Unit 3
Text 1
When Lightning Struck
Before Reading
Global Reading
Detailed Reading
After Reading
Before Reading Background Information
What are the dangers of a thunderstorm to a plane?
Thunderstorms can have very strong winds called
updrafts and downdrafts that cause what is called
turbulence. Turbulence makes it very difficult to
control the airplane.
Wind from a thunderstorm near the ground can also be
very dangerous to planes. These winds can change
speed and direction quickly. These winds are called
wind shears.
During bad storms there may be hail stones. These can
break the plane's windshields and damage the plane
and its engines.
Heavy rain can sometimes get into the engine and
cause it to fail.
Lightning at the height the plane is flying can be very
bright and it might even temporarily blind the flight
crew.
What has been done to keep planes safe
from lightning?
At any given time there are more than
2,000 thunderstorm throughout the world,
producing 100 flashes of lightning per
second. Planes can not totally avoid
lightning and thunderstorms but due to
learning more about severe
thunderstorms and how they might affect
the safety of those in flight, scientists
and engineers have helped developed
ways to make flights safer.
Many planes have their outer areas (called
skins) made from aluminum. This is a metal
that is a very good conductor of electricity. If
lightning strikes the plane, most of the
lightning current remains on the exterior of the
aircraft and flows along the exterior and then
away from the plane.
Systems have been designed to help protect
all of the computers and instruments that
control everything in the airplane. Lightning
protection engineers make sure that damaging
surges can not reach the equipment inside the
aircraft.
In addition, we now have more sophisticated
instruments to help detect lightning and predict
weather conditions. This can help those in the airport's
flight control centers know where the storms are
located. Lightning detection networks have also been
developed which can track lightning strikes all over the
country using the National Lightning Detection
Network. If a supercell (the most dangerous type of
thunderstorm) is spotted, pilots and airport personnel
are alerted
Even though the passengers and crew may see a
lightning flash and hear a noise if lightning strikes
their plane, nothing serious should happen because of
the lightning protection built into the aircraft. Pilots
sometimes report a temporary flickering of cabin lights
or some brief interference with their instruments.
A Latest News Report
No survivors in Russian plane crash:
(Wednesday, August 23, 2006. 5:01am (AEST )
Russia's Emergencies Ministry says there are no survivors
after a Russian airliner, carrying 170 holidaymakers home
from a seaside resort, crashed and burst into flames in a
field in Ukraine.
Flight 612 took off from the Black Sea resort of Anapa and
was bound for its home base of St Petersburg.
"According to initial information there was a lightning strike
on the plane," a Russian Emergencies Ministry
spokeswoman said.
Vasily Nalyotenko, deputy head of Pulkovo Airlines, which
operated the Soviet-designed Tu-154, says the dead
includes 10 crew and 39 children.
Airline officials say the crew tried desperately to steer the plane
to safety from a high altitude.
"An SOS was issued from 11,700 metres and then again at
3,000 metres," Anatoly Samoshin, another deputy chairman of
the airline, told reporters.
"There was an incomprehensible sentence. We didn't
understand what was said. At 3,000 metres, communication
ceased."
Rescue teams were at the scene within 10 minutes of the impact.
Helicopters whirred overhead despite stormy weather which
abated as more crews arrived.
"The plane was in the air and all of a sudden there was a flash of
lightning," a man told Russia's NTV television.
"Then I saw the plane veering sharply downwards before it fell in
a field over there."
Officials had earlier blamed the crash on severe turbulence.
David Learmount, operations and safety editor with Flight
International magazine, told Reuters from London that a
lightning strike could have damaged the plane's instruments.
"The Tu-154 is a pretty damned robust plane," he said.
"It would take an awful lot to damage it so it would not survive."
Before Reading
Warm-up Questions:
Among the many transportation vehicles,
do you have preference for plane? Why
or why not?
Have you any past experience of great
danger? Which part of that memory
impresses you most?
Ask the students to use three adjectives
to describe their feeling.
Global Reading
Is this a piece of narration, description or
argumentation?
