Unit 3
When
Lightning
struck
The Plan
• Word study
• A global picture of Text I
• A detailed study of Text I
• Exercises & Homework
Word Study
• Pronunciation
• Derivation
• Syn. & Anto.
• Differentiation
Word Study

Pronunciation
--Read the new words and expressions aloud.
--Listen for the correct pronunciations of the new
words in the recording of Text I.
Word Study: Derivation
noun
adjective
adverb
verb
procedure
procedural
─
─
reassurance
─
reassure
glamour
reassuring/
reassured
glamorous
glamorously
glamorize
soul
soulful
─
─
intensity
intense
intensely
intensify
─
soothing
─
sooth
Word Study
Synonyms
scared
frightened, terrified
go through
experience (v.)
anticipate
expect
indebted
grateful, obliged
Word Study
vaguely
Antonyms
clearly
glamorous
unglamorous
indiscriminate
discriminate, selective
rocky
steady, stable
Word Study:


Differentiation (I)
somehow vs. somewhat
Somehow is used when we don't know or cannot
say how something has been done or will be done.
Somewhat indicates that something is the case to a
limited extent or degree.
Word Study: Differentiation (II)
fear vs. panic

Both words refer to producing an upsetting emotional
response to something unpleasant or dangerous.

Fear means to be afraid or worried that something
unpleasant or dangerous might happen or might have
happened

Panic stresses the confused, hysterical or ineffective
action that results from an unpleasant or dangerous
event.
Word Study: Differentiation (III)



hope vs. anticipate
Both words pertain to the attitude of looking
forward to something that is to occur in the future.
Hope suggests looking forward exclusively to some
positive or favorable outcome. Structurally, it
should be followed by either a nominal clause or an
infinitive, or used intransitively.
Anticipate is restricted to thoughts of the future of
either a pleasant outcome or an unpleasant one.
Normally, it is followed by a nominal phrase, and
occasionally , by a nominal clause.
Word Study: Differentiation (IV)
survive vs. live

Both words indicate continued existence.

Survive emphasizes the successful overcoming of
an ordeal or threat to existence. It can be used both
transitively and intransitively.

Live means to have life or to function as an animate
organism. It is basically an intransitive verb, and if
used transitively, it must be followed only by a
cognate object, as in the exercise.
A Detailed Study
• Warm-up
• Background information
• Theme
• A structural analysis
• Comprehension check
• Language points
• Effective narration
Warm-up
• Watch the videos of an air-crash survivor’s
account of her survival and an expert’s
comments on her experience.
• Listen for the information about:
– how the speaker felt and what she heard before
the plane crashed
– what she did while the plane was dropping
– what one should do to have a better chance of
survival in a similar accident
Background Information
Do you know them?
★fuselage
★landing gear
★cockpit
★cabin
★cabin crew
★stewardess
★pilot / co-pilot
★ loudspeaker
★ safety belt
★ oxygen mask
★ cabin lavatory
★ life jacket
★ boarding card
Theme
• People can do fine deeds and establish superb
touching human relations by helping and
supporting each other in crises, and such
kindness should be passed on from generation
to generation.
A Structural Analysis

Part I (Para. 1—4)
Our plane was unexpectedly struck by lightning, and
the worried passengers were informed about an
emergency landing.

Part II (Para. 5—9)
Throughout the emergency landing, “I” was proud of
the passengers’ perfect self-control in the crisis and
their efforts to comfort one another.
A Structural Analysis (cont.)

Part III (Para. 10—12)
After the safe landing, “I” felt relieved and was
deeply touched by “my” fellow passengers’ kind deeds
while waiting for alternative flights.

