypotheses made in the text.

Do you think these scientists are wasting their time and resources? Would you  nominate them for the Ignoble Prize?

Insert articles (a/an, the or nothing). 

In ___ worst-case scenario, where ___ paddling was ineffective, ___ outgoing tide would have swept them out to ___ ocean and they would have died of ___ hypothermia. For ___ sure.

But if they entered ___ water later, after 1am, ___ tide would have reversed, taking ___ escapees on ___ different course.

They would have been pushed back into ___ Bay. And then depending on which way they were paddling, they would have been sent into ___ north bay - towards Berkeley and ___ mouth of ___ Sacramento River - or pushed south towards Oakland, past ___ Treasure Island.

In both ___ cases they would have spent so much time in ___ water, they probably would have died of ___ hypothermia, or they would have been picked up by ___ police because sunrise was at 0600.

If ___ trio had left at midnight and had paddled hard to ___ north, then ___ strong currents could have worked in their favour.

If they hit it exactly at ___ midnight, ___ beautiful thing is that we see that they would have been sucked out towards ___ Golden Gate Bridge, but ___ moment they were close to ___ Golden Gate would have been ___ moment ___ tide reverses and that would give them ___ moment of ___ slack tide, in which they could have reached ___ marine headlands in ___ northern site of ___ Golden Gate Bridge.

Answer Key

Discussion:

What

would have been different

and

would be different

if the following buildings had not been built:

The Pyramids

The Eiffel Tower

The Taj Mahal

The Gherkin

The Sagrada Familia Cathedral

The Louvre

The Tower Bridge in London

The Palace of Culture in Warsaw

The National Stadium in Warsaw

your house or flat in which you live.