2010年ESL之旅行交通购物 04 An Emergency Airplane Landing

 

04 An Emergency Airplane Landing

GLOSSARY

cockpit – the part of the plane where the pilot and co-pilot sit, separated from therest of the airplane

* The cockpit is filled with instruments used to operate the plane.

turbulence – a period when there is a lot of unpredictable movement while aplane is flying, usually caused by wind or storms

* During turbulence, her glass of orange juice spilled all over her jacket.

fasten seatbelt sign – a small, lighted sign above each seat on an airplane that,when turned on, lets passengers know they should wear their seatbelt, whichholds them in their seats when the plane moves

* The pilot has turned off the fasten seatbelt sign, so you are free to walk aroundthe plane, but we recommend that you leave your seatbelt on whenever you areseated.

extreme weather conditions – weather with a lot of rain, snow, or wind, or witha very high or low temperature

* People who live in Colorado are used to extreme weather conditions, sincesometimes it snows one day and then is 70 degrees and sunny the next day.

emergency landing – when a plane is forced to land earlier than planned, and ina different place, usually because it is having mechanical problems

* When the plane’s engine failed, the pilot had to make an emergency landing atthe nearest airport.

cabin crew – airplane personnel; the people who work on an airplane during aparticular flight, including the pilots and flight attendants

* Welcome to Global Airways! If there’s anything we can do to make your flightmore enjoyable, please ask a member of our cabin crew for assistance.

emergency procedure – something that people have learned to do if and whenthere is an emergency (a serious, unexpected, and dangerous problem)

* Does the library have a written emergency procedure describing what peopleshould if there is a fire?

floatation device – something that is worn, held, or attached to one’s body sothat one’s head does not fall below the surface of water, used to save lives

* If you don’t have a life jacket, you can use your seat cushion as a floatationdevice.

oxygen mask – a small device that is placed over one’s nose and mouth so thatone can receive oxygen when something is wrong with the normal air

* Ever since his surgery, Gerard has had difficulty breathing, so he has to wearan oxygen mask whenever he leaves the house.

to freak out – to become very worried, anxious, and scared

* June is going to freak out if her pregnancy test is positive.

to crash-land – to have to land a plane, even though there is no airport nearby,usually landing it in a field or on a road

* The pilot had to crash-land in a field, but fortunately no one was hurt.

to dive – to jump or fall into the water from above, so that one is completelybelow the surface of the water

* The lifeguard dove into the water to rescue the little boy who had fallen into thepool.

to rescue – to find and save someone who is in a difficult or dangerous situation

* The boat is sinking! Use our radio to call the Coast Guard to rescue us.

in the middle of nowhere – in a remote place; very far from cities and towns; ina place that is difficult to reach

* After living in the city for 10 years, Oscar wanted to buy some land in the middleof nowhere and live in peace and quiet.

instrument – a tool that measures something and provides information

* Which instrument did the doctor use to measure your blood pressure?

malfunction – when a device or a piece of electronic equipment does not workproperly

* When the bank had a computer malfunction, customers’ private information wasvisible on its website for about 20 minutes.

to alarm – to scare someone or make someone become worried, usually bysharing bad news or unexpected information

* The doctor said, “I don’t want to alarm you, but your mother has a very seriousheart condition.”

to watch (one’s) life flash before (one’s) eyes – to quickly remember all thethings that one has done in one’s life, usually immediately before one expects todie

* Right before the car accident, I saw my life flash before my eyes.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. What would you want to use on an airplane during turbulence?

a) A seatbelt.

b) A floatation device.

c) An oxygen mask.

2. What does he mean by saying, “Who would rescue us here in the middle ofnowhere?”

a) He doesn’t think anyone will come to look for them.

b) He doesn’t think there’s anywhere for the plane to land.

c) He doesn’t think anyone will be able to find them.

