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BUSINESS ENGLISH · BREAKING NEWS · ADVANCED (C1-C2)

BALTIMORE
BRIDGE
COLLAPSE
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1 Warm up
Match the pictures with the names of the bridges. Then, answer the questions below.

a) Tower Bridge, London b) Brooklyn Bridge, New York

c) The Wind and Rain Bridge Sanjian County, China d) Ponte Vecchio, Florence
e) Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco f) Puente Nuevo Ronda, Spain

1. 2. 3.

4. 5. 6.

1. How do the designs of the bridges differ?

2. What could potentially make a bridge collapse?
3. Which of the bridges in the pictures is the strongest?

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2 Focus on vocabulary

Add vowels (A, E, I, O, U) to create words that match the definitions.

Group 1:

1. pl _ ng _ d (v) - fell or dropped suddenly and forcefully

2. pr _ s _ m _ d (adj.) - believed to be true or likely based on available evidence

3. v _ w _ d (v) - promised or solemnly declared to do something

4. str _ ck _ n (adj.) - distressed or damaged

5. _ ff | c _ _ rs _ (adv.) - not following the intended route or direction

Group 2:

1. _ st _ _ ry (n) - a coastal body of water where rivers meet the ocean

2. _ nst _ nt _ n _ _ _ sly (adv.) - occurring or happening immediately

3. p _ ll _ rs (n) - vertical structural supports

4. p _ r _ sh _ d (v) - died, especially in a sudden, violent, or tragic manner

5. cl _ s _ r _ (n) - the process of bringing something to an end or conclusion

6. m _ yd _ y (n) - an international distress signal used by ships and aircraft

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3 Listening comprehension

Watch/listen to the report. Answer the multiple-choice questions below.

1. Who will finance the repair of the bridge?

a. Baltimore taxpayers b. the federal government c. the shipping company

2. Why do experts think the ship hit the bridge?

a. The bridge was not up to standard.

b. It was knocked off course.

c. It lost power.

3. What happened when the ship hit the bridge?

a. Crew members fell into the water.

b. The bridge crumpled under the pressure.

c. The coast guard warned the police.

4. Why is it expected that some of the workers did not survive?

a. the frigid conditions

b. the ice-covered water

c. the slow response time

5. Who managed to limit the number of casualties?

a. the ship personnel b. the mayor of Baltimore c. nearby boats

6. Who did the Governor especially praise?

a. lifeboat operators b. the crew members c. emergency services

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4 Truss bridges
Part A: Read the description of a truss bridge, then use the words that are underlined to label the
diagram.

Truss bridges, like the Francis Scott Key Bridge, are often used to cross long distances. The
truss structure is made of beams joined together to form triangles. Within these triangles, hundreds of
diagonal struts are used to strengthen the structure. These play an important role in sharing the forces
that act on the bridge.

Vertical pillars provide essential support. The central pillars are known as critical columns, as they have
to take a lot of the weight. They are usually made from concrete or steel and are placed in places where
they provide maximum stability.

Spans refer to the distances between each supporting pillar along the length of a bridge. The
central span is often the longest. Approach spans are the sections from the land to the beginning of the
bridge structure.

Part B: Complete the following sentences with the same words, then put the sentences in the correct
order to describe the process of how the Baltimore bridge collapsed.

a. The break apart.

b. The individual cannot absorb the stress.

c. The other collapse.

d. The rises up and folds under the pressure.

e. The cargo ship hits one of the central .

f. The fall down.

