Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

The Second Two Periods

Designed by Zhongxin

Teaching Objective

1. Master the key words and some useful structures

2. Learn what kind of disaster the text talks about.

3. The students should not only know the disaster mentioned in this text, but also do some research on other tragic or destructive disasters in history

Key Points

dispute drift efficiently eventually fault inform meanwhile radio(v.) reverse shorten virtually call at clean up depend on in place take on wipe out

Difficulties

1. Be able to describe a disaster

2. do some research on other tragic or destructive disasters in history

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

Global Reading

Lead In

Detailed Reading

Group Discussion

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

• Let’s enjoy a song.

• What does this movie talk about?

• How do you feel when you hear about an airplane crash or a shipwreck?

• In your opinion, what can we done to prevent this sort of accident in the future?

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

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Background:1. Amoco Corperation2. The Persian Gulf3. The English Channel

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

Amoco Corporation Amoco was a United States oil company forme

d from the dissolution of Standard Oil. It was originally Standard Oil of Indiana, or Stanolind, despite the fact that its headquarters was in Chicago, Illinois. Early operations centered on the Whiting, Indiana refinery. Standard Oil of Indiana expanded from its Midwest roots by acquiring The American Oil Company (Amoco) along the eastern US coast and Pan-Am Petroleum in the southeastern US.

In 1998 the company merged with British Petroleum to form BP Amoco, which was later renamed simply BP. Even though BP is currently changing existing Amoco stations to the BP livery, they are using the Amoco brand name for their gasoline and Diesel fuel.

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

An extension of the Gulf of Oman between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran, the Persian Gulf contains the island kingdom of Bahrain and is bordered by Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and Iraq. It has long been a maritime trade route between the Middle East and South Asia; its modern economy is dominated by petroleum production.

The Persian Gulf

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

The English Channel

The English Channel is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. In French it is called La Manche ("the sleeve"). It is about 350 miles long and at its widest is 240 km (150 miles). The Strait of Dover is the narrowest point, only 34 km (21 miles), from Dover to Cape Gris-Nez.

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

Para 1 Why did the captain decide to

keep the tanker near the coast? To save time Para 2 What happened to the ship at

about 10 a.m. that day? Something was wrong with the

steering gear, and the ship could not be controlled properly.

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

Para 3 What made the ship

uncontrollable? A pipe in the hydraulic system

was broken, and oil was pouring out

Para 4 What did the captain do to solve

the problem? He radioed for a tug to help

instead of seeking help from the French authorities.

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

Para 5 What killed Amoco Cadiz’s final

hope? A fault occurred to the steam system and

after a small explosion the anchor was lost. Besides, the Pacific’s attempt to tow a second time was delayed when the tanker swung sideways in the heavy seas

Para 6What was the outcome of Amoco

Cadiz’s accident? It caused heavy oil pollution on over 100

miles of the shore, killed thousands of fish, seabirds and other marine creatures. What’s worse, the impact of the accident on Brittany’s fishing industry and tourism was cataclysmic.

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

Paragrap

hs

Main Ideas

Para 1

Para 2

Para 3

Para 4

Para 5

Para 6

• Text Analysis

Amoco Cadiz’s journey to Lyme Bay.

The bad weather and the problem with the steering engine.

The cause of the faulty engine and the failure in repair work.

The captain’s wrong decision and the failure of the tug in its initial endeavors to tow the tanker.

The foolish stubbornness of the tanker’s captain and the fruitless efforts to save the tanker.

The disaster and its outcome.

a

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

Detailed Reading

Language PointsDifficult Sentences

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

informgive knowledge to 通知；报告；告诉e.g. 1) I wasn't informed of the decision

until too late. 2) Could you please inform me how t

o go about contacting a lawyer? 3)One of the criminals informed agai

nst/on the rest of the gang.

