Unit 13-History
After the World Trade Centre
Before you read
a. What do you see in the given pictures?
b. Have you heard/read about September 11, 2001
attack on the twin tower in the USA? If yes, share your ideas to the class.
AFTER THE WORLD TRADE CENTER
Date of Publication: 2001-09-17
Language: English
In 1999,
soon after moving to the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, my wife and I were
befriended by Frank and Nicole De Martini, a couple whose lives were closely
twinned with the towers of the World Trade Center. Both Frank and Nicole are
architects. As Construction Manager of the World Trade Center, Frank’s offices
were on the 88th floor of Tower 1. Nicole is an employee of the engineering
firm that built the World Trade Center, Leslie E. Robertson Associates. Hired
as a "surveillance engineer," she was a member of a team that
conducted year-round structural integrity inspections of the twin towers. Her
offices were on the 35th floor of Tower 2.
Frank is
forty-nine, sturdily-built, with wavy salt-and-pepper hair and deeply-etched
laugh lines around his eyes. His manner is expansively avuncular and nothing
pleases him more than when the conversation turns to a subject on which he can
offer his expert advice. For Frank, the twin towers were both a livelihood and
a passion: he would speak of them with the absorbed fascination with which
poets sometimes speak of Dante's canzones. Nicole is forty-two, blonde and
blue-eyed, with a gaze that is at once brisk and friendly. She was born in
Basel, Switzerland, and met Frank while studying design in New York. They have
two children, Sabrina, 10, and Dominic, 8, who are unusually well-matched with
mine, in age, gender and temperament: it was through our children that we first
met.
Frank and
Nicole's relationship with the World Trade Center was initiated by the basement
bomb explosion of 1993. Shortly afterwards, Frank was hired to do bomb damage
assessment. An assignment that he had thought would last only a few months,
turned quickly into a consuming passion. "He fell in love with the
buildings," Nicole told me. "For him they represented an incredible
human feat; he was awed by their scale and magnitude, by the innovative design
features, and by the efficiency of the use of materials. One of his
most-repeated sayings about the towers is that they were built to take the
impact of a light airplane."
On the
morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, Frank and Nicole dropped their children
off at their school, in Brooklyn Heights, and then drove on to the World Trade
Center. Traffic was light and they arrived unexpectedly early, so Nicole
decided to go up to Frank's office for a quick cup of coffee. It was about a
quarter past eight when they reached Frank's office. A half hour later Nicole
pushed back her chair and stood up to go. She was on her way out the door, when
the walls and the floor suddenly heaved under the shock of a massive impact.
Franks' office commanded a panoramic southwards view, looking towards the
Statue of Liberty and the harbour. Now, through the thick plates of glass, she
saw a wave of flame bursting out overhead, like a torrent spewing from the
floodgates of a dam. The blast was clearly centered on the floor directly
above: she assumed that it was a bomb. Neither she nor Frank were unduly
alarmed: very few people knew the building's strength and resilience better
than they. They assumed that the worst was over and the structure had absorbed
the impact: it was now a question of coping with the damage. Sure enough,
within seconds of the initial tumult, a sense of calm descended on their floor.
Frank herded Nicole and a group of some two dozen other people into a room that
was relatively free of smoke. Then he went off to scout the escape routes and
stairways. Minutes later he returned to announce that he had found a stairway
that was intact: they could reach it fairly easily, by climbing over a pile of
rubble.
The bank of
rubble that barred the entrance to the fire escape was about knee-high. Just as
she was about to clamber over, Nicole saw that Frank was hanging back. She
stopped beside him and begged him to come with her, imploring him to think of
the family. He shook his head and told her to go on, without him. There were
people on their floor who'd been hurt by the blast, he said; he would follow
her down as soon as he had helped the injured on their way. She could tell that
she would have no success in swaying her husband; his belief in the building
was absolute; he was not persuaded that the structure was seriously harmed -
nor for that matter was she, but now she could only think of her children. She
joined the people in the stairway while Frank stayed behind to direct the line.
Frank must
have gone back to the Port Authority offices shortly afterwards for he made a
call from his desk at about nine o' clock. He called his sister Nina on West
93rd street in Manhattan and said: 'Nicole and I are fine. Don't worry.'
Nicole
remembers the descent as quiet and orderly. The evacuees went down in single
file, leaving room for the firemen who were running in the opposite direction.
All along the way, people helped each other, offering water and support to
those who needed them. On every floor, there were people to direct the evacuees
and there was never any sense of panic. In the lower reaches of the building
there was even electricity. The descent took about half an hour, and on
reaching the plaza Nicole began to walk in the direction of the Brooklyn
Bridge. She was within a few hundred feet of the Bridge when the first tower
collapsed. "It was like the onset of a nuclear winter," she recalls.
