UNIT6课文讲解.ppt

This passage is an account of the 9/11 terrorist attack in New York. It is taken from a best-selling book by a senior fireman who only just survived the attack. The style is dramatic and informal in order to catch the thoughts of those involved in the frightening events. Questions 1 How many emergency services can you think of? 2 What different skills do emergency workers need? 3 What’s the main job of a firefighter? Fire / ambulance / police / coast guard services. Specific skills, speed, medical knowledge, decisiveness（决断）, courage, reliability etc. Putting out fires. 4 What else may they have to do in an emergency? 5 What personal qualities are important in an emergency? Rescue people caught up in emergencies and give emergency medical aid. Ability to take decisions, calm, speed, efficiency 1 Last man down: the fireman’s story (Title) 2 There were about two dozen of us by the bank of elevators ... (Para 2) 3 Some had their turnout coats off, or tied around their waists. (Para 2) The expression last man down, similar to last man standing, refers to the survivor or winner. The last man down from the tower before it collapsed would be one of the bravest. A bank of elevators means a set of lifts. Turnout coats are the uniform firefighters wear when they turn out for a fire. 4 Others were raring to go. (Para 2) 5 All of us were taking a beat to catch our breaths, and our bearings, figure out what the hell was going on. (Para 2) The expression raring to go is an old form of rearing up, and means being eager to go like a horse. To take a beat means to rest for a moment. A bearing is an exact compass reading measured in degrees. To take your bearings is to find where you are. Here it means both physically and mentally. 6 We’d been at this thing, hard, for almost an hour, some a little bit less, and we were nowhere close to done. (Para 2) 7 Of course, we had no idea what there was left to do, but we ha