Module code: 872

📚 Vocabulary Deep Dive

A2 – Torre Dei Conti Collapse – A2

15 key termsJournalistic articleA2

🎯 Learning Priorities

Focus on these words based on their importance for understanding the text:

⭐ Essential to understand the main event – the tower collapsing. This is the central action of the entire article.
fall downphrasal verbneutral

to collapse completely to the ground from a standing position

📝 “A very old tower fell down in Rome in November.”

Goes with: building falls down, wall falls down, tower falls down
Family: verb: fall | past: fell | past_participle: fallen
🇮🇹 Not 'cadere giù' (fall down from height) but 'crollare' (complete structural collapse)
⭐ Key noun describing the disaster. Used multiple times to describe both collapses. Students cannot follow the story without this.
collapsenounneutral

when a building suddenly falls down completely

📝 “This was the first collapse.”

Goes with: building collapse, sudden collapse, total collapse
Family: noun: collapse | verb: collapse | adjective: collapsed
🇮🇹 Same as Italian 'crollo' but pronunciation differs (/kəˈlæps/)
⭐ Critical for understanding the tower's condition before and after earthquakes. Appears in multiple contexts throughout.
damagedadjectiveneutral

broken or harmed badly

📝 “These earthquakes damaged the tower more.”

Goes with: badly damaged, seriously damaged, damaged building
Family: noun: damage | verb: damage | adjective: damaged
🇮🇹 Can be verb or adjective in English, unlike Italian 'danneggiato' (only adjective)
⭐ Essential to understand why the tower was weak. The article discusses centuries of earthquakes affecting the structure.
earthquakenounneutral

when the ground shakes strongly and can damage buildings

📝 “The tower survived many earthquakes.”

Goes with: strong earthquake, earthquake hits, survive earthquake
Family: noun: earthquake | adjective: seismic
🇮🇹 One word in English, two in Italian (terremoto)
⭐ Key verb showing how the tower lasted 800 years. Central to understanding the timeline and the tower's strength.
surviveverbneutral

to continue to exist after danger or difficult conditions

📝 “The tower survived many earthquakes.”

Goes with: survive earthquake, survive attack, survive centuries
Family: verb: survive | noun: survival, survivor | adjective: surviving
🇮🇹 False friend: means 'sopravvivere' not 'sorvegliare' (to watch)
⭐ Important for understanding who is examining the collapse and why. Helps students follow the investigation section.
investigatornounformal

a person who tries to find answers about what happened

📝 “Now investigators are looking at the tower.”

Goes with: investigators examine, investigators study, investigators find
Family: noun: investigator, investigation | verb: investigate | adjective: investigative
🇮🇹 False friend: not 'investigatore' (detective) but technical expert who examines causes
⭐ Important collocation explaining what workers were doing when the collapse happened. Key to understanding the timeline.
do repairscollocationneutral

to fix things that are broken

📝 “Workers were doing repairs inside the tower.”

Goes with: do repairs, do maintenance, do work
Family: noun: repair | verb: repair | adjective: repaired
🇮🇹 Use 'do' not 'make' with repairs (fare riparazioni)
⭐ Needed to understand the 800-year timeline and historical context. Used multiple times in the article.
centurynounneutral

a period of 100 years

📝 “It survived for many centuries.”

Goes with: many centuries, several centuries, half a century
Family: noun: century, centuries
🇮🇹 Same as Italian 'secolo'
⭐ Important for understanding one possible cause of collapse. Technical but explained in text.
foundationsnounformal

the bottom parts of a building that hold it up

📝 “This water could have damaged the foundations.”

Goes with: strong foundations, weak foundations, building foundations
Family: noun: foundation | verb: found | adjective: foundational
🇮🇹 Usually plural in construction context, like Italian 'fondamenta'
⭐ Useful for understanding neglect as a possible cause. Common phrasal verb worth learning actively.
take care ofphrasal verbneutral

to look after something or someone properly

📝 “During this time, nobody took care of it.”