Why does the writer regard the lightning-
stricken flight as a fateful and lucky one?
How many parts can this passage be
divided into?
Structural Analysis
Detailed Reading
Paragraph 1-4
Paragraphs 5-9
Paragraphs 10-12
Paragraphs 13-14
Paragraph 1-4
Question:
Why did the young businessman look worried?
What did the pilot decide to do?
Paragraph 1
Language work
I was in the tiny bathroom in the back of the plane
when I felt the slamming jolt, and then the horrible
swerve that threw me against the door. Oh, lord, I
thought, this is it! Somehow I managed to unbolt the
door and scramble out. The flight attendants, already
strapped , waved wildly for me to sit down. As I lunged
toward my seat, passengers looked up at me with the
stricken expression of creatures who know they are
about to die.
“I think we got hit by lightning,” the girl in the seat next
to mine said. She was from a small town in east Texas,
and this was only her second time on an airplane. She
had won a trip to England by competing in a high
school geography bee and was supposed to make a
connecting flight when we landed in Newark.
In the next seat, at the window, sat a young businessman
who had been confidently working. Now he looked
worried. And that really worries me---when confident-
looking businessmen looked worried. The laptop was
put away. “Something’s not right,” he said.
The pilot’s voice came over the speaker. I heard
vaguely through my fear, “engine number two---
emergency landing---New Orleans.” When he
was done, the voice of a flight attendant came on;
reminding us of the emergency procedures she
had reviewed before takeoff. Of course I never
paid attention to this drill, always figuring that if
we ever got into the point where we needed to
use life jackets, I would have already died of
terror.
Paragraphs 5-9
Question:
Why did the writer feel proud of her fellow
passengers?
Language work
Now we began a roller-coaster ride through the
thunderclouds. I was ready to faint, but when I
saw the face of the girl next to me, I pulled myself
together, I reached for her hand and reassured her
that we were going to make it, “what a story you
are going to tell when you get home!” I said.
“After this, London is going to seem like small
potatoes.”
.
I wondered where was getting my strength. Then I
saw that my other hand was tightly held by a
ringed hand. Someone was comforting me---a
glamorous young woman across the aisle, the
female equivalent of the confident businessman.
She must have seen how scared I was and reached
over.
“I tell you,” she confided, “the problems I brought
up on this plane with me sure don’t seem real
big right now.” I loved her southern drawl, her
indiscriminate use of perfume, and her soulful
squeezes. I was sure that even if I survived the
plane crash, I’d have a couple of broken fingers
from all the TLC. “Are you okay?” she kept
asking me.
Among the many feelings going through my head
during those excruciating 20 minutes was pride--
-pride in how well everybody on board was
behaving. No one panicked. No one screamed.
As we jolted and screeched our way downward,
I could hear small pockets of soothing
conversation everywhere.
I thought of something I had heard a friend say
about the wonderful gift his dying father had
given the family: he had died peacefully, as if
not to alarm any of them about an experience
they would all have to go through someday.
Paragraphs 10-12
Question:
What acts of kindness were done after the
safe landing?
Language work
And then---yes! ---we landed safely. Outside on the
ground, attendants and officials were waiting to transfer
us to alternative flights. But we passengers clung together.
We chatted about lives we now felt blessed to be living, as
difficult or rocky as they might be. The young
businessman lamented that he had not a chance to buy his
two little girls a present. An older woman offered him box
of expensive Lindt chocolates, still untouched, tied with a
lovely bow. “I shouldn’t be eating them anyhow,” she said.
My glamorous aisle mate took out her cell phone and
passed it around to anyone who wanted to make a call to
hear the reassuring voice of a loved one.
There was someone I wanted to call. Back in
Vermont, my husband, bill, was anticipating my
arrival late that night. He had been complaining
that he wasn’t getting to see very much of me
because of my book tour. I had planned to surprise
him by getting in a few hours early. Now I just
wanted him to know I was okay and on my way.
When my name was finally called to board my
new flight, I felt almost tearful to be parting from
the people whose lives had so intensely, if briefly,
touched mine.