Part IV (Para. 13—14)
“My” adventurous plane trip taught me that what is
most important is not to pay back kindness to a
specific fellow passenger but to pass it on at large.
Text Comprehension
Q&A
 1.What made the author think that the plane must have
been hit by lightning when she was in the tiny bathroom?
 2. Why did many passengers never pay attention to the
emergency procedures instruction before takeoff?
 3. What is suggested about the wonderful gift of the
author’s friend’s dying father?
 4. What were the passengers’ admirable acts of kindness
that deeply touched the author?
 5. What is the writer’s purpose of presenting her
extraordinary and unforgettable travel experience?
 6. What is the tone of this narrative?
Text comprehension
Judge whether the following statements are true or false.
 1. The author was informed that the plane was hit by
lightning when she was in the tiny bathroom.
 2. A flight attendant managed to unbolt the bathroom door
and let me out.
 3. The author was too frightened to remember the
emergency procedures that a flight attendant reviewed
before takeoff.
 4. The author took pride in her fellow passengers, because
none of them panicked. Instead, they went all out to support
one another.
 5. The author came to realize that, instead of paying it back,
she should pass the kindness she had seen or received on.
Key:
F
F
F
T
T
Part I
(Para. 1—4)

Language points

Sentence Highlights
Language Points

lightning (in the title)




thunder and ~
~ never strikes twice in the same place.
She changed her clothes with (at) ~ speed.
slam (Para. 1)



We could hear people shouting and doors ~ ming in the
house next door.
Henry ~med the report on the desk and angrily walked
out.
In the distance, he heard the ~ of the car door.
Language Points

jolt (Para. 1)



The residents felt the first massive ~ of the earthquake at
about 2:30 p.m.
Our car ~ ed over the rough road.
swerve (Para. 1)


The bus made a sudden ~ to avoid a child running across
the street.
The bus ~d across the road and crashed into a tree.
Language Points

…this is it!


(sl) used before an action or event that will have an
important effect on the final result
scramble (Para 1)


The campers ~ed to safety when flood came down the
canyon.
He made a ~ over the rocks at the seashore.
Language Points

lunge (Para. 1)



bee (Para. 2)


They both ~d forwards to catch the ball.
He made a ~ towards his opponent, but missed.
All the pupils got excellent grades in the spelling ~ .
connect (Para. 2)


This train ~ s with the cross-Channel ferry at Dover.
Related word: connection
 My train was late and I missed my ~ .
Concepts visualized
laptop
desktop
palmtop
Language Points

put away (Para. 3)



done (Para. 4)


Remember to ~ the toys ~ when you finish playing.
My parents have ~ about $50,000 for my education.
As soon as I’m ~, I’m going home.
review (Para. 4)


~ ing for exams gives you a chance to bring together all
the individual parts of the course.
We'll ~ the situation at the end of the month.
Language Points

figure (Para. 4)


She ~d that both she and Ned had learned a lot from the
painful experience.
life jacket (Para. 4)
Sentence Highlights

…I felt the slamming jolt, and then the
horrible swerve that swerve (Para. 1)
…I felt the sudden, forceful, and loud shaking of
our plane, and then its terrible turning aside that
pushed me against the door.
Sentence Highlights

Somehow, I managed to unbolt the door and
scrambled out. (Para. 1)

By some means, I succeeded in releasing the bolt
of the door and getting out of the bathroom.
Sentence Highlights

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)
As I suddenly rushed forward in the direction of my
seat, the passengers looked up at me with painful
emotions, which are almost commonly seen in
animals who know that they are going to die.
Sentence Highlights

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)
Subjunctive Mood
I never took this drill seriously, since I always
supposed that if we ever came to the critical moment
when we had to put out life jackets on, I would have
already died of fear.
Part II
(Para. 5—9)

Language points

Sentence Highlights

Rhetorical Devices
Language Points

pull oneself together (Para. 5)


make it (Para. 5)


Just pull yourself together. There's no point crying about
it.
Despite the heavy rain, she made it to the airport just in
time to catch her flight.
small potatoes (Para. 5)

If somebody or something is referred to as a small potato,
it seems unimportant when compared to somebody or
something else.
Language Points

confide (Para. 7)
 He ~ ed to his friends that he his wife planned to
separate.
 It is easier for a child to ~ in someone who is not
much older than him.

