When Lightning Struck

Unit 3Text 1

Before ReadingGlobal ReadingDetailed ReadingAfter 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 Intern

ational 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 1Language 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?

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.”

.

Language work

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 workAnd 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..

slamv.tr. To shut with force and loud noise:

slammed the door. To put, throw, or otherwise forcefully move so as to produce a loud n

oise: 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 st

raight course. a gaze that never swerved

n. The act of swerving.SYNONYMS : swerve, depart, deviate, digress, diverge, st

ray, 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

Strapn. A long narrow strip of pliant material such as leather. A thin flat metal or plastic band used for fastening or cla

mping 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 fro

m 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

Figuren. 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 overcomeGlamorous: 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 prisonBring 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.

transferv.tr. To convey or cause to pass from one place, pers

on, 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 o

ne 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.

Intenseadj 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; b

ear witness. That no one witnessed the murder was the biggest probl

em. 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 b

eing 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

2 These paragraphs narrate and delineate the 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 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.

.

Paragraphs 5-9

Paragraphs 10-12

The writer introduces the setting, the unexpected happening and some main characters.

B. Please use one sentence to summarize the main idea of the text.

Sentence combination

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.

Please combine the following sentences in the group into one sentence. And then make a comparison with the original sentence in the text.

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.