______________

WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to dive

The verb “to dive,” in this podcast, means to jump or fall into the water fromabove, so that one is completely below the surface of the water: “The bird doveinto the water to catch a fish.” Or, “All the judges agreed that the diver dovebeautifully.” The verb “to dive” can also mean to spend time moving underwaterwhile using special equipment so that one can breathe: “They went diving in theCaribbean and were amazed by all the beautiful, colorful fish they saw there.”

The phrase “to dive (right) in” means to begin doing a task right away, withouthesitating (waiting) and with a lot of enthusiasm: “Let’s dive right in and getstarted.” The verb “to dive” can also mean to move quickly: “The children’shands dived into the bowl of candy.”

to alarm

In this podcast, the verb “to alarm” means to scare someone or make someonebecome worried, usually by sharing bad news or unexpected information: “Wewere alarmed to hear that there had been a large earthquake near our friends’

home.” An “alarm” is any type of electronic equipment that makes a loud noise tolet people know there is a problem: “Whenever we burn toast in the kitchen, thesmoke alarm goes off.” Or, “All the apartment building residents had to gooutside when the fire alarm went off.” Finally, an “alarm clock” is a smallelectronic clock that makes a loud noise at a specific time of day to wakesomeone up: “Oh no! I turned off my alarm clock in my sleep, and now I’m goingto be late for work!”

CULTURE NOTE

On January 15, 2009, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger was the “pilot” (the personwhose job is to fly a plane) of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 from New York City toCharlotte, North Carolina. Soon after “taking off” (leaving the ground andbeginning to fly), the plane hit a large “flock of birds” (a large group of birds flyingtogether). The “impact” (hit; collision), made the engines stop working.

Chesley knew that he wouldn’t be able to get the plane to land at the nearestairport in New York, so he decided to make an emergency landing. He landedthe plane in the Hudson River, even thought there wasn’t any “thrust” (power tomove forward) in the engines. How did he do that? Well, he had many years ofexperience “gliding” (flying without power, only with the wind), having earned hisglider pilot’s license when he was only 14 years old. He knew how to control aplane without engines, although obviously the plane he was flying that day wasnot supposed to be a glider.

Chesley’s actions that day saved the lives of all 155 passengers. As the plane“floated” (stayed above the surface of the water) on the river, he made sure thateveryone else had been “evacuated” (left the plane) before he became the lastperson to get off.

The story received a lot of “media coverage” (with many stories on TV and in thenewspapers) and Chesley was congratulated by then-President George W. Bushand “President-elect” (the person who had been chosen to be the next president)Barack Obama. He has also received many “honors” (awards and recognition)for his “heroism” (bravery to help others). Many people have called him the“Hero of the Hudson.”

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Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – a; 2 – c

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 554: AnEmergency Airplane Landing.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 554. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Please go to our website and support this podcast by becoming a member ormaking a small donation. You can do so at eslpod.com.

This episode is called “An Emergency Airplane Landing.” A “landing” is when theplane comes down to the ground; an “emergency landing” would be when there’ssome problem with the airplane. Let’s get started.

[start of story]

I was nearly asleep in my seat when I heard this announcement:

“Folks, this is the captain speaking from the cockpit. We are experiencing a lot ofturbulence and I’m turning on the fasten seatbelt sign. Please remain in yourseats.”

I didn’t think anything of it until a few minutes later when I heard thisannouncement:

“This is your captain speaking again. Due to extreme weather conditions, wemay need to make an emergency landing. The cabin crew will review theemergency procedures, and give you instructions on how to use the floatationdevices and the oxygen masks. Please stay calm.”

This is when I started to freak out. What if we crash-land? What if we dive intothe ocean? Who would rescue us here in the middle of nowhere?

Then, I heard this announcement:

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain again. It seems that we had aninstrument malfunction, and no emergency landing will be necessary. Sorry toalarm you, and please go back to sleep.”

Go back to sleep?! Is he kidding? How can anyone sleep after that?! I’m stillwatching my life flash before my eyes!

