Unit 7: When lightning struck Background information: 1. What is aviation accident? Is air travel safe? An aviation accident is defined as: An occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight and the time all such persons have disembarked, and in which: a) a person is fatally or seriously injured; b) the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure; or c) the aircraft is missing or is completely inaccessible Air travel is the safest form of transportation available. Trains have 0.04 deaths for every 100 million miles and automobiles have 0.94 deaths per 100 million miles, while air travel has 0. 01 deaths for every 100 million miles traveled f aviation acci approximately 80 percent of all aviation accidents occur shortly before, after,or during takeoff of landing, and are often described as resulting from"human error mid-flight disasters are rare but not entirely unheard of. Among other things, the latter have been caused by bombs, mid-air collisions and structural failure. An accident survey of 1, 843 aircraft accidents from 1950 through 2006 determined the causes to be as follows: 53%: Pilot error: 21%: Mechanical failure: 11%: Weather: 6% Sabotage(bombs, hijackings, shoot-downs); 8%: Other human error(air traffic controller error, improper lad ing of aircraft, improper maintenance, fuel contamination, language miscommunication etc. ) 1% Other cause 大约80%的航空事故发生在飞机的起飞或降落的前后或过程中,并通常被描 述为由人为过失造成。飞行中的灾难很罕见,尽管也有报道。通常造成飞行中灾 难的原因有炸弹、空中撞机和机械故障。一份对发生在1950-2006年期间的1843 起航空事故的调查显示,造成航空事故的原因为:53%是因为飞行员过失;21% 是因为机械故障;11%是因为恶略天气;6%属人为破坏(炸弹、劫机、击落); 8%是因为其他人为过失(空中交通管制员过失、装载不当、维护不当、燃料污 染、语言传达错误,等等);还有1%的其他原因。 三、 try to answer the following questions: 1. What had most probably happened to the plane when the author was using its bathroom? 2. Why did the author never pay attention to the emergency procedure instruction before takeoff? 3. What could be heard as the plane jolted and screeched its way downward? 4. What does the wonderful gift of the author's friends dying father suggest? 5. Why did the authors aisle mate take out her cell phone and pass it around? 6. Why did the author feel almost tearful to be parting from her fellow passengers on 7. What significant message does the author get from the incident? 三、 Structural analysis: 1. Part 1(Paras. 1-4 ): It tells us about the setting the unexpected happening, and some main characters including the writer
Unit 7: When Lightning Struck 一、Background information: 1. What is aviation accident? Is air travel safe? An aviation accident is defined as: An occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft which takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight and the time all such persons have disembarked, and in which: a) a person is fatally or seriously injured; b) the aircraft sustains damage or structural failure; or c) the aircraft is missing or is completely inaccessible. Air travel is the safest form of transportation available. Trains have 0.04 deaths for every 100 million miles and automobiles have 0.94 deaths per 100 million miles, while air travel has 0.01 deaths for every 100 million miles traveled. 2. Causes of aviation accidents Approximately 80 percent of all aviation accidents occur shortly before, after, or during takeoff of landing, and are often described as resulting from “human error”; mid-flight disasters are rare but not entirely unheard of. Among other things, the latter have been caused by bombs, mid-air collisions and structural failure. An accident survey of 1,843 aircraft accidents from 1950 through 2006 determined the causes to be as follows: 53%: Pilot error; 21%: Mechanical failure; 11%: Weather; 6%: Sabotage (bombs, hijackings, shoot-downs); 8%: Other human error (air traffic controller error, improper lading of aircraft, improper maintenance, fuel contamination, language miscommunication etc.): 1%: Other cause. 