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Self-study activities. 24. Read the text and answer the questions below it. Solving new York City’s hurricane problem with representations
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SELF-STUDY ACTIVITIES
24. Read the text and answer the questions below it.
Solving New York City’s Hurricane Problem with Representations
Sketches or drawings can help people communicate to others ideas about how to solve problems, big or small. Drawings make ideas visual, so they are easier to understand than a spoken or written explanation, and using them allows for many different drafts to be presented before deciding on a final product.
When a hurricane hit New York City in 2012, the city realized it was not prepared to handle such a disaster. The hurricane damaged the city badly and left many people without homes. Sea levels were going to continue to rise, which meant potential for more hurricanes and flooding, and the government realized it had to change some things about the city to make it better able to handle future disasters. Rather than simply begin building bigger, stronger structures, like a giant wall around the city or a gate to keep water out, people started sketching out their ideas about how to make New York a place that could better withstand hurricanes. These people were experts chosen to take on the task of re-imagining the city. By using drawings, people were able to debate these ideas, decide which ones were best and change them as they saw fit. Drawings also allowed experts in certain areas to show and explain things to people who didn’t know as much as them about those subjects.
Some people focused on how to change the city’s natural environment, like the grassy areas next to the ocean, to make them more hurricane-friendly. They drew and presented sketches that showed how these areas could be used to absorb seawater. They also drew in things that could be planted to grow better in the changing environment, like plants that can withstand seawater. Others focused on important city buildings like hospitals. Hospitals in New York City were hit hard by the hurricane, and many people struggled to get the emergency care and basic medical help they needed during the disaster. The experts’ drawings focused on ways to make hospital buildings stronger so that they could meet people’s needs even in a crisis.
Others looked at how to improve public transportation, which is very important to keeping the city running. After the hurricane, many people in the city were stranded with no way to get around because the train system was badly affected by the storm. Transportation experts drew up ways to pump water out of train tunnels more quickly and get trains up and running sooner. People brought their drawings together and looked at all the ways to improve the city. Some ideas had to be rejected and replaced by more useful ones. The experts presented their ideas to the public at meetings because these changes would affect everyone living in the city and they wanted the citizens to be engaged in the process.
Finally, the city was able to decide on a plan it would use to start making the city stronger, and it used these sketches and representations to figure out other things, like how much it would cost the city, how many workers would be needed and how long the construction projects might take. Using the teamwork of many experts and sketch artists, the city was able to begin planning New York City’s future and work toward preventing potential dangers.
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Questions
1. What did people use when discussing how to protect New York City against hurricanes?
a. drawings
b. medical help
c. seawater
d. construction projects
2. The threat of another hurricane is a problem for New York City. What have people done to help solve this problem?
a. People have moved to homes outside New York City.
b. People have built sculptures of New York City.
c. People have figured out ways to change New York City.
d. People have spent less money on public transportation in New York City.
3. When a hurricane hit New York City in 2012, the city was not fully prepared to handle it. What evidence from the passage supports this statement?
a. Drawings can help people exchange ideas with each other about how to solve problems, big or small.
b. Because drawings make ideas visible, they can be easier to understand than spoken or written explanations.
c. Sea levels are expected to keep rising, which means New York City may experience one or more hurricanes in the future.
d. Many people struggled to get medical help during the hurricane and were left without homes afterward.
4. What was one reason for using drawings when discussing improvements to New York City after the hurricane?
a. Some people prefer hearing an idea explained by an expert than seeing a drawing of that idea by a non-expert.
b. Drawings made it easier for many people to understand the improvements being discussed.
c. During the hurricane, many people in New York City were stranded and could not get the medical care they needed.
d. Some ideas that people came up with were not as good as others and had to be replaced.
5. What is this passage mainly about?
a. the damage that a 2012 hurricane did to hospitals and the train system in New York City
b. ideas that had to be rejected when figuring out ways to protect New York City from hurricanes
c. how grassy areas in New York City next to the ocean could be used to absorb seawater
d. ways to protect New York City from hurricanes and how drawings helped people discuss those ways
6. Read the following sentences: “Some people focused on how to change the city’s natural environment, like the grassy areas next to the ocean, to make them more hurricane-friendly. They drew and presented sketches that showed how these areas could be used to absorb seawater. ” What does the word sketches mean?
a. ideas for making something better
b. problems with public transportation
c. drawings without many details
d. meetings between experts and non-experts
7. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.
New York City was damaged by a hurricane; …., the city started looking for ways to protect itself against other hurricanes.
a. consequently
b. however
c. before
d. for instance
8. Name one thing that people drew as they worked on ways to protect New York City from hurricanes. (an open answer)
9. What is one example of how the drawings of ways to change New York City were shared? (an open answer)
10. The passages states that “drawings can help people communicate to others ideas about how to solve problems, big or small. ” Using evidence from the passage, explain how drawings helped people communicate ideas about how to solve New York City’s hurricane problem. (an open answer)
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