Paragraphs 13-14
Question:
What does the author think is the most
important thing she ought to do?
Language work
Even now, back on terra firma, walking down a
Vermont road, I sometimes hear an airplane and
look up at that small, glinting piece of metal, I
remember the passengers on the fateful, lucky
flight and wish I could thank them for the many
acts of kindness I witnessed and received. I am
indebted to my fellow passengers and wish I could
pay them back.
But then, remembering my aisle mate’s hand
clutching mine while I clutched the hand of the
high school student, I feel struck by lightning all
over again: the point is not to pay back kindness
but to pass it on.
.
slam
v.tr.
To shut with force and loud noise:
slammed the door.
To put, throw, or otherwise forcefully move so as to
produce a loud noise:
slammed the book on the desk.
To hit or strike with great force.
v.intr.
To close or swing into place with force so as to produce a
loud noise.
To hit something with force; crash:
slammed into a truck.
n. A forceful impact that makes a loud noise; a noise so
produced.
Jolt
A sudden jarring or jerking, as from a heavy
blow or an abrupt movement.
The sudden braking caused a severe jolt.
A sudden, strong feeling of surprise or
disappointment; the cause of such a feeling:
The news came as a jolt.
swerve
tr. & intr.v
To turn aside or be turned aside from a
straight course.
a gaze that never swerved
n. The act of swerving.
SYNONYMS : swerve, depart, deviate, digress, diverge,
stray, veer
Unbolt: To release the bolts of (a door, for
example); unlock
Scramble
To move or climb hurriedly, especially on the
hands and knees.
The boy scrambled over the wall.
To struggle or contend frantically in order to get
something:
scrambled for the best seats
Strap
n.
A long narrow strip of pliant material such as leather.
A thin flat metal or plastic band used for fastening or
clamping objects together or into position.
tr.v.
To fasten or secure with a strap.
He strapped the bag onto his bicycle.
To beat with a strap.
Lunge:
To move with a sudden thrust.
She lunged at me with a knife.
Bee: (old- fashioned) friendly competition
Laptop: a personal computer small enough to be put
on one’s lap for use (antonyms-desktop )
put
Put (phrasal verb)
put about
To change or cause to change direction; go or cause to go
from one tack to another.
put across
To state so as to be understood clearly or accepted readily:
put her views across during the hearing.
put away
Put sth in the place where it is belonged
He is in the habit of putting books away after he reads them
Save for later use
As an economical wife, she puts away certain amount of money
each week.
put by
To save for later use:
“Some crops were so abundant they could even be put
by” (Carole Lalli).
put down
To write down.
To bring to an end; repress:
put down a rebellion.
To render ineffective:
put down rumors.
put forth / put forward
To offer for consideration:
put forth an idea.
put off
To delay; postpone:
put off paying the bills.
To take off; discard:
put off a sweater.
put on
To clothe oneself with; don:
put on a coat; put socks on.
To add:
put on weight.
To produce; perform:
put on a variety show.
put out
To extinguish:
put out a fire.
put through
To bring to a successful end:
put the project through on time; put through a number of new laws.
To cause to undergo:
He put me through a lot of trouble.
To make a telephone connection for:
The operator put me through on the office line.
put together
To construct; create: put together a new bookcase; put together a
tax package.
put up
To erect; build.
To nominate: put up a candidate at a convention.
To provide (funds) in advance: put up money for the new musical.
To provide lodgings for: put a friend up for the night.
To offer for sale: put up his antiques.
Vaguely:
Not thinking or expressing oneself clearly.
These clauses are rather vaguely worded.
Lacking definite shape, form, or character;
indistinct:
saw a vague outline of a building through the
fog.
Emergency: A serious situation or occurrence
that happens unexpectedly and demands
immediate action.
An emergency exit
procedure
A manner of proceeding; a way of
performing or effecting something:
standard procedure.
A series of steps taken to accomplish an
end:
a medical procedure; evacuation procedures
Figure
n.
A written or printed symbol representing
something other than a letter, especially a
number.