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5 Focus on vocabulary

You are going to read an article about the reasons the bridge in Baltimore collapsed (page six). Add
the following words to the gaps in the definitions.

endure enormous impure large less motion moved path unproductive

1. withstand (v) - or resist

2. trajectory (n) - the followed by an object moving through space

3. contaminated (adj.) - made or polluted

4. drifted (v) - slowly or aimlessly

5. mitigate (v) - make severe or harmful

6. fruitless (adj.) - or unsuccessful

7. momentum (n) - the strength or force gained by

8. behemoths (n) - , powerful entities or objects

9. vessels (n) - ships or boats

6 Reading comprehension

Part A: Match the headings with the correct paragraph.

i) Impure fuel may have caused power failure

ii) Questions asked about protective structures

iii) Crew members’ efforts in vain

iv) Finances affect construction

v) Designs cannot foresee future changes

vi) Black box discovery triggers enquiry

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Why did the Baltimore Bridge collapse so quickly?

Experts highlight key structural failings
1
A.

Following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, governments and bridge owners around the world are
examining exactly what caused the accident, and why it fell down so quickly. At a press conference, Transport
Secretary, Pete Buttigieg said the Key Bridge was "simply not made to withstand a direct impact on a critical
support pier from a vessel that weighs about 90,000 tonnes." This points to the rapid change in the size and
technology of ships when compared to the infrastructure in place. An enquiry following the discovery of the black
box is likely to focus on two main areas - what was behind the loss of power and whether the bridge should have
absorbed the impact better than it did.
2
B.

Video from the incident shows the Dali losing power in the moments before the collision. A power cut may have
caused the ship’s crew to lose control of its steering, ultimately making them unable to control its trajectory.
Investigators are looking at whether contaminated fuel played a role in the ship losing power, said Jennifer
Homedy, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Impure fuel can create problems with a ship’s
engines and power generation.
3
C.

Once it lost power, the ship drifted towards the bridge. The crew’s efforts to mitigate the impact, including steering
hard and dropping the anchor, proved fruitless. "This is a really big ship. And the momentum and energy associated
with that ship moving even at just a couple of kilometres an hour is tremendous," said Sanjay Raja Arwade, a
professor of civil engineering at the University of Massachusetts.
4
D.

The Key Bridge was completed in 1977. At the time, the vessels it would have been designed to allow to pass
under were much smaller than today’s behemoths. "The vessels that were crossing Baltimore Harbour back then -
they don’t even compare," said Norma Jean Mattei, a former president of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Large constructions are built with the future in mind, but the realities can be hard to predict. "Design lifetimes
are so long - over 100 years sometimes - that the demands on the structure can change in ways that are hard to
foresee at the time of design and construction," said Prof Arwade.
5
E.

Ms Homendy said the bridge was in satisfactory condition, but it did not have redundancies, meaning if a part
of the bridge collapses, then the whole bridge could fall. The NTSB is looking into how well the pillars were
protected. Experts noticed that protective barriers, called ‘dolphins,’ were installed near the Francis Scott Key
Bridge, but they were not enough to prevent the disaster. It also appears the bridge did not have ‘fenders’ - an
added layer of protection around a bridge pier - that could have absorbed some of the impact.
6
F.

Ms Mattei commented that mitigating risk is about analysing probabilities when choosing how to spend money on
construction. Ultimately, authorities may have judged that the chance of a massive ship hitting one of the bridge’s
supporting columns was too low to justify reinforcing them. "We have limited dollars to invest," she said. If there is
one positive following this event, it is that lessons will be learned that can be used to build stronger, safer bridges.

Sources: BBC, Independent

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Part B: Complete the following sentences with ONE or TWO words from the article.

1. The investigation comes after finding the .

2. When the ship lost power, crew members were no longer able to control its .

3. The crew attempted to avoid disaster by lowering its and steering

hard.

4. The of structures can be more than 100 years.

5. The fact that the bridge did not have meant the whole structure
collapsed.

6. is an important factor for public bodies when deciding where to

spend money.

7 Talking point

Discuss the following questions.

1. Should bridges which are not designed to withstand collisions be permitted?

2. Who do you think is to blame for the bridge collapsing?

3. Does this tragedy make you question the infrastructure where you live?

8 Optional extension / homework

Write an essay to what extent you agree with the statement below. You should write at least 250
words and check your grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

"All existing bridges should be evaluated to see if they can withstand collisions."

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