TITLE: Night Without End

PUBLISHING HOUSE: Oxford Bookworms

GRADE: Six

NOVELIST: Alistair Maclean

SETTING: The story is set in the Polar Arctic Circle,precisely in Greenland, in a week in the second half of XX century.

CHARACTERS: Dr Peter Mason is the leader of the scientific research team; Jackstraw and Joss are two scientists; the survivors of the crashed plane are Margaret Ross,Marie LeGarde,Johnny Zagero,Helene,Theodore Mahler,Mrs Dansby-Gregg,Nick Corazzini,Joseph Smallwood,Mr Brewster,Miss Fleming; Captain Hillcrest is the leader of the marines.

SUMMARY: An airplane crashes on the Greenland. A scientific research team based near the site of the crash rescues the surviving passengers and takes them to its station. Without enough food for everyone, the leader of the scientific research team, Dr Mason, decides that they must set out for the nearest settlement. Then he orders a radio operator to repair the radio and contact a field expedition. So he leaves with the group and another scientist, Jackstraw,while keeping in touch with their station by a short range radio. Meanwhile,a field expedition returns to the station and contacts Dr Mason. It informs him that a massive military mobilization has been done to locate the crashed plane and that it is carrying something very important. Captain Hillcrest,the leader of the military expedition, sets out for reaching the group but soon he finds that sugar has been added to petrol which stations pick up causing it to melt and stick to engine parts of the plane leading him to get bogged down. At the same time, the government relents and informs Dr Mason that the military courier is carrying a top secret missile guidance mechanism and it is made to look like a tape recorder and a group of criminals wants to sabotage it,up to the point of killing Dr Mason and the other people. But soon they think that killing the entire group is not feasible,so they abandon all the passengers save the stewardess and a passenger. Meanwhile,the remaining passengers and Dr Mason stumble on in the arctic blizzard guided by the guard dogs and they catch up the criminals near the shore,that are surrounded and after a fighting between them and the protagonists, the hostages are rescued.

THEME:In this book the main theme are the difficulties of adaptation in a place which is not habitual for you and there you cannot live as you want to do.

MESSAGE:This Maclean's book wants to tell us that even if you are in danger or you have got some problems you will never lose hope in getting better your status. Indeed "the hope is the last to die".

NEW WORDS:

to get bogged down,impantanarsi;

to stumble on,inciampare;

blizzard,tormenta;

to relent,cedere;

onto,in cima a;

to set out for,partire per;

massive,massiccia;

feasible,fattibile;

trawler,peschereccio;

to be tampered with,essere manomesso con;

to catch up,raggiungere;

to locate,individuare;

no hope of rescue, nessuna speranza di soccorso;

to pick up,far salire;

to lead,condurre;

stewardess,hostess;

tape recorder,nastro registratore;

to lift up,sollevare;

helplessly,impotente;

to wipe,pulire;

to remark,osservare;

disbelievingly,incredulo;

annoyance,fastidio;

lungs,polmoni;

to gasp,respirare;

amazement,stupore;

to be plunged,essere immerso;

hollow,cavità;

to have not the faintest idea,non avere la più pallida idea;

sledge,slitta;

to be in no mood, non essere in vena;

to nod,annuire;

steady,costante;

squashed,schiacciato;

shore,riva;

to melt,fondersi;

to make somebody ride with, far andare qualcuno con;

to get better,migliorare;

status,situazione.