The plane that crashed into the empire state building

On the foggy morning of Saturday, July 28, 1945, Lt. Colonel William Smith was piloting a U.S. Army B-25 bomber through New York City. He was on his way to Newark Airport to pick up his commanding officer, but for some reason he showed up over LaGuardia Airport and asked for a weather report. Because of the poor visibility, the LaGuardia tower wanted to him to land, but Smith requested and received permission to continue on to Newark.

Confronted with dense fog, Smith dropped the bomber low to regain visibility. He found himself in the middle of Manhattan, surrounded by skyscrapers. Smith had managed to miss several skyscrapers before he was headed for the Empire State Building. At the last minute, Smith tried to get the bomber to climb and twist away, but it was too late.

At 9:49 a.m., the ten-ton, B-25 bomber smashed into the north side of the Empire State Building. The majority of the plane hit the 79th floor, creating a hole in the building eighteen feet wide and twenty feet high. The plane's high-octane fuel exploded, hurtling flames down the side of the building and inside through hallways and stairwells all the way down to the 75th floor.

World War II had caused many to shift to a six-day work week; thus there were many people at work in the Empire State Building that Saturday. "The plane exploded within the building. There were five or six seconds--I was tottering on my feet trying to keep my balance--and three-quarters of the office was instantaneously consumed in this sheet of flame. One man was standing inside the flame. I could see him. It was a co-worker, Joe Fountain. His whole body was on fire. I kept calling to him, "Come on, Joe; come on, Joe." He walked out of it," recalled one of the eye witnesses.  Joe Fountain died several days later. Eleven of the office workers were burned to death, some still sitting at their desks, others while trying to run from the flames.

One of the engines and a part of the landing gear hurtled across the 79th floor, through wall partitions and two fire walls, and out the south wall's windows to fall onto a twelve-story building across 33rd Street. The other engine flew into an elevator shaft and landed on an elevator car. The car began to fall, slowed somewhat by emergency safety devices. Miraculously, when help arrived at the remains of the elevator car in the basement, the two women inside the car were still alive.

Some debris from the crash fell to the streets below, but a bulk of the wreckage remained stuck in the side of the building. After the flames were extinguished and the remains of the victims removed, the rest of the wreckage was removed through the building.

The plane crash killed 14 people (11 office workers and the three crewmen), 26 people were injured. Though the integrity of the Empire State Building was not affected, the cost of the damage done by the crash was $1 million.

Are the following statements true or false?

1. It is not clear why Smith flew to LaGuardia airport.
2. LaGuardia tower allowed him to continue to Newark.
3. Smith did not try to avoid the crash into the Empire State Building.
4. The eye witness said the fire was spreading slowly so her colleague could walk out of it.
5. The two women in the lift, which was destroyed by the aircraft´s engine, survived.

KEY
True: 1, 2, 5 False: 3, 4,

EITHER, NEITHER

 1. The man waved at us but ................ of us recognized him.
 2. They are going ............. to Italy or to Spain. They are not decided yet.
 3. Both hotels are very good but ................ is on the beach.
 4. If you don’t go to the wedding, I won't go there ................ .
 5. If ................ Jason or Helen call, tell them I'll be back at 7.
 6. Both her cousins visited her but I didn’t meet ................ of them.
 7. We invited both our neighbours but ................ could come.
 8. There’s coffee or tea. You can have ................ .
 9. Jane and Mary were just sitting and looking at Bob. ................ of them helped him.
10. I could not catch ................ of the trains to London.
11. They didn’t buy ................ bread or rolls.
12. Will you have wine or whisky? - ................, thanks. I’ll drive.
13. I ............ know nor care about what happened to him.
14. I’ve been looking for my camera in the living room and in my bedroom
    but it isn’t in ................ room.
15. I will have ........... (a) turkey nor chicken. I don't like .......... (b).

