The Story of an Eye Witness

Below is a passage from a May 4, 1906 article in Collier’s, a popular magazine of the time. It was written by Jack London, who would go on to become a great American author. In this article, he tells about the destruction of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. Certain words have been replaced with blanks. Using the rest of the text as a clue, fill in the blanks with a word or phrase that would make sense in the article.

The Story of an Eyewitness

By Jack London, Collier’s special correspondent

The earthquake shook down in San Francisco hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of walls and

chimneys. But the (1)___________________ that followed burned up hundreds of millions of dollars’

worth of property. There is no (2) ___________________ within hundreds of millions the actual

damage (3) ___________________. Not in history has a modern (4) ___________________ city been so

completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone. Nothing remains of it but memories and a fringe of

(5) ___________________ on its outskirts. Its industrial section is wiped out. Its business section is wiped

out. Its social and (6) ___________________ section is wiped out. The factories and warehouses, the

great stores and newspaper buildings, the hotels and the palaces of the (7) _______________ are all gone.

Within an hour after the earthquake shock the smoke of San Francisco’s burning was a (8) ____________

tower visible a hundred miles away. And for three days and nights this tower swayed in the sky, reddening the sun, darkening the day, and filling the land with smoke.

A. imperial

B. wrought

C. residential

D. conflagration

E. lurid

F. dwelling-houses

G. estimating

H. nabobs