Lesson 10 Rescue Under the Sea

Patrick Pringle

Tom Eadie was recognized as a master diver. He was a hero of many adventures that had nearly cost him his life. In 1927, when the American submarine S-4 sank, eight of the best divers in the United States Navy went to the rescue. Tom Eadie was among them.

The S-4 had been accidentally struck by an American destroyer, and had gone to the bottom in over a hundred feet of water. The weather was bad and showed every sign of becoming worse. Nevertheless, although the sea was too rough for diving.Tom was the first one to go down to the wreck of the S-4. He taped on the hull[1] of the submarine, and was overjoyed to hear the trapped men tap back.

The divers fixed a pipe to the main ballast[2] tank of the submarine. Through it, the rescuers pumped fresh air. In this way they hoped to make the boat light enough to rise to the surface. But this failed. The submarine did not move.

The weather was beginning to grow worse. A diver named Michels took another air pipe down to the sub. Somehow both his breast rope and his air pipe became caught in the wreck. Every time he tried to free one line, the other one became tighter. He realized that his danger was increasing with every minute he spent struggling. The only thing to do was ask for help—immediately.

“I’m caught,” he reported into his telephone.

“We’ll send Eadie down,” came the reply. It was a statement that always inspired confidence.

Eadie was lying in his bunk[3], resting after his own tiring dive. Quickly he dressed himself again for diving. But by the time he was ready. Michels’ voice was no longer coming over the telephone. The rough sea had pulled his breast rope and his air pipe tighter and bound him to the submarine. He was lying face downward on the deck,unable to move. He could not speak because he had already lost consciousness.

Eadie went down into the churning[4] water. He took with him a powerful submarine lamp, cutting pliers, a hammer, and a large wire cutter. He found Michels and managed to loosen the lines enough to get him to his feet. But both of Michels’ lines were still fouled. Eadie found that Michels’ air pipe was caught in the bent plating of the submarine. Eadie tried to work it loose, but he could not free it with the tools he had.

“Send down a hacksaw,” he ordered over his telephone.

The hacksaw was sent down on his own air pipe. He was not aware that it had reached him until he heard it land with a clang on his helmet. Quickly he released it and began to cut through the broken plating of the sub.

For forty long, tense minutes he sawed and hammered. He was at the point of exhaustion. Then at last the bent plating gave way. He had cut through the metal, and Michels’ air pipe was free. The unconscious Michels floated up a little way and then stopped. His breast rope was still caught. Eadie went up after him. He was trying to get the breast rope free when suddenly he felt cold. A jagged piece of metal had torn his diving suit, and water was pouring in.

Air was constantly being pumped into his helmet, and it kept the water level below his neck as long as he stood up straight. But he knew that if he leaned forward or to one side, he was bound to drown. In spite of his danger, he continued his task. At last he managed to free Michels’ breast rope and sent the unconscious man floating up.

Then he himself went up.

Even now, however, the two men were not safe. In fact, they faced one of the worst dangers of deep diving. Divers who surface too quickly, as Eadie and Michels did, suffer from compressed-air sickness. While they are deep below the surface,the weight of the water above them makes their blood absorb more nitrogen[5] than it usually would. The deeper they are and the longer they stay down, the more nitrogen they absorb. If a diver rises in gradual stages, this nitrogen has a chance to escape. But if an emergency forces him to come up too quickly, the nitrogen cannot escape from his blood. Then he is in trouble.

Eadie had been deep under water for more than an hour. Michels had been down for over three hours and was unconscious. Immediately both of them were put into a device called a decompression chamber.

In the decompression chamber a high pressure is produced at first, and then gradually brought down. This makes it possible for the diver’s blood to lose nitrogen slowly. The decompression chamber has reduced the dangers of compression sickness and has saved many lives. It certainly saved the life of the diver Michels.

The day after his rescue, Michels was still critically ill. He was rushed to a hospital, and eventually recovered completely.

Eadie received the Medal of Honor from the president of the United States.Although the men in the submarine could not be saved, Eadie’s courageous efforts will not be forgotten. There has never been a greater act of heroism under the sea.

(904 words)

Exercises

Ⅰ. How well did you read?

1. [Grasp the main idea] The main purpose of this selection is to___________ .

A. tell the story of the rescue

B. teach what a decompression chamber is

C. explain why the S-4 was lost

2. [See the result] Divers pumped fresh air into the sub in order to___________ .

A. give oxygen to the men inside

B. prevent an explosion

C. make the sub float

3. [Evaluate the information] The event in the rescue that occurred first was the___________ .

A. freeing of Michels’ air pipe

B. freeing of Michels’ breast rope

C. tearing of Eadie’s diving suit 1617

4. [Give the reason] Eadie was sent down to rescue Michels because Eadie was___________ .

A. the only diver who was rested

B. the best diver available

C. a friend of Michels’

5. [Give the reason] Eadie did not drown when his suit tore because___________ .

A. he was able to slip into Michels’ suit

B. he floated calmly on his back

C. air from his helmet pushed the water below his neck

6. [Check the details] The entire story resulted from___________ .

A. two ships colliding B. rough seas C. poor diving

7. [Note the fact] Eadie’s rescue of Michels is considered___________ .

A. a lucky break

B. a sample of a diver’s daily routine

C. an outstanding and unusually heroic deed

8. [Draw a conclusion] Compression sickness is caused by___________ .

A. water pressure too great for the body

B. inadequate supply of oxygen for the diver

C. too much nitrogen in the bloodstream

Ⅱ. Read for words:

1. Choose one best paraphrase for the underlined words.

(1) Although the sea was too rough for diving, Tom was the first one to go down to the wreck of the S-4. (Para. 2)

A. sharp; harsh B. coarse; unpolished C. stormy

(2) The divers fixed a pipe to the main ballast tank of the submarine. (Para. 3)

A. musical instrument B. long tube C. tube used for smokin

(3) If a diver rises in gradual stages, this nitrogen has a chance to escape. (Para.13)

A. steps B. periods of growth C. platforms

2. Choose one best paraphrase for the underlined expressions.

(1) But if an emergency forces him to come up too quickly, the nitrogen cannot escape from his blood. (Para. 13)

A. happen B. rise C. appear above the soil

(2) He was rushed to a hospital, and eventually recovered completely. (Para. 16)

A. moved fast

B. was sent with great speed

C. was attacked

Ⅲ. Writing practice:

In not more than 150 words describe the rescue under the sea. Do not include anything that is not in the passage.

Answer these questions in note form to get your points:

1. Who was Tom Eadie?

2. Why did the divers go to the rescue?

3. Who was the first one to go down to the wreck of the S-4?

4. Why did the divers fix a pipe?

5. What happened to Michels?

6. Why was Eadie sent down to rescue Michels?

7. What does the author think of Eadie?

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