大约 80%的航空事故发生在飞机的起飞或降落的前后或过程中，并通常被描 述为由人为过失造成。飞行中的灾难很罕见，尽管也有报道。通常造成飞行中灾 难的原因有炸弹、空中撞机和机械故障。一份对发生在 1950-2006 年期间的 1843 起航空事故的调查显示，造成航空事故的原因为：53%是因为飞行员过失；21% 是因为机械故障；11%是因为恶略天气；6%属人为破坏（炸弹、劫机、击落）； 8%是因为其他人为过失（空中交通管制员过失、装载不当、维护不当、燃料污 染、语言传达错误，等等）；还有 1%的其他原因。 二、try to answer the following questions: 1. What had most probably happened to the plane when the author was using its bathroom? 2. Why did the author never pay attention to the emergency procedure instruction before takeoff? 3. What could be heard as the plane jolted and screeched its way downward? 4. What does the wonderful gift of the author’s friend’s dying father suggest? 5. Why did the author’s aisle mate take out her cell phone and pass it around? 6. Why did the author feel almost tearful to be parting from her fellow passengers on board? 7. What significant message does the author get from the incident? 三、Structural Analysis: 1. Part 1 (Paras. 1-4): It tells us about the setting, the unexpected happening, and some main characters including the writer
2. Part 2(Paras. 5-9): It narrates and delineates the feelings, thoughts, and actions of the writer, the acts of kindness of the glamorous young woman and the behavior of other passengers on the plane when they were faced with the dangerous situation 3. Part 3(Paras. 10-12): It tells the readers what the passengers saw and did after they landed safely 4. Part 4(Paras. 13-14 ): It tells us the writer's thinking of the fateful and lucky flight back home and her purpose of writing 四. Language work 1.slam:v. shut loudly and with force(把…)砰地关上,使劲关闭 a door slammed shut in the distance.(远处一扇门砰的关上了。) Peter slammed the phone down angrily when hearing his wife had an affair. (14 听说妻子有外遇,气愤得重重的摔下了电话。) Stand ing there in the drizzling rain, she heard the slam of his car door.(她站在毛 毛细雨中,听到他的车门砰地一声响。) 2. scramble: V. move quickly; move somewhere in a hurried awkward way (alil 别扭地)快速移动 The children scrambled for the coins.(孩子们争抢着硬币。) It' s quite a scramble to get to the top of the hil!(要往上爬很长一段路才能到达 山顶呢!) There is a usual scramble for the bathroom in the dorm every morning.(每天早上 宿舍的浴室通常都被抢者用。) 3. lunge:w. make a sudden forceful forward movement突然向前冲、扑 McCulloch raised his cudgel and lunged at elton.(麦卡洛克举起棍子向埃尔顿 戳去。) Billy lunged his spear at the fish.(比利用手中的矛刺向鱼。) Lucy made a lunge for Gabriel' s wrist.(露西向前猛冲去抓加布里奇尔的手腕。) 4. figure:v. consider认为,以为 They figured it was better to stay where they were.(他们断定还是待在原地好。) 5. reassure: vt say or do sth. in order to make sb. feel less frightened, worried or nervous使安心,使放心,使恢复信心 The police reassured Susan about her child' s safety.(警方让苏珊放心,她的孩 子很安全。) 6 equivalent:n.sth. or someone equal等同物(人),对应物(人) Some english words have no Chinese equivalents.(有些英文词在中文里没有对 应词。) 7. confide:v. tell sth. secretly to a person one trusts吐露(秘密、心事等) Paul confided his troubles to his friend.(保罗向朋友倾诉烦恼事。) Thee' s no one here i can confide in.(这里没有一个我可以信赖的人。) 8. indiscriminate:a. not carefully chosen不加选择的,不加鉴别的 Gary was indiscriminate in his choice of friends.(加里择友不慎重。) 9. squeeze:n. an act of pressing hard for a particular purpose紧握,紧捏,挤压 There' ll be enough room if we all squeeze up a bit.(咱们大家挤一挤就够地方 了。)
2. Part 2 (Paras. 5-9): It narrates and delineates the feelings, thoughts, and actions of the writer, the acts of kindness of the glamorous young woman and the behavior of other passengers on the plane when they were faced with the dangerous situation. 3. Part 3(Paras. 10-12): It tells the readers what the passengers saw and did after they landed safely. 4. Part 4(Paras. 13-14): It tells us the writer’s thinking of the fateful and lucky flight back home and her purpose of writing. 