Mathematical calculations:
good at figures.
An amount represented in numbers:
sold for a large figure.
A person, especially a well-known one:
a famous historical figure.
A person's public image or presence:
became a tragic figure overnight.
v.
Mathematics. To calculate with numbers.
Informal.
To conclude, believe, or predict:
I never figured that this would happen.
To consider or regard:
figured them as con artists.
Pull (phrasal verbs:)
pull ahead
To move ahead, as in a race.
pull away
To move away or backward; withdraw:
The limousine pulled away from the curb.
To move ahead:
The horse pulled away and took the lead in the race.
pull back
To withdraw or retreat.
pull down
To demolish; destroy:
pull down an old office building.
To depress, as in spirits or health.
pull in
To arrive at a destination:
We pulled in at midnight.
To arrest (a criminal suspect, for example).
pull out
To leave or depart:
The train pulls out at noon.
To withdraw, as from a situation or commitment:
After the crash, many Wall Street investors pulled out.
pull over
To bring a vehicle to a stop at a curb or at the side of a road:
We pulled over to watch the sunset.
pull round
To restore or be restored to sound health.
pull through
To come or bring successfully through trouble or illness.
Put together
Control oneself ;become calm after being excited or disturbed
She was able to pull herself together in the face og dang er and hardship.
pull up
To bring or come to a halt.
Reassure: restore confidence to
The mayor reassured all the citizen that the difficulty
would be overcome
Glamorous: full of or characterized by charm
Her smile was so glamorous that no one could resist the
charm.
Equivalent:
adj. Equal, as in value, force, or meaning.
Changing jobs like that is equivalent to giving him a
sack.
n. Something that is essentially equal to another:
“Prejudicing vital foreign policy considerations in order
to rescue individuals finds its domestic equivalent in the
inflated awards paid to … accident and malpractice
victims” (Moorhead Kennedy).
Scared: frightened
Antonyms: calm, confident, encouraged, laidback, unafraid
Confide: disclose private matters in confidence
He came to confided to me that he had spent 5
years in prison
Bring up
Raise from childhood, rear.
Bringing up children is both difficult and rewarding.
Vomit
She still felt sick but couldn't bring up anything.
Drawl:
v. To speak with lengthened or drawn-out vowels.
n. The speech or manner of speaking of one who drawls:
a Southern drawl
Indiscriminate:
Not making or based on careful distinctions;
unselective:
an indiscriminate shopper; indiscriminate taste in
music.
Confused; chaotic:
the indiscriminate policies of the previous
administration.
Unrestrained or wanton; profligate:
indiscriminate spending.
Soulful: profoundly emotional; expressing deep feelings
At the concert, the singer sang a soulful song.
Squeeze:
v.tr.
To press hard on or together; compress.
To press gently, as in affection:
squeezed her hand.
To exert pressure on, as by way of extracting liquid:
squeeze an orange.
To extract by or as if by applying pressure:
squeeze juice from a lemon;
squeezed a confession out of a suspect.
To force one's way:
squeeze through a crowd;
squeeze into a tight space.
n.
The act or an instance of squeezing.
Crash
v.
To undergo sudden damage or destruction on
impact:
Their car crashed into a guardrail.
The airplane crashed over the ocean.
To make a sudden loud noise:
breakers crashing against the rocks.
To undergo a sudden severe downturn, as a
market or economy.
n. An act of crashing
Economic crash
Car/airplane crash
excruciate:
To inflict severe pain on; torture.
To inflict great mental distress on.
Excruciating:
Intensely painful; agonizing.
She received an excruciating letter from her
former boy friend.
Very intense or extreme:
wrote with excruciating precision.
Panic:
affect or be affected with a sudden, overpowering terror
The crowd panicked at the sound of the explosion.
Screech
n.
A high-pitched, strident cry.
A sound suggestive of this cry:
the screech of train brakes
v.tr. To utter in or as if in a screech.
To make a sound suggestive of a screech:
Tires screeched on the wet pavement.
