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Come from Away · 2021 — Chapter 8 of 22 · 2'46" · B1

Gander Finds Translators and Animals, Explained: hear a pin drop

Buses carry stranded passengers into the dark, and the town scrambles for translators: "If anyone speaks Mandarin, can you come to the library?" The silence is so complete "you could hear a pin drop," and no one can explain what is happening. Meanwhile, an SPCA volunteer climbs into a plane's hold to feed the animals.

What happens

In Gander, townspeople use school buses to move passengers to a Salvation Army camp, and the language barrier is total. A call goes out for anyone who can translate Mandarin, Hindi or Moldovan, and teachers turn out to know Russian and Spanish. At the airport, an SPCA volunteer is feeding animals in a plane's hold when new orders arrive: every US plane is treated as a bomb threat.

Travel & hotelsAsking for helpAskingExplainingStrangersB1mediumother-accentClean
IMDb ↗

Listen for

hear a pin dropsay helloturn out to knowcome off

00:00 / 02:46
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  28. ❝ MonologueBonnie finds the animals in the hold3 linesPractice page ↗
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Phrase of the scene

hear a pin drop

安静得能听见针掉在地上

巴士驶出甘德后，一车陌生旅客突然安静下来，安静得几乎能听见针掉在地上。

You could hear a pin drop when she walked in.

Also in this scene

  • say hello

    greet someone

  • turn out to know

    be discovered to have knowledge

  • come off

    get off a vehicle

Everything marked in this scene

26 notes across 47 lines

Phrase · B1back and forthEvery school bus we got is goin' back and forth all night.
Soundback and forth

liaison

Every school bus we got is goin' back and forth all night.
Phrase · B1deliver something to someoneOut to the Salvation Army camp, we've delivered passengers from Germany, England and France.
Phrase · B1outside of somewhereWe get outside of Gander, and you could hear a pin drop.
Phrase · C1hear a pin dropWe get outside of Gander, and you could hear a pin drop.
Grammar · B2could hear a pin drop

could

We get outside of Gander, and you could hear a pin drop.
Phrase · B1in a low voice-Behind me, this big man comes up to me… -Darkness and trees …and he says in this low voice…
Phrase · B1help do somethingLadies and gentlemen, we need some help translating.
Phrase · B1all over the worldWe've got passengers from all over the world coming off these buses,
Phrase · A2say hello

greet someone

all speaking different languages. We can't even say hello.
Soundsay hello

liaison

all speaking different languages. We can't even say hello.
Phrase · B2turn out to do somethingMrs. Noonan, our French teacher, turns out to know a little Russian.
Phrase · B1what was I sayingI'm sorry, what was I saying?
Phrase · B1hundreds of somethingThere are hundreds of suitcases.
Phrase · B1starvingThey fast them before flying, so they are starving, and they need water.
Grammar · B2fast them before flying

before doing

They fast them before flying, so they are starving, and they need water.
Phrase · A2get out of thereYou gotta get out of there. We're keeping all personnel out of the holds until-- Sorry, Dwight. It's the wife.
Phrase · B1out of somethingYou gotta get out of there. We're keeping all personnel out of the holds until-- Sorry, Dwight. It's the wife.
Grammar · B1feeding some animals

present continuous

She's feeding some animals inside. Nothing's coming off.
Phrase · B2be taped to somethingThere's a pill taped to his carrier.
Phrase · B2move your arseBonnie, you gotta move your arse!
Slang · B2arseBonnie, you gotta move your arse!
Phrase · A2be backHere's some crunchy, Lyle. I'll be back to give you your pill.
Soundbe back

liaison

Here's some crunchy, Lyle. I'll be back to give you your pill.
Phrase · B2new ordersListen to me. FAA sent over new orders.
Grammar · B2treating all US planes as

treat as

We're treating all US planes as bomb threats.

Gander Finds Translators and Animals, explained

What's really going on

This chapter runs on two kinds of emergency at once: the crowd that needs to be fed and housed, and the animals nobody remembered to plan for. The bus ride into the dark is where the scale lands, with silence so total that "you could hear a pin drop," and a family that cannot get answers: "They ask me what is happening, and I do not know." The translation calls are the town's improvisation, asking anyone who speaks Mandarin or Hindi to step forward, and the payoff is ordinary people discovering hidden skills. Then the tone drops again, because the airport learns the FAA is treating every US plane as a bomb threat. A volunteer feeding cats in the hold becomes a tension scene: she has found animals, and somewhere in there are monkeys.

Theme

DutyA whole town mobilises buses, camps and translators to care for strangers, treating the obligation as ordinary rather than heroic.
TrustStrangers who cannot exchange a word still hand their safety to the town, and the town keeps it.

Listen for

  • back and forth — liaison
  • say hello — liaison
  • be back — liaison
all speaking different languages. We can't even say hello.

The language barrier made concrete: a room full of people who cannot manage even the smallest greeting.

I found a cat. His name is Lyle.

A small, warm detail in the middle of chaos: one volunteer names the animal she has found, giving it back a story.

We get outside of Gander, and you could hear a pin drop.

The quiet outside town becomes a measure of fear: not peaceful, but the silence of passengers who don't know what comes next.

They ask me what is happening, and I do not know.

A parent's helplessness stated plainly: his family wants reassurance, and he has none to give.

Questions about this scene

What is the town doing for the passengers?

Gander is busing thousands of stranded passengers to camps and churches, collecting luggage, and organising food, shelter and translators.

Why do they need translators?

The passengers speak Mandarin, Hindi, Moldovan and many other languages, and the locals cannot even say hello, so bilingual passengers and teachers step in to help.

What does "hear a pin drop" mean?

It means the room is completely silent, quiet enough to hear a pin fall. Here the silence on the bus shows how frightened the passengers are.

What is happening at the airport?

Volunteers are feeding animals left in the planes, and then word arrives that the FAA is treating every US plane as a bomb threat, raising the danger.

Why is Bonnie in the hold?

She is with the SPCA, feeding and medicating the pets on the stranded planes, even after being told to stay out for safety.

Come from Away · 22 chapters

All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 9speak the same languageLocals Drive Passengers to the Camp
Chapter 1a lay of the landGander Learns of the EmergencyChapter 2shaking like a leafPlanes Land Unexpectedly in GanderChapter 3a state of emergencyGander Declares a State of EmergencyChapter 4for the love of GodA Town Gathers SuppliesChapter 5rumors start flyingPassengers Stuck on Planes for 28 HoursChapter 6make no mistakeWaiting on the Plane for NewsChapter 7left over fromPassengers Disembark into the DarkWatching · Chapter 8hear a pin dropGander Finds Translators and AnimalsChapter 9speak the same languageLocals Drive Passengers to the CampChapter 10to the ends of the earthGander Academy Becomes a ShelterChapter 11suit yourselfStranded Passengers Wait for NewsChapter 12make small talkGander Locals Take In the PassengersChapter 13praise be to GodThe Gayest Town in NewfoundlandChapter 14there for meA Mother Waits and Tells JokesChapter 15a moment of silenceA Gas Station Falls SilentChapter 16jump at one's own shadowA Fight Breaks Out in the HallwayChapter 17take the plungeThe Screech-In CeremonyChapter 18Don't be a strangerGander Says Goodbye to the VisitorsChapter 19take seriouslyA Muslim Passenger Is SearchedChapter 20seize the momentDiane and Nick at the LookoutChapter 21ground zeroThe Aftermath Back HomeChapter 22a big breakGander Remembers the Plane People
Chapter 8 of 22 · about 51 min to go