四. Language Work 1. slam: v. shut loudly and with force （把…）砰地关上，使劲关闭 A door slammed shut in the distance. （远处一扇门砰的关上了。） Peter slammed the phone down angrily when hearing his wife had an affair. （彼得 听说妻子有外遇，气愤得重重的摔下了电话。） Standing there in the drizzling rain, she heard the slam of his car door. （她站在毛 毛细雨中，听到他的车门砰地一声响。） 2. scramble: v. move quickly; move somewhere in a hurried awkward way （急速、 别扭地）快速移动 The children scrambled for the coins. （孩子们争抢着硬币。） It’s quite a scramble to get to the top of the hill! （要往上爬很长一段路才能到达 山顶呢！） There is a usual scramble for the bathroom in the dorm every morning. （每天早上 宿舍的浴室通常都被抢者用。） 3. lunge: v. make a sudden forceful forward movement 突然向前冲、扑 McCulloch raised his cudgel and lunged at Elton. （麦卡洛克举起棍子向埃尔顿 戳去。） Billy lunged his spear at the fish. （比利用手中的矛刺向鱼。） Lucy made a lunge for Gabriel’s wrist. （露西向前猛冲去抓加布里奇尔的手腕。） 4. figure: v. consider 认为，以为 They figured it was better to stay where they were. （他们断定还是待在原地好。） 5. reassure: vt. say or do sth. in order to make sb. feel less frightened, worried or nervous 使安心，使放心，使恢复信心 The police reassured Susan about her child’s safety. （警方让苏珊放心，她的孩 子很安全。） 6. equivalent: n. sth. or someone equal 等同物（人），对应物（人） Some English words have no Chinese equivalents. （有些英文词在中文里没有对 应词。） 7. confide: v. tell sth. secretly to a person one trusts 吐露（秘密、心事等） Paul confided his troubles to his friend. （保罗向朋友倾诉烦恼事。） There’s no one here I can confide in. （这里没有一个我可以信赖的人。） 8. indiscriminate: a. not carefully chosen 不加选择的，不加鉴别的 Gary was indiscriminate in his choice of friends. （加里择友不慎重。） 9. squeeze: n. an act of pressing hard for a particular purpose 紧握，紧捏，挤压 There’ll be enough room if we all squeeze up a bit. （咱们大家挤一挤就够地方 了。）
Ada may be able to squeeze you in, if you play your cards right.(如果你办事高明 的话,也许艾达能为你挤出点时间。) We managed to get all the luggage into the car but it was a tight squeeze. (Ef]5 算把行李都塞进汽车里了,不过挤得要命。) 10. transfer: v (cause to )move or change from one vehicle to another in the course of a journey转乘,改乘,转车 We had to transfer from Gatwick to Heathrow to catch a plane to Belfast. (f 得从盖特维克机场转往希思罗机场,以赶上飞往贝尔法斯特的航班。) Tom has transferred from the warehouse to the accounting office.(汤姆已由仓 库调到会计室任职。) The club's goalkeeper isnt happy here, and has asked for a transfer(to another club).(该足球俱乐部的守门员在这个俱乐部里待得不开心,已要求转到其他俱 乐部。) tly(osb.)紧握,紧抱 The clung to each other as they said goodbye.(他们分别时紧紧拥抱在一起。) Rose clung to the hope that Jack was still alive.(罗丝始终抱着一个希望,那就 是杰克仍然活着。) 12. anticipate:v. expect盼望,期望 In business you' ve got to anticipate how your competitors will act.(在生意上, 你必须事先估计到你的竞争对手会如何行动。) They eagerly anticipated the day they would leave school(他们迫切地期盼着 毕业离校的那一天。) 13. indebted:a. very grateful to xomeone for the help given感激的,蒙恩的 I am deeply indebted to my family for all their help.(我深深感激我的家人给我 的所有帮助。) 14. clutch:t. hold sth. tightly,esp. because one is afraid or excited紧抓,紧握 a drowning man will clutch at a floating straw.(一个即将淹死的人会连一根漂 浮的稻草也要抓住的。) Mary was clutching her doll to her chest.(玛丽把她的洋娃娃紧紧抱在胸前。) 15. put away: put sth. where it is usu. kept收起来,放回原处 Put your toys away in the cupboard when you' ve finished play ing.(玩耍后你要 把玩具放进柜子里去。) Dora has got a few thousand pounds put away for her retirement.(多拉已存了几 千英镑以备退休之用。) 16. pull oneself together: control oneself; become calm after being excited or disturbed; recover self- command控制自己的情绪、感情,振作起来 Stop acting like a baby! Pull yourself together!(别像个孩子似的。要控制你自 己的情绪。) You must try to pull yourself together-your family depends on you.(你应该振作 起来一一你的家庭都指望着你的。 7. go through: suffer or experience遭受,经历 Cervantes was amazingly cheerful considering all that he had gone through. (ai 于塞万提斯经历过的种种遭遇,他的乐天达观令人惊叹。) l8. get in:( of a train,etc, or a passenger) arrive at its destinat ion到达目的地