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

disputedebate; argument 辩论；争论e.g. 1) They are disputing about the rights and w

rongs of the case 2) His honesty is beyond dispute 3)Your sincerity is not in dispute 4) They disputed at great length what they sh

ould dopour out涌出 e.g. 1) She pour out her trouble to me ove

r a cup of coffee 2) Pour out the water left in the bucke

t. 3) She poured out her worries to the d

octor

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

in reversee.g. Ambulances have `AMBULANCE' pri

nted in reverse on their bonnets.reverse: n. 1) opposite, contrary 相对；相反e.g. Your remarks on Mrs. Howard’s par

ty were the reverse of polite.2) defeat; change to bad fortune 不幸；挫折e.g. Our team set off for the game full of c

onfidence, only to suffer a complete reverse.

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

call atpay a short visit; go to sb’s house/office etc; sto

p at 拜访；访问；停于

e.g. 1) The ship called at several ports between Dalian and Shanghai

2) I shall call at his home tomorrow 3)The postman always calls at 7.30

take ontake aboard; (of a train, etc) allow to enter 允许

进入e.g. 1) The idea never really took on 2)Her eyes took on a hurt expression 3)The bus stopped to take on more passenge

rs

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

wipe outdestroy or remove completely 彻底毁灭；扫灭e.g. 1) No matter when the invader comes, they will be wiped out clean. 2)The government is trying to wipe out drug trafficking 3) The attack is to wipe out data, to delete flies, or to format the hard disk.

clean uptidy up; put in order 整理；清洁；整顿e.g. 1) You should always clean up the room 2) The mayor is determined to clean up the city 3)Clean up that wine before it soaks in(to the carpet).

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

Her Italian captain decided to keep the tanker near the coast to shorten the journey and save time.Paraphrase:We were the second last Americans to meet with Chairman Mao, but he was extremely kind and pleasant.

A quick investigation revealed that …Paraphrase:After a quick examination, the crew found that …

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

..., At about 10 a.m., a sailor informed the captain that the ship’s steering gear was not working efficiently, so he could not control the ship Paraphrase:At about 10 a.m., a sailor reported that something was wrong with the steering gear, and as a result, the ship could not be controlled properly.

A dispute between the captains prevented immediate action.Paraphrase:The two captains did not agree with each other on how to solve the problem, thus an immediate action was delayed.

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

…, the captain of the supertanker still had not warned the French authorities that a major disaster appeared very likely.

Paraphrase:…, the captain of the supertanker still had not informed the French government that a cataclysmic accident was likely to happen.

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

Then one by one, the ship’s tanks burst open, covering over 100 miles of the shore with thick, sticky oil.

Paraphrase:..., including Then the ship’s tanks broke suddenly one after another, and over 100 miles of the shore was soon covered with thick, sticky oil.

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

…, the captain of the supertanker still had not warned the French authorities that a major disaster appeared very likely.

Paraphrase:…, the captain of the supertanker still had not informed the French government that a cataclysmic accident was likely to happen.

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

The given pictures are about some disasters that have happened in recent years or still exist in the world, ranging from SARS to the terrorist attacks in New York. Can you find more pictures about disasters of other kinds? Then discuss in small groups on these pictures. After that, some students representing their groups will report their discussion to the whole class. Some words and phrases are given for your reference, but you are encouraged to make full use of your own vocabulary. The questions you may cover in your discussion include:

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

Disasters

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

• What disasters do these pictures show?

• Which of these disasters are natural disasters? And which are man-made disasters?

• What are the causes and effects of some man-made disasters? (Choose one or two pictures as examples.)

• What shall we do for those who suffer in disasters?

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

• Reference words and expressions: negative effects, worsening of

ecosystems and environment, human involvement, negligence, fall of the World Trade Center, technological advances, excessive exploitation of natural resources, inappropriate land development, pollution of the food chain, manufacture and use of harmful products, legislation, standards of construction, raise money, famine relief, food aid, contribute one’s service, charity, humanitarian aid and assistance.

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz

Read the words and phrases again and again after class.

Read the text again and again after class.

Do Ex. 2,3,4, 6Preview Grammar tips

Assignments

Unit Nine The Amoco Cardiz