bring up (Para. 7)
 He tried repeatedly to ~ the subject of money.
 We’d been ~ to think that borrowing money was
bad.
Language Points

squeeze (Para. 7)
 The mother gave her son’s hand a little~.
 He ~d an orange to get the juice out.
 The government’s putting the ~ on business profits.

panic (Para. 8)
 When he saw the flames getting closer, he ~ked and
jumped out of the window.
 I phoned the doctor in a ~, crying that my grandpa
had a heart attack.
Language Points

excruciating (Para. 8)
 He was in ~ pain and one foot wouldn’t move.

pocket (Para. 8)
 Government troops crushed the last ~ s of
resistance in the city.
Sentence Highlights

I reached for her hand and reassured her that we
were going to make it. (para. 5)
I held out my hand to take hers, comforted her and
restored her confidence by saying that we would
manage to have a safe and sound journey home.
Sentence Highlights

After this, London’s going to seem like small
potatoes. (Para. 5)
Having experienced this, you might consider your
trip to London insignificant.
Sentence Highlights

The female equivalent of the confident
businessman must have seen how scared I was.
(Para. 6)
The businesswoman who was as confident as that
young businessman must have noticed how
frightened I was.
Sentence Highlights

I was sure that even if I survived the plane crash,
I’d have a couple of broken fingers from all the
TLC. (Para. 7)
I firmly believed that if I was able to live through
the air crash, I would have a couple of broken
fingers as a result of the soulful squeezes given out
of her tender loving care.
Rhetorical Devices

roller-coaster (Para. 5)
Rhetorical Devices
 Now
we began a roller-coaster ride
through the thunderclouds. (Para. 5)
 metaphor
Rhetorical Devices
 “After
this, London’s going to seem
like small potatoes.” (Para. 5)

simile
Part III
(Para. 10—12)

Language points

Sentence Highlights
Language Points

transfer (Para. 10)



lament (Para. 10)



You’d better ~ in Xi’an if you want to go to Urumqi.
On day 12, your journey ends with your airport ~.
The whole country ~ed the death of the great novelist.
He ~s the fact that he earns too little to pay his bills.
anticipate (Para. 11)


The organizers are ~ting a large crowd at the carnival.
It is ~d that the majority of our trainees will still come
from local companies.
Sentence Highlights

We chattered about the lives we now felt blessed
to be living, as difficult or rocky as they might be.
(Para. 10)
In our talks after the forced landing, we expressed
our gratitude to God for the good luck in our lives,
which might be very hard or uncertain.
Sentence Highlights

He had been complaining that he wasn’t getting
to see very much of me because of my book tour.
(Para. 11)
He had been voicing dissatisfaction or unhappiness,
saying that he was not able to see me quite often
because I had been on my tour for the promotion
of my recently published book.
Sentence Highlights

I felt almost tearful to be parting from the people
whose lives had so intensely, if briefly, touched
mine. (Para. 12)
I felt that I was on the point of shedding tears when
having to say goodbye to those people whose words
and deeds had so profoundly and strongly influenced
my feelings even though we had spent only a short
time together on the plane.
Part IV
(Para. 13—14)

Language points

Sentence Highlights
Language Points

fateful (Para. 13)


witness (Para. 13)



The world will always remember the ~ day when the atomic
bomb was dropped.
Anyone who ~ed the attack should call the police.
Any ~es to the incident are asked to contact the police.
indebted (Para. 13)


I am ~ to all the people who worked so hard to make the
concert a success.
~ countries are ones that owe money to other countries.
Language Points

pay back (Para. 14)



I wish one day I could ~ what my parents have done for
me.
He begged the old man to forgive him and promised to
~ everything stolen.
pass … on (Para. 14)

When you’ve read this message, please ~ it ~.
Sentence Highlights

I am indebted to my fellow passengers. (Para.
13)