Ada may be able to squeeze you in, if you play your cards right. （如果你办事高明 的话，也许艾达能为你挤出点时间。） We managed to get all the luggage into the car but it was a tight squeeze. （我们总 算把行李都塞进汽车里了，不过挤得要命。） 10. transfer: v. (cause to)move or change from one vehicle to another in the course of a journey 转乘，改乘，转车 We had to transfer from Gatwick to Heathrow to catch a plane to Belfast. （我们 得从盖特维克机场转往希思罗机场，以赶上飞往贝尔法斯特的航班。） Tom has transferred from the warehouse to the accounting office. （汤姆已由仓 库调到会计室任职。） The club’s goalkeeper isn’t happy here, and has asked for a transfer (to another club). （该足球俱乐部的守门员在这个俱乐部里待得不开心，已要求转到其他俱 乐部。） 11. cling: v. hold on tightly (to sb.) 紧握，紧抱 The clung to each other as they said goodbye. （他们分别时紧紧拥抱在一起。） Rose clung to the hope that Jack was still alive. （罗丝始终抱着一个希望，那就 是杰克仍然活着。） 12. anticipate: v. expect 盼望，期望 In business you’ve got to anticipate how your competitors will act. （在生意上， 你必须事先估计到你的竞争对手会如何行动。） They eagerly anticipated the day they would leave school. （他们迫切地期盼着 毕业离校的那一天。） 13. indebted: a. very grateful to xomeone for the help given 感激的，蒙恩的 I am deeply indebted to my family for all their help. （我深深感激我的家人给我 的所有帮助。） 14. clutch: vt. hold sth. tightly, esp. because one is afraid or excited 紧抓，紧握 A drowning man will clutch at a floating straw. （一个即将淹死的人会连一根漂 浮的稻草也要抓住的。） Mary was clutching her doll to her chest. （玛丽把她的洋娃娃紧紧抱在胸前。） 15. put away: put sth. where it is usu.kept 收起来，放回原处 Put your toys away in the cupboard when you’ve finished playing. （玩耍后你要 把玩具放进柜子里去。） Dora has got a few thousand pounds put away for her retirement. （多拉已存了几 千英镑以备退休之用。） 16. pull oneself together: control oneself; become calm after being excited or disturbed; recover self-command 控制自己的情绪、感情，振作起来 Stop acting like a baby! Pull yourself together! （别像个孩子似的。要控制你自 己的情绪。） You must try to pull yourself together-your family depends on you. （你应该振作 起来——你的家庭都指望着你的。） 17. go through: suffer or experience 遭受，经历 Cervantes was amazingly cheerful considering all that he had gone through. （鉴 于塞万提斯经历过的种种遭遇，他的乐天达观令人惊叹。） 18. get in: (of a train, etc, or a passenger) arrive at its destination 到达目的地
The plane got in late due to the heavy snow.(飞机因大雪晚点到达 19. pay back: give sth.tosb. in return for help, kindness. etc.偿还,回报 Students will try their best to pay back the teacher' s generosity.(学生将尽力回 报老师的慷慨。) Martin will pay back the money in monthly installment.(马丁将用每月分期付 款的方式将钱付还。) I will pay him back for what he did to me.(他这样对我,我一定要报复他。) 五、难句解析 1. As I lunged toward my seat, passengers looked up at me with the stricken expressions of creatures who know they are about to die. Para. 1, Lines 4-6 【改写】 When I rushed for my seat, passengers looked up at me and they were so scared that their expressions reminded me of creatures who know they are going to die 【译文】当我冲向我的座位时,发现乘客们看着我,脸上恐慌的表情使人想起了 那些知道自己即将死亡的动物。 2. 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. Para. 2, Lines 3-4) 【改写】 She had won a friendly competition of high school geography and was rewarded with a trip to England. She intended to catch another flight to continue her journey when we arrived at Newark 【译文】她在髙中地理友谊赛中获胜,赢得一次去英格兰的旅行。她原打算乘这 趟航班到纽瓦克后再转机。 3. Engine number two... emergency land.. New Orleans. "(Para. 4, Line 2) 【改写】 There is something wrong with Engine number two; we need an emergency land ing the destination is New orleans 【译文】“二号引擎…紧急降落…新奧尔良” 4. When he was done, the voice of a flight attendant came on, reminding us of the emergency procedures she had reviewed before takeoff. (Para. 4, Lines 2-4 【改写】 After he said, a flight attendant spoke over the speaker and reminded us of the emergency procedures she had reviewed before takeoff 【译文】机长说完后,又传来一个乘务员的声音,提醒我们在飞机起飞前就预先 演练过的紧急应变程序。 5. Of course I never paid attention to this drill, always figuring that if we ever got to the point where we needed to use life jackets, I would have already died of terror (Para. 4, Lines 4-6) 【改写】 I didn' t notice this drill at all. because i considered that if it' s time we had to put on life jackets, I would have already been frightened to death 【译文】当然,我从来没有注意过这种演练。我一向认为,如果到了需要穿上救 生衣的时候,我可能早就吓死了。 6. Now we began a roller-coaster ride through the thunderclouds. Para. 5, Line 1) 【改写】 Now our plane jou ke a roller-coaster ride through t thunderclouds
