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Active reading (1)
Last man down: the fireman’s story Language points
1Last man down: the fireman’s story (Title)
Theexpressionlastmandown,similartolastmanstanding,referstothesurvivoror winner. The last
man down from the tower before it collapsed would be one of the
bravest.2There were about two dozen of us by the bank of elevators ... (Para 2)Abank of elevatorsmeans a set of lifts.
3Some had their turnout coats off, or tied around their waists. (Para 2)Turnout coatsare the uniform firefighters wear when theyturn outfor a fire.4Others were raring to go. (Para 2)
Theexpressionraring to gois an old form ofrearing up, and meansbeingeagerto go like a horse.
5All of us were taking a beat to catch our breaths, and our bearings, figureout what the hell was
going on. (Para 2)
Totake a beatmeans to rest for a moment.
Abearingisanexactcompassreadingmeasuredindegrees.Totakeyourbearingsis to find where you
are. Here it means both physically and mentally.
6We’d been at this thing, hard, for almost an hour, some a little bit less,and we were nowhere close
to done. (Para 2)
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Tobe at this thingis a slang expression which means to work on this
mission.Theexpressionnowhereclosetodonemeanssomeoneisfarfromcompletingtheirwork.
7Of course, we had no idea what there was left to do, but we hadn’t made adent. (Para 2)
Adentis a mark on a piece of metal as when you bump your car. Tomake a dentin somethingis to have
an effect on it (imagine beating a piece of hard steel and not making any markon it). Tomake a denthere
means to achieve something. The firefighters had hardly begun their work.8As if we could see clear through the ceiling tiles for an easy answer. (Para3)
Lookingupforthe source of thenoise was onlyuseful ifyoucould seethroughthe floors above, but it
still remained an instinctive reaction.
9Thebuildingwasshakinglikeinanearthquake,likeanamusementparkthrillride gone berserk…
(Para 3)
The wordberserkwas originally about ancient Viking warriors who worshippeda bear god (ber). They
would go into a terrible rage or madness when fighting. It now means utterlyand dangerously crazy.
10The way it coursed right through me. (Para 3)
Tocoursemeans to run or flow somewhere quickly. The noise and vibration havea strong physical effect
on the writer.
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11Ithoughtaboutmywifeandmykids, butonlyfleetinglyand not inanykindof life-flashing-beforemy-
eyes sort of way. (Para 4)
Life flashing before my eyesis a claim made by someone who has near-deathexperiences, as in an
accident,ofseeingaslowmotionversionofthemostimportanteventsintheirlives. Researchers say it
may be the reaction of the brain to trauma. 198 1:13:06 PM Streets full of heroesUnit 6 199
12Or,“We’ll all meet at the big one.”(Para 4)
After any fire, the fighters use the expressionthe big oneto minimize thatfire and suggest there will
always be a bigger one coming. It is a brave act of understatement.13I never knew how it started, or when I’d picked up on it myself, but itwas part of our shorthand. (Para 4)
Topickuponitmeanstolearnitandstartusingit.Itisaslangexpression.Shorthandisasystemofwritingusedfortakingdownfastspeech.Itusessymbolsfor common words andcanonlybeunderstoodbypeoplewholearnit.Firemenhavetheirownspokenshorthand (as do most
professions).Toanoutsider,thebigonewouldnotmeanmuch,butasthewriterexplains it was rich in
meaning to him and his colleagues.
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14Ifumbledforsomefixonthesituation,thinkingmaybeifIunderstoodwhatwas happening I could
steel myself against it. (Para 5)
Some fixis a slang term which means a way of understanding. Tosteel oneself against somethingmeans to prepare oneself to do somethingunpleasant.
15A battalion commander for the New York Fire Department, he was on the sceneof the disaster…(Para 6)
The Fire Departmentis divided up intobattalionsof up to 200 consisting ofa number of companies of
about 30 firefighters. Reading and understanding
3 Choose the best summary of the extract.
2Inthisdramaticpersonalaccount,firefighterRichardPicciottorecallswhathe was doing and thinking,
justbeforethenorthtoweroftheWorldTradeCentercollapsedon11September 2001.
4 Answer the questions.
1 Where was Richard Picciotto at 9:59 am on 11 September 2001?
He was on the 35th floor of the north tower of the World Trade Center.2 Who was with him?
About two dozen firefighters. 3 What was everybody trying to do?
They were resting and trying to work out what was going on.
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