"Suddenly everything went absolutely quiet and you were in the middle of a
fog that was as blindingly bright as a snowstorm on a sunny day."
It was early
evening by the time Nicole reached her home in Fort Greene. She had received
calls from several people who had seen Frank on their way down the fire escape,
but he had not been heard from directly. Their children stayed with us that
night while Nicole sat up with Frank's sister Nina, waiting by the telephone.
It was decided that the children would not be told anything until there was
more news.
Next
morning, Nicole decided that her children had to be told that there was no word
of their father. Both she and Nina were calm and perfectly collected when they
arrived at our door; although they had not slept all night, neither their faces
nor their bearing betrayed the slightest sign of what they had lived through.
Nicole's voice was grave but unwavering as she spoke to her children about what
had happened the day before. I was awed by her courage: it seemed to me that
this example of everyday heroism was itself a small victory - if such could be
imagined - over the unspeakable horror the city had witnessed the day before.
The children
listened with wide-eyed interest, but soon afterwards they went back to their
interrupted games. A little later, my son came to me and whispered: "Guess
what Dominic's doing?"
"What?"
I said, steeling myself.
"He's
learning to wiggle his ears."
This was, I
realised, how my children - or any children, for that matter - would have
responded: turning their attention elsewhere, during the age that would pass
before the news began to gain purchase in their minds.
At about
noon we took the children to Fort Greene Park. It was a bright, sunny day and
the children were soon absorbed in riding their bicycles and scooters. In the
meanwhile, my wife Deborah and I sat on a shaded bench and spoke with Nicole.
"An hour passed between the blast and the fall of the building," she
said. "Frank could easily have got out in that time. The only thing I can
think of is that he stayed back to help with the evacuation. Nobody knew the
building like he did and he must have thought he had to do it."
Nicole
paused. "I think it was only because Frank saw me leave, that he decided
that he could stay," she said. "He knew that I would be safe and the
kids would be looked after. That was why he felt he could go back to help the
others. He loved the towers and had complete faith in them. Whatever happens, I
know that what he did was his own choice."
Working with
words
A. Match the
words with their definitions/meanings.
a. passion i. like an uncle
b.
surveillance ii.
powerful attraction
c. integrity iii. the power or
ability of a material to return to its original form, position, etc., after
being bent, compressed, or stretched
d. avuncular iv. any powerful or
compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate
e. livelihood v. an unobstructed and
wide view of an extensive area in all directions
f. fascination vi. an idea, practice, or
object that is perceived as new
g. innovation vii. the removal of people
or things from an endangered area
h. panorama viii. continuous
observation of a place, person, group, or ongoing activity in order to gather
information
i. resilience ix. a means of
supporting one's existence
j. evacuation x. the state of being
whole, entire, or undiminished
B. Define the following professionals. One has been done for you.
architect,
civil engineer, mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, automobile engineer,
electronic engineer, electrical engineer, computer engineer, food engineer,
chemical engineer, biomedical engineer
Example: An
architect is an engineer who designs buildings and advises in their
construction.
C. With the help of your teacher or a dictionary,
pronounce these words. What vowel sounds do they contain? Make a list of them.
but,
cut, sun, lust, fun, gun, run, jump, bulb, blood |
top,
lot, job, sob, box, bomb, dog, hot |
the,
ago, again, alike, father |
caught,
bought, thought, taught, naught, sought, born, torn |
bird,
first, fur, turn, girl, sir, firm, germ, learn, web |
Comprehension
Answer the
following questions.
a. Where
were Frank and Nicole employed?
b. How does
the author describe Frank's attachment to the twin towers?
c. How did
the two families become intimate with each other?
d. What, according
to Nicole, did Frank think of the towers?
e. Why did
Frank want to help the people in the tower after the attack?
f. Why did
Frank not follow Nicole's request even after knowing that the building was on
fire?
g. Who did
Frank call from the building after the attack?
h. How did
Nicole feel after the collapse of the first tower?
i. Were
Frank's children serious as soon as they heard the news of their missing
father? Why?
Critical
Thinking
a. Many
innocent people lose their lives in ruthless attacks every year. What do you
think the governments should do to protect their people from such attacks and
make the world a safer place to live? Discuss with your friends.
b. Revenge
and violence are the integral parts of the history and civilization. They can't
be ignored, only managed. Do you agree or not with this statement? Present your
logic.
Writing
A. Write a
description of an event that you have recently witnessed.