The plane got in late due to the heavy snow. （飞机因大雪晚点到达。） 19. pay back: give sth. to sb. in return for help, kindness, etc. 偿还，回报 Students will try their best to pay back the teacher’s generosity. （学生将尽力回 报老师的慷慨。） Martin will pay back the money in monthly installment. （马丁将用每月分期付 款的方式将钱付还。） I will pay him back for what he did to me. （他这样对我，我一定要报复他。） 五、难句解析 1. As I lunged toward my seat, passengers looked up at me with the stricken expressions of creatures who know they are about to die. (Para. 1, Lines 4-6) 【改写】When I rushed for my seat, passengers looked up at me and they were so scared that their expressions reminded me of creatures who know they are going to die. 【译文】当我冲向我的座位时，发现乘客们看着我，脸上恐慌的表情使人想起了 那些知道自己即将死亡的动物。 2. 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. (Para. 2, Lines 3-4) 【改写】She had won a friendly competition of high school geography and was rewarded with a trip to England. She intended to catch another flight to continue her journey when we arrived at Newark. 【译文】她在高中地理友谊赛中获胜，赢得一次去英格兰的旅行。她原打算乘这 趟航班到纽瓦克后再转机。 3. “Engine number two… emergency landing… New Orleans.” (Para. 4, Line 2) 【改写】There is something wrong with Engine number two; we need an emergency landing; the destination is New Orleans. 【译文】“二号引擎…紧急降落…新奥尔良”。 4. When he was done, the voice of a flight attendant came on, reminding us of the emergency procedures she had reviewed before takeoff. (Para. 4, Lines 2-4) 【改写】After he said, a flight attendant spoke over the speaker and reminded us of the emergency proce3dures she had reviewed before takeoff. 【译文】机长说完后，又传来一个乘务员的声音，提醒我们在飞机起飞前就预先 演练过的紧急应变程序。 5. Of course I never paid attention to this drill, always figuring that if we ever got to the point where we needed to use life jackets, I would have already died of terror. (Para. 4, Lines 4-6) 【改写】I didn’t notice this drill at all, because I considered that if it’s time we had to put on life jackets, I would have already been frightened to death. 【译文】当然，我从来没有注意过这种演练。我一向认为，如果到了需要穿上救 生衣的时候，我可能早就吓死了。 6. Now we began a roller-coaster ride through the thunderclouds. (Para. 5, Line 1) 【改写】Now our plane journey was like a roller-coaster ride through the thunderclouds
【译文】现在,飞机在带电云层中忽上忽下,像过山车一样 7.... a glamorous young woman across the aisle, the female equivalent of the confident businessman.(Para. 6, Lines 2-3) 【改写】… a very charming young woman across the aisle, a businesswoman as confident as that businessman 【译文】…那是坐在过道另一边的一个迷人的年轻女子,是个和那位男商人一样 自信的女商人。 8. We chatted about the lives we now felt blessed to be living, as difficult or rocky as they might be. ( Para. 10, Lines 3-4) 【改写】 In our talk now, we expressed our gratitude to God for the good luck in our lives, which might be very hard and uncertain 【译文】我们谈论着生活,对于活着感到幸运,尽管生活可能有多曲折,有多崎 岖 9... the point is not to pay back kindness but to pass it on. (Para. 14, Lines 2-3) 【改写】…. what is important is not to pay back kindness, but to pass it on 【译文】…重要的不是回报仁善,而是传播仁善
【译文】现在，飞机在带电云层中忽上忽下，像过山车一样。 7. … a glamorous young woman across the aisle, the female equivalent of the confident businessman. (Para. 6, Lines 2-3) 【改写】… a very charming young woman across the aisle, a businesswoman as confident as that businessman. 【译文】…那是坐在过道另一边的一个迷人的年轻女子，是个和那位男商人一样 自信的女商人。 8. We chatted about the lives we now felt blessed to be living, as difficult or rocky as they might be. (Para. 10, Lines 3-4) 【改写】In our talk now, we expressed our gratitude to God for the good luck in our lives, which might be very hard and uncertain. 【译文】我们谈论着生活，对于活着感到幸运，尽管生活可能有多曲折，有多崎 岖。 9 … the point is not to pay back kindness but to pass it on. (Para. 14, Lines 2-3) 【改写】… what is important is not to pay back kindness, but to pass it on. 【译文】…重要的不是回报仁善，而是传播仁善