Goes with: take care of building, take care of problem, take good care
Family: noun: care | verb: care | adjective: careful
🇮🇹 Three-word phrase, not separable like Italian 'prendersi cura'
⭐ Adds cultural context about Roman history. Useful for describing old buildings but not essential for main story.
ruinsnounneutral

old buildings that are broken or destroyed

📝 “They are now ruins.”

Goes with: ancient ruins, Roman ruins, in ruins
Family: noun: ruins | verb: ruin | adjective: ruined
🇮🇹 Always plural in this context, like Italian 'rovine'
⭐ Provides historical detail about the tower's original purpose. Enriches understanding but not critical.
fortnounneutral

a strong building designed to protect people

📝 “It was also a fort.”

Goes with: old fort, military fort, stone fort
Family: noun: fort, fortress | verb: fortify | adjective: fortified
🇮🇹 Similar to Italian 'forte' but different pronunciation (/fɔːrt/)
⭐ Useful for discussing one theory about the collapse. Good vocabulary for construction contexts.
equipmentnounneutral

machines and tools used for work

📝 “The construction equipment might have caused problems too.”

Goes with: construction equipment, heavy equipment, modern equipment
Family: noun: equipment | verb: equip | adjective: equipped
🇮🇹 Uncountable noun, no plural form (like Italian 'attrezzatura')
⭐ Natural collocation worth learning. Helps in discussing investigations and problem-solving.
find answerscollocationneutral

to discover solutions to questions or problems

📝 “Investigators are people who try to find answers.”

Goes with: find answers, find solutions, find reasons
Family: verb: find | past: found | noun: findings
🇮🇹 Use 'find' not 'search' with answers (trovare risposte)
⭐ Common phrasal verb for describing injuries. Useful in many contexts beyond this article.
get hurtphrasal verbneutral

to become injured or damaged physically

📝 “Another worker was hurt.”

Goes with: get hurt badly, get hurt in accident, someone gets hurt
Family: verb: hurt | adjective: hurt, hurtful
🇮🇹 Reflexive in Italian (farsi male) but not in English

📖 Complete Vocabulary Reference

All vocabulary items organized by theme:

Building Collapse Vocabulary

Core vocabulary to understand the tower collapse event and structural failure

fall downphrasal verbneutral

to collapse completely to the ground from a standing position

📝 “A very old tower fell down in Rome in November.”

Goes with: building falls down, wall falls down, tower falls down
Family: verb: fall | past: fell | past_participle: fallen
🇮🇹 Not 'cadere giù' (fall down from height) but 'crollare' (complete structural collapse)
collapsenounneutral

when a building suddenly falls down completely

📝 “This was the first collapse.”

Goes with: building collapse, sudden collapse, total collapse
Family: noun: collapse | verb: collapse | adjective: collapsed
🇮🇹 Same as Italian 'crollo' but pronunciation differs (/kəˈlæps/)
damagedadjectiveneutral

broken or harmed badly

📝 “These earthquakes damaged the tower more.”

Goes with: badly damaged, seriously damaged, damaged building
Family: noun: damage | verb: damage | adjective: damaged
🇮🇹 Can be verb or adjective in English, unlike Italian 'danneggiato' (only adjective)
foundationsnounformal

the bottom parts of a building that hold it up

📝 “This water could have damaged the foundations.”

Goes with: strong foundations, weak foundations, building foundations
Family: noun: foundation | verb: found | adjective: foundational
🇮🇹 Usually plural in construction context, like Italian 'fondamenta'
ruinsnounneutral

old buildings that are broken or destroyed

📝 “They are now ruins.”

Goes with: ancient ruins, Roman ruins, in ruins
Family: noun: ruins | verb: ruin | adjective: ruined
🇮🇹 Always plural in this context, like Italian 'rovine'

Investigation and Repair Vocabulary

Words related to examining causes and fixing problems

investigatornounformal

a person who tries to find answers about what happened

📝 “Now investigators are looking at the tower.”

