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lifting eyes; resin; vertical;
c 6.3 Read the conversation and summarise the ideas. How do their ideas compare with
yours? Why is each suggestion rejected?

Rick: It obviously has to be lifted with a crane. Cabrieila: Yes, but do the slings necessarily have
to pass under the base? Why not come up with a way of hooking onto the side of the statue?
Rick: How?
Cabrieila: Well, couldn’t we drill into it, horizontally, and insert bars into the holes? Then hook
onto the bars.
Rick: People would see the holes afterwards, though.
Cabrieila: We could fill all the holes, couldn’t we? Surely they could use some sort of filler
that’s the same colour as the stone.
Rick: They’d never hide the holes completely, though. It would still leave marks, wouldn’t it? I
don’t think that would be acceptable.
Cabrieila: Or, alternatively, we could make sure the holes were out of sight. What about drilling
into the top, vertically? If the holes were right on the top, they’d be less visible. Then the bars
could be set in, with lifting eyes on the end.
Rick: Hmm. The trouble is, if the bars were set in with resin, they’d never come out. They’d have
to be cut off, wouldn't they? And this mammoth’s lying down, so the top will probably be seen, to
an extent.
Cabrieila: True.
Rick: To be honest, I don’t think we can envisage drilling into it. I suppose another option would
be to use some sort of grab, on the end of the crane jib. You know, like the ones they use for
offloading lorries. So, the statue would be held by friction. But I can’t imagine there being
anything capable of lifting 36 tonnes. Especially not something that wide.
Cabrieila: Hm, no. Have you spoken to the masons about this?
Rick: Not yet, no.
Cabrieila: Why don’t we ask them?

d Complete the following suggestions from the conversation using the words in the box.
about; alternatively; another; could; couldn't; don't; not;
1 Why not come up with a way of hooking onto the side of the statue?
2 Well, we drill into it, horizontally ...?
3 We fill all the holes, couldn’t we?
4 Or, , we could make sure the holes were out of sight.
5 What drilling into the top, vertically?
6 I suppose option would be to use some sort of grab, on the end of
the crane jib.
7 Why we ask them?

e You are engineers working on the mammoth statue project, with the following technical
requirements. In pairs, discuss possible solutions to the problem of placing the statue on
the plinth using the phrases in the box.
Alternatively; Another option would be ...; Couldn't we ... ; We
could ...; What about... ?; Why don't we ... ?; Why not...?;

* No holes, slots or grooves may be cut in the statue. All of its surfaces must remain intact.
* No spacers may be left between the underside of the statue's flat base and the flat upper surface
of the plinth. The two surfaces must be left in direct contact with each other.
* The statue must not be subjected to shocks. Sudden drops, even of a few millimetres, are out of
the question , given the fragility of the sculpture, especially at its corners and edges, which can

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