B. Human
life does not pass as one expects. You might have also gone through different
but memorable incidents. Write an essay on "An Unforgettable Event in my Life'
in about 500 words.
Grammar
Prepositions
A. Look at
the following examples. Which parts of speech do the words in bold belong to?
a. She was
born in Basel Switzerland and met Frank while studying design in New
York. Frank's offices were on the 88th floor of the tower.
b. My wife
and I were befriended by Frank and Nicole in 1999. At about noon, we
took the children to Fort Green Park.
c. He
suddenly saw the across the room.
d. I'd seen
them walking along the road past my window several times before.
e. The
castle sat in the mountains above the town.
f. She stood
among all her friends in the room and felt very happy.
g. He sneezed
during the performance.
h. You can't
catch a big fish with a small rod like that.
i. Do not
throw stones at the dogs. They may bite you.
B. Complete
these sentences with the correct prepositions.
a. The
relationship ………… the two boys has changed significantly over the past few
years.
b. In Nepal,
many girls get married …………… an early age.
c. I'm not ……………………
the mood for such silly games.
d. There
were no security personnel ……………… duty at that time.
e. The new
smartphone is similar ………………… the one I bought a few years ago.
f. My dad
insisted …………… taking the later train.
g. People …………….
ambition always try to achieve their goals, no matter what happens.
h. Mr. Jenkins
has been disabled all his life as a result ………………. a childhood illness.
i. We bought
the TV because it was …………………. sale.
j. She has
no understanding ……………………. how computers really work.
k. I gave
him my new T-shirt in exchange …………… a few cigarettes.
l. The
company is run …………… two people who hardly ever meet.
m. All the
celebrations and parties were called …………….. because of the tragic accident.
n. There was
a great need …………… volunteers at the site of the crash.
C. Complete
the following text with correct prepositions.
What are we
seeing here? One very real possibility is that these are the educational
consequences of the differences ……………….. parenting styles that we talked about ……………….
the Chris Langan chapter. Think back to Alex Williams, the nine-year-old whom
Annette Lareau studied. His parents believe ………………. connected cultivation. He
gets taken ……………… museums and gets enrolled ……………… special programs and goes ……………… summer camp,
where he takes classes. When he's bored ……………… home, there are plenty of books
to read, and his parents see it as their responsibility to keep him actively
engaged ………….. the world ………… him. It's hard to see how Alex would get better …………….
reading and math ……………….. the summer.
Simple future,
future continuous, future perfect and future perfect continuous
A. Study the
following sentences. Notice the verb forms in bold.
a. She will win
the competition.
b. She will
be waiting when we arrive.
c. I will
have finished this work by next week.
d. I will
have been living here for one-year next month.
B. make
sentences from the given clues as stated in brackets.
a. Who/pass
the exam? (future simple)
b.
How/you/get home? (future continuous)
c. I/come
later. (future simple)
d. She/catch
the train by 3 pm. (future perfect)
e. It/rain
tomorrow. (future simple)
f.
John/sleep at 4 am. (future continuous)
g. How
long/you/see your boyfriend when you get married? (future perfect continuous)
h. It/rain
in Kathmandu next week. (future continuous)
i. How long/you/work
here when you retire? (future perfect continuous)
j.
He/not/finish the cleaning by the time she gets home. (future perfect)
C. Complete
the following sentences with the correct future tense form of the verbs in the
brackets.
a. It ………………….
(snow) in Brighton tomorrow evening.
b. On Friday
at 8 o'clock, I ……………. (to meet) my friend.
c. Wait! I …………………
(to drive) you to the station.
d. When they
get married in March, they …………. (to be) together for six years.
e. You're
carrying too much. I …………………. (to open) the door for you.
f. Do you
think the teacher …………………. (to mark) our homework by Monday morning?
g. When I
see you tomorrow, I ……………… (show) you my new book.
h. After you
take a nap, you …………….. (to feel) a lot better.
i. I …………..
(to let) you know the second the builders finish decorating.
j. We ………………
(to wait) in the shelter until the bus comes.
k. I'm very
sorry, Dr. Jones ……………….. (not be) back in the clinic unit 2 pm.
l. This summer,
I ………………. (to live) in Birgunj for four years.
m. I don't
think you …………….. (to have) any problems when you land in Pokhara.
n. The baby should
be due soon, next week she ………………. (to be) pregnant for nine months.
o. By the
time we get home, they ………………. (to play) football for 30 minutes.
p. When you
get off the train, I ………………… (to wait) for you by the ticket machine.
q. This time
next week, I ……………. (ski) in Switzerland!
r. Now, I ………………..
(to check) my answers.
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