KEY
neither: 1, 3, 7, 9, 12, 13, 15a, either: 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15b

a. You .... make the cake today. You can make it tomorrow.
b. Joe, we .... forget your mum's birthday.
c. You .... buy such expensive things if you can't pay for them.
d. You .... cross the street if there is a red light.
e. You .... drive so fast. We have plenty of time.
f. The doctor says you .... take those pills if you feel better.
g. Tell her she ....... come if she doesn't want to.
h. The policeman said you .... drive so fast There is a speed limit
   here.
i. Kate .... join us if she does not feel like going out.
j. He .... smoke so much. He will get a heart attack.
k. You …. leave the room without teacher’s permission.
m. They ....  call Mr Young. He knows it already.

KEY
needn't - a, e, f, g, i, m, mustn't - b, c, d, h, j, k 

COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS alebo slová, ktoré si často mýlime

to lie (lay, lain, lying) =  ležať  the cat usually lies in front of the fire
to lay (laid, laid, laying) =  položiť, umiestniť will you lay the baby in the crib?; where will you lay the new carpet?

Running or taking part in a business meeting

Rejecting a Compromise II/Odmietnutie kompromisu II
strong direct disagreement
I really can’t accept this. - Toto skutočne nemôžem akceptovať.
I’m absolutely against this. - Som absolútne proti tomu.
formal
We are not entirely convinced that this is a reasonable/satisfactory/acceptable/viable solution to the problem.  - Nie sme úplne presvedčení, že toto je rozumné/uspokojivé/prijateľné/schodné riešenie problému.
Although we want to avoid a complete failure to reach agreement, we find your offer/condition/...  unacceptable. - Hoci sa chceme vyhnúť tomu, aby pokusy o dosiahnutie kompromisu úplne zlyhali,  považujeme Vašu ponuku/podmienku/... za neprijateľnú.
Despite our effort to avoid …, we do not find your …. acceptable/possible. - Napriek našej snahe vyhnúť sa  ... nepovažujeme Váš ... za prijateľný/možný.
diplomatic
I don’t want to be/sound discouraging but …  - Nechcem Vás odradiť = znechutiť, ale ...
I can see your point of view but … - Chápem Vaše stanovisko, ale ...
I appreciate your point of view but ... - Vážim = Cením si Váš názor, ale ...
That’s really very interesting but …- To je veľmi zaujímavé, ale ...
Unfortunately, I’m not in a position to … - Bohužiaľ, neprináleží mi = nie som v takej pozícii, aby som ...
I am afraid I can´t compromise on this matter. - Obávam sa, že v tejto veci nie je možný kompromis.
With respect, there’s no prospect of compromise at all. - Pri všetkej úcte, nie sú vôbec žiadne vyhliadky na    kompromis.
I am sorry but any compromise on this matter is out of question. - Ľutujem, ale akýkoľvek kompromis v tejto veci je vylúčený.

Expressing Agreement I/Vyjadrenie súhlasu I
 agreement with what has been said/done or with an opinion
 It seems = appears = looks = sounds + (very/quite) +  likely = probable. -  Zdá sa to = Vyzerá to ako    (veľmi/dosť) pravdepodobné.
Undoubtedly. - Nepochybne.
That’s right. - To je pravda.
So/Neither/Nor + do/am I/... (actually). - Aj ja/ ani ja.            
You’re right in what you say. - V tom, čo hovoríte, máte pravdu.                   .                                         
That’s just what I thought/have thought/think. - Presne toto som si myslel-a/si myslím.   
We (would/could) go along with you on that/on this/here/there. - V tom/tomto/Tu sme (by sme boli/by sme mohli byť) s Vami zajedno.
I am exactly of the same opinion (here/there) (as ...) - (V tomto/tom) mám presne rovnaký názor (ako...)
I completely = entirely = totally agree with you/your point of view.- Úplne s Vami/Vašim názorom súhlasím.   
I am in (total = complete) agreement on that/on this/here/there. - V tomto/V tom/Tu som s Vami v     (absolútnej) zhode.