I am grateful to those people who were on the
same plane with me.
Sentence Highlights

…I feel struck by lightning all over again: the
point is not to pay back kindness but to pass it
on. (Para. 14)
...I feel as if I were shocked by lightning all over
again, because, all of a sudden, I come to realize
that the most important point is not to return
kindness for kindness, but to spread it and pass it
down to future generations.
Effective
Narration
Effective Narration

Careful selection of details



…I saw that my other hand was tightly held by a
ringed hand.
…her box of expensive Lindt chocolates, still
untouched, tied with a lovely bow.
Successful building of suspension


…with the stricken expressions of creatures who know
they are about to die.
Now we began a roller-coaster ride through the
thunderclouds.
Effective Narration

Use of rhetorical devices




Use of dynamic and specific words



a roller-coaster ride (metaphor)
…London is going to be small potatoes (simile)
Among the many feelings going through my head during
those excruciating minutes was pride… (inversion)
the slamming jolt, the horrible swerve
scramble, lunge, lament, clutch
Use of realistic dialogues

Para. 2, Para. 5, Para.7
Exercises & Homework

Review

Textbook exercises

Dictation

Oral practice

Supplementary reading
Review: E-C Translation

Paragraph 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.

Paragraph 4
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.
Review: E-C Translation



Paragraph 7
I loved her Southern drawl, her indiscriminate
use of perfume, and her soulful squeezes.
Paragraph 10
We chatted about the lives we now felt blessed to
be living, as difficult or rocky as they might be.
Paragraph 12
I …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.
Notes on Grammar Exercises



The use of modal auxiliary + infinitive
in different forms
The tense distinctions of the present forms and past forms of
modal auxiliaries are not the chief markers of time reference.
When modal auxiliaries take predictive meanings, the
infinitive after it may appear in the perfect form to denote “past
time” and in the progressive form to denote “future time”.
When modal auxiliaries take non-predictive meanings, the
infinitive after it usually appears in its base form (a bare
infinitive).
Key to Grammar Exercises II--IV
II. Rewrite the following, using modal auxiliary +
the correct form of the infinitive.
1. He may know the answer.
2. It must have been difficult.
3. He couldn’t have forgotten his appointment.
4. She must be coming tomorrow.
5. We ought to help people in need.
6. May/Can I say something?
7. He may have gone to the museum.
8. You ought to have apologized.
Key to Grammar Exercises II--IV
III. Rewrite the following, using be going to.
1. When are you going to start?
2. I’m sure it is going to rain.
3. I’m going to take a few days’ holiday.
4. When are you going to sell it?
5. There is going to be trouble.
6. We are going to have dinner out.
IV. Fill in the blanks with the proper forms of the verbs in
the brackets.
1. had listened 2. were
3. could
4. knew
5. had
6. were
Notes on Writing Practice




How to use conjunctions correctly
as if: to suggest a possible explanation for sth.
although one does not think that this is the actual
explanation
as far as: to the extent that; as much as
as long as: on condition that
apart from


except for
in addition to
Dictation
Our boat floated on,／between walls of forest.／
Nowhere did we find a place／where we could have
landed. ／In any case, ／what would we have got by
landing? ／The country was full of snakes ／and other
dangerous animals, ／and the forest was so thick ／that
one would be able to advance only slowly, ／cutting
one’s way with knives ／the whole day. ／We lived on
fish, ／caught with a homemade net of string, ／and
any fruit and nuts ／we could pick up out of the water.
／As we had no fire, ／we had to eat everything, ／
including the fish, ／uncooked. ／As for water, ／there
was a choice: ／we could drink the muddy river water,
／or die of thirst.
Homework
 Translation
(p. 41)
 Retelling
 Supplementary
reading
Homework: Retelling

Retell the story to your partner by using the
third-person narrator.

Use as many expressions you’ve learnt in Text I
as possible.
Supplementary Reading

Passage I
The Denver Connection

Passage II
Heroes Among Us
Thank
you!