Pocket
a small group or area that exists separated from
others
The invaders met pockets of resistance in some cities.
soothe
To calm or placate.
She took every effort to soothe his anger
against her family.
To ease or relieve (pain, for example).
The medicine will soothe your sore throat.
give in
give way; surrender; allow oneself to be
beaten
I gave in to temptation and had a cigarette.
give out: to make known publicly
The date of the election will be given out soon.
give over: to stop
Give over hitting your little brother.
lock away
lock up; put in a safe place
The secret was locked away in her heart
She had locked her money away before she went away
on holiday.
lock it away within you: fasten it firmly in your mind; imprint
it on your mind;
lock away: lock up, put in a safe place and fasten the lock.
e.g. She locked away her jewels in the safe.
Alarm
n. A sudden fear caused by the realization
of danger.
The sudden bell’s ringing put her into great
alarm.
V. To fill with alarm; frighten.
V. To give warning to.
The soldiers were alarmed to the approaching
threat.
transfer
v.tr.
To convey or cause to pass from one place,
person, or thing to another.
The train will transfer the passengers to Hong Kong.
Law. To make over the possession or legal title
of; convey
In Victorian period, women are not allowed to transfer
possessions in their own name.
n.
The conveyance or removal of something from
one place, person, or thing to another.
Alternative:
n.
The choice between two mutually exclusive
possibilities.
It seems there is no alternative for me to choose.
adj.
Allowing or necessitating a choice between two or
more things
Neither of the two alternative clips is ideal for me.
cling
To hold fast or adhere to something, as by
grasping, sticking, embracing, or entwining:
clung to the rope to keep from falling; fabrics that cling
to the body.
To remain close; resist separation:
We clung together in the storm.
To remain emotionally attached; hold on:
clinging to outdated customs
blessed
Worthy of worship; holy.
He would be considered to be rude who broke the blessed
atmosphere.
Bringing happiness, pleasure, or contentment
We wrote thank-notes to those who had brought us
blessed time.
Lament
To express grief for or about; mourn
lament a death.
To regret deeply; deplore:
He lamented his thoughtless acts.
Rocky
Consisting of, containing, or abounding in
rock or rocks.
Rocky mountains
Steadfast or stubborn; unyielding:
her rocky heart.
Marked by obstructions or difficulties:
the rocky road to success.
Anticipate
To feel or realize beforehand; foresee:
hadn't anticipated the crowds at the zoo.
To look forward to, especially with pleasure;
expect:
anticipated a pleasant hike in the country.
To deal with beforehand; act so as to
mitigate, nullify, or prevent:
anticipated the storm by boarding up the
windows.
get to
To begin. Used with the present participle:
got to reminiscing.
To start to deal with:
didn't get to the housework until Sunday.
To influence or affect, especially adversely: The
noise really gets to me.
get in
To arrive: We got in late last night.
Intense
adj
Possessing or displaying a distinctive feature to an
extreme degree:
the intense sun of the tropics.
Extreme in degree, strength, or size:
intense heat.
Involving or showing strain or extreme effort:
intense concentration.
Deeply felt; profound:
intense emotion.
Tending to feel deeply:
an intense writer.
Glint
To gleam or flash briefly.
Her glinting gold ring attracts our attention.
Fategul
Vitally affecting subsequent events; being of
great consequence; momentous:
a fateful decision to counterattack.
Controlled by or as if by fate; predetermined.
His death seemed quite fateful.
Bringing death or disaster; fatal.
Witness
One who can give a firsthand account of
something seen, heard, or experienced:
a witness to the accident.
Law.
One who is called on to testify before a court.
One who is called on to be present at a
transaction in order to attest to what takes
place.
v.tr.
To be present at or have personal knowledge of.
To provide or serve as evidence of. To testify to;
bear witness.
That no one witnessed the murder was the biggest
problem.
To be the setting or site of:
This old auditorium has witnessed many ceremonies.
To attest to the legality or authenticity of by signing
one's name to.
No one would like to witness their marriage for fear of
being punished by the church.