[end of story]

Our story begins when I say “I was nearly (meaning I was almost) asleep in myseat when I heard this announcement.” Of course, we’re on an airplane in themiddle of an airplane flight. “Folks, this is the captain speaking from the cockpit.”

“Folks” is an informal way of saying “ladies and gentlemen”; even more informalwould be “guys” or “hey guys,” but a captain wouldn’t say that. “Folks” is a littleold-fashioned. The word “folks” is also used to describe your parents.

Somebody says, “My folks are traveling,” they mean my parents are traveling, buthere it just means ladies and gentlemen.

“This is the captain speaking from the cockpit,” he says. The “cockpit” (cockpit)is the part of the plane where the pilot and the assistant pilot (we call him or herthe “co-pilot”) sit, separated from the rest of the plane. It’s in the very front of theplane, the cockpit. The captain says that we are experiencing (meaning we arehaving) a lot of turbulence. “Turbulence” is when you have unpredictablemovement in the airplane, usually because of wind or storms. The airplane startsto move up and down or side to side. It’s usually an uncomfortable situation.

The captain turns on the fasten seatbelt sign. A “seatbelt” is a belt that keepsyou in your seat. Most cars have seatbelts; you put the seatbelt on before youstart driving. In fact, that’s the law in most places in the United States. On anairplane, you also have a seatbelt that will, we hope, prevent you from gettinghurt if there is some sort of emergency situation or a lot of turbulence, so youdon’t fall out of your seat. “To fasten a seatbelt” means to put it on. “To fasten(something)” means to connect one thing with another. A seatbelt has a metalend on it, and that fastens, or connects into the other part of the seatbelt that ison the other side of the seat. The “fasten seatbelt sign” is a sign in the airplanethat you can see usually above every seat that tells you whether you can get upand walk around, or whether you should remain in your seat with your seatbeltsfastened.

The captain tells people to remain in their seats. I say that I didn’t think anythingof it (meaning I wasn’t thinking about it, it didn’t seem important) until a fewminutes later when I heard another announcement. The captain comes onagain: “This is your captain speaking again. Due to extreme weather conditions,we may need to make an emergency landing.” “Extreme weather conditions”

would be a lot of rain, snow, or wind that might affect the way the plane flies. An“emergency landing” is when the plane has to come down to the ground, or perhaps the water, because there’s some problem with the airplane and it can’tcontinue flying. “Landing” is when the plane comes back down to the ground.

The opposite is called the “takeoff,” that’s when the plane goes up in the air.

Well, an emergency landing, of course, is a very serious thing. The captain saysthat the cabin crew will review emergency procedures. A “crew” is a group ofpeople, in this case who are working together. These are people who work forthe airline; they are called, typically, “flight attendants,” and they work on theplane. They give you your food, they provide information and directions, and soforth. The “cabin” is the part of the plane where the people are. Usually inAmerican airplanes, there is a big cabin, which is called the “coach” cabin, that’swhere the cheap seats are. And then there’s the business or first-class cabin inthe front of the plane, where they have nice seats and good food. The “cabin”

refers, in general, to everything, all of the passengers in the airplane. So the“cabin crew” really means the flight attendants; in this case, everyone but thepilots, who are in the front flying the plane. “Procedures” are steps; things thatyou have to do to. “Emergency procedures” would be the things you have to do;in this case, if they had to make an emergency landing.

The captains says the cabin crew will give instructions on how to use thefloatation devices and the oxygen masks. “To float” (float) means to go into thewater but not to go down below the water, you stay on top of the water. A“floatation device” is something that you either wear or hold onto that preventsyour body from going underneath the water. So if you can’t swim, for example,but you have a floatation device, you can hang onto the floatation device so thatyou don’t go down into the water and die. The “oxygen mask” is a small deviceyou put over your mouth and your nose so that you can breathe oxygen in. Ofcourse, you need oxygen to survive, and when the plane is up at a very highaltitude, when it is high above the earth, you need that oxygen given to you. Inan emergency situation you have oxygen masks, usually they are above whereyou are sitting.

