Read the text about Henry Ford and complete the gaps with the correct form (passive or active) of the verbs in brackets.

HENRY FORD

Henry Ford was born in Michigan, US, in 1863. He (fascinate) by machines, and as a child (build) rudimentary steam engines. He (leave) school at 15 to work on his father’s farm, but in 1879 he (move) to Detroit to work as an apprentice at the Michigan Car Company, which (make) railroad cars. He moved home for a while, and (do) several engineering jobs, before returning to Detroit to work as an engineer for the Edison Illuminating Company. At the same time, Ford (begin) to make a gasoline-driven car, Thin Lizzie, in his garden shed. He (persuade) a group of businessmen to back him, but a lack of experience (lead) to business failure—twice. His third business—the Ford Motor Company - (form) in 1903. Its first car, the Model A, (follow) by several other models until the company (strike) gold with the Model T: “a motorcar for the multitude.” By 1925 Ford was producing 10,000 cars every 24 hours, producing 60 percent of the US’s total output of cars. His last great innovation—at the age of 69—was the V8 engine. He (die) in 1947.

• an apprentice = someone who has agreed to work for a skilled person for a particular period of time and often for low payment, in order to learn that person's skills
• strike gold (idiom) = to make large profits or to become rich