Indebted
Owing something, such as gratitude or appreciation, to
another
I am indebted to all who have been working hard for the success of
the party.
Pay back
Repay a debt or a loan
I'll pay you back next month.
act or give something in recognition of someone's behavior
His effort to relieve others’ trouble will be sooner or later paid back.
pay back in someone's own coin.
Revenge oneself, repay in kind
He thought he could get away with copying my plans, but I'll pay
him back in his own coin.
Clutch
v.
To grasp and hold tightly.
n.
A hand, claw, talon, or paw in the act of
grasping.
A tight grasp.
Her sudden clutch on my arm frightened me
a lot.
After Reading
Structural Analysis
Summary
Sentence combination
Collocation of words
Oral Work
Writing
Summary
A. The text could be divided into four parts according to the
development of sequence. Please write a summary for
each part.
Paragraph 1-4
Paragraph 5-9
Paragraph 10-12
Paragraph 13-14
Structural Analysis
Parts Paragraphs Main Ideas
1 Paragraph1-4 The writer introduces the setting, the
unexpected happening and some main
characters.
2 These paragraphs narrate and delineate the
Paragraphs 5-9 writer’s, the young woman’s and other fellow
passengers’ thoughts, feelings and actions in
face of the danger.
.
3 These paragraphs tell what the passengers saw
Paragraphs 10-12 and did after the safe landing.
4 Paragraph13-14 The two paragraphs show readers the writer’s
frequent recall of and the enlightenment she
gets from the fateful flight.
B. Please use one sentence to summarize the main
idea of the text.
Sentence combination
Please combine the following sentences in the group
into one sentence. And then make a comparison with
the original sentence in the text.
Group 1 (paragraph 1)
I was in the tiny bathroom in the back of the plane.
I felt the slamming jolt.
The horrible swerve threw me against the door.
Group 2 (paragraph 1)
1. I lunged toward my seat.
2. Passengers looked up at me.
3. They wore the expression of frightened creatures.
4. The frightened creatures know they are about to die.
Group 3 (paragraph 9)
1. I thought of what a friend had said to me.
2. He told me about the wonderful gift his dying father
had given the family.
3. His father died peacefully.
4. It seemed his father didn’t want to alarm any of them
the death experience.
5. They would all have to go through that experience
someday.
Group 4 (paragraph 13)
1. I remember the passengers on that fateful and
lucky flight.
2. I wish I could thank them for their acts of
kindness.
3. I witnessed and received many kind acts on
that flight.
There are various ways to combine these sentences, but
some may be more effective in expressing the writer’s
feelings and more suitable for the tone of the text. And
this helps us decide the best way. When we are writing,
we should always be conscious of the available choices
in expression and the difference between each other.
Collocation of words
Please fill in the blank with an appropriate words with the
hint given in the parentheses.
1. The criminal _____________ to me all the secrets at
the night before his departure. (tell something secret to
a trusted person)
2. The clauses in the contract is _____________
worded. (not clearly)
3. The brake _____________ noisily until the car came
to a complete halt. (make loud and unpleasant sound)
In English as it is in every language there is no
definite rules for collocation of words. But there
is still some effective way by which we can learn
and remember how to put words together
properly and use them in an authentically. It is a
good idea to keep a vocabulary notebook.
Besides pronunciation and definition, it is also
necessary to write down some sample
sentences which demonstrate how the word is
used. With these sample sentences, we say
understand with which words is this new word
often used together.
Oral Work
A. Have a discussion on the following questions.
Is there any adventurous experience in you past
life?
What was your first reaction when the danger (s)
occurred?
B. Narrate one risky experience or story.
Information to be included:
Date
Place /Settings
Characters
Plot
Psychological depictions
Resolution
Enlightenment
Writing
A. Narrate one risky experience or story. The
narration should try to be vivid and your writing
should be interesting. Read aloud your story in
your group.
B. Have you any figure so unforgettable or so
influential to you that your memory of him or her
frequently invades your mind? If yes, please
write a short profile with emphasis on the
quality/qualities that most impresses you.