The captain tells everyone to please stay calm, which, of course, means don’t getexcited, don’t panic, but that’s very difficult for people to do in this situation. I saythat this is when I started to freak out. “To freak (freak) out” is a two-wordphrasal verb meaning to become very worried or anxious or scared. It’ssomewhat of an informal term. Then I say, “What if we crash-land?” “To crashland”

means that the airplane has to go down either on the ground or somewhereelse, but not at the airport. Of course, you don’t want the plane to landsomewhere else because many times the plane will blow up – it will explode, andonce again, you would die. You see this is a happy, happy story; I hope you’renot listening to this while you’re on the airplane!

I say also, because I’m so worried, “What if we dive into the ocean?” “To dive”

(dive) means to jump or to fall into the water from above, usually so that you arethen completely underneath the water, at least for a period of time. “Dive” has acouple of other in English, very different meanings; take a look at the LearningGuide for some additional explanations.

So I am afraid that the plane is going to go down into the ocean. I then say,“Who would rescue us here in the middle of nowhere?” “The middle of nowhere,”

or “in the middle of nowhere,” means it’s a very remote place, which means itisn’t near anything else. There aren’t any cities, there aren’t any towns, therearen’t a lot of people around; that would be in the middle of nowhere. “Torescue” means to find and save someone who’s in a difficult situation. So,there’ll be no one to rescue us if they crash-land or go into to the ocean becausethere is no one near them, they’re in the middle of nowhere.

Then, I hear the final announcement: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captainagain. It seems that we had an instrument malfunction.” An “instrument” is atool, in this case a tool that provides you information: how high the plane is flying,how fast the plane is going. These are pieces of information that the instrumentsin the cockpit will indicate. A “malfunction” is when something breaks, when itdoesn’t work, when it stops working properly. So the captain is saying that thereisn’t an emergency, it was just a problem with their instruments. The informationwas wrong; the machine was not working properly, it malfunctioned.

He says, “Sorry to alarm you, and please go back to sleep.” “To alarm(someone)” means to scare them or make them very worried, usually by tellingthem some very bad news. I, of course, am surprised at what the captain issaying. He tells us to go back to sleep. I then say, “Is he kidding (is he joking)?

How can anyone sleep after that?!” You thought you were going to die oneminute, the next minute everything is fine, but you’re still not able to just go backto sleep. I say, “I’m still watching my life flash before my eyes!” “To watch yourlife flash before your eyes” is an expression that means that you remembereverything that happened in your life, but it goes by very quickly. Usually, this isan expression that indicates that you are about to die. For example, you’re in acar, and the car begins to go over the other side of the road, and another car isabout to hit you. One second, two seconds before you die, your life may flashbefore your eyes; you may suddenly think of all these things that happened inyour life. In general, the expression is to indicate that you were in a verydangerous situation.

Now let’s listen to the story, this time at a normal speed.

[start of story]

I was nearly asleep in my seat when I heard this announcement:

“Folks, this is your captain speaking from the cockpit. We’re experiencing a lot ofturbulence and I’m turning on the fasten seatbelt sign. Please remain in yourseats.”

I didn’t think anything of it until a few minutes later when I heard thisannouncement:

“This is your captain speaking again. Due to extreme weather conditions, wemay need to make an emergency landing. The cabin crew will review theemergency procedures, and give you instructions on how to use the floatationdevices and the oxygen masks. Please stay calm.”

This is when I started to freak out. What if we crash-land? What if we dive intothe ocean? Who would rescue us here in the middle of nowhere?

Then, I heard this announcement:

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain again. It seems we had aninstrument malfunction, and no emergency landing will be necessary. Sorry toalarm you, and please go back to sleep.”

Go back to sleep?! Is he kidding? How can anyone sleep after that?! I’m stillwatching my life flash before my eyes!

[end of story]

The script for this episode was written by someone who never freaks out in anemergency, Dr. Lucy Tse.

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening. Comeback and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan, copyright 2010 by the Center for EducationalDevelopment.