Goes with: investigators examine, investigators study, investigators find
Family: noun: investigator, investigation | verb: investigate | adjective: investigative
🇮🇹 False friend: not 'investigatore' (detective) but technical expert who examines causes
do repairscollocationneutral

to fix things that are broken

📝 “Workers were doing repairs inside the tower.”

Goes with: do repairs, do maintenance, do work
Family: noun: repair | verb: repair | adjective: repaired
🇮🇹 Use 'do' not 'make' with repairs (fare riparazioni)
find answerscollocationneutral

to discover solutions to questions or problems

📝 “Investigators are people who try to find answers.”

Goes with: find answers, find solutions, find reasons
Family: verb: find | past: found | noun: findings
🇮🇹 Use 'find' not 'search' with answers (trovare risposte)
take care ofphrasal verbneutral

to look after something or someone properly

📝 “During this time, nobody took care of it.”

Goes with: take care of building, take care of problem, take good care
Family: noun: care | verb: care | adjective: careful
🇮🇹 Three-word phrase, not separable like Italian 'prendersi cura'
equipmentnounneutral

machines and tools used for work

📝 “The construction equipment might have caused problems too.”

Goes with: construction equipment, heavy equipment, modern equipment
Family: noun: equipment | verb: equip | adjective: equipped
🇮🇹 Uncountable noun, no plural form (like Italian 'attrezzatura')

Historical and Time Vocabulary

Words describing long periods of time and survival through history

centurynounneutral

a period of 100 years

📝 “It survived for many centuries.”

Goes with: many centuries, several centuries, half a century
Family: noun: century, centuries
🇮🇹 Same as Italian 'secolo'
surviveverbneutral

to continue to exist after danger or difficult conditions

📝 “The tower survived many earthquakes.”

Goes with: survive earthquake, survive attack, survive centuries
Family: verb: survive | noun: survival, survivor | adjective: surviving
🇮🇹 False friend: means 'sopravvivere' not 'sorvegliare' (to watch)
fortnounneutral

a strong building designed to protect people

📝 “It was also a fort.”

Goes with: old fort, military fort, stone fort
Family: noun: fort, fortress | verb: fortify | adjective: fortified
🇮🇹 Similar to Italian 'forte' but different pronunciation (/fɔːrt/)

Natural Disasters and Injuries

Vocabulary for describing dangerous events and physical harm

earthquakenounneutral

when the ground shakes strongly and can damage buildings

📝 “The tower survived many earthquakes.”

Goes with: strong earthquake, earthquake hits, survive earthquake
Family: noun: earthquake | adjective: seismic
🇮🇹 One word in English, two in Italian (terremoto)
get hurtphrasal verbneutral

to become injured or damaged physically

📝 “Another worker was hurt.”

Goes with: get hurt badly, get hurt in accident, someone gets hurt
Family: verb: hurt | adjective: hurt, hurtful
🇮🇹 Reflexive in Italian (farsi male) but not in English

🎮 Practice Activities

Collocation Matching

Match the verbs on the left with the correct noun phrases on the right

fall
do
take care
find
survive
get
hurt
earthquakes
of buildings
answers
repairs
down

Gap Fill

Complete the sentences with the correct word from the box: damaged, collapse, survive, foundations, equipment

The old bridge was badly _____ in the storm last week.

Engineers are worried the building might _____ if there's another earthquake.

The tower managed to _____ for 800 years despite many natural disasters.

Water under the ground can weaken the _____ of old buildings.

Heavy construction _____ was being used when the accident happened.

Word Formation

Complete the sentences using the correct form of the word in brackets

The _____ (investigate) are still trying to understand what happened.

Many Roman buildings are now in _____ (ruin).

The tower _____ (collapse) completely on November 5th.

Nobody knows if the building can _____ (survival) another earthquake.

The _____ (damage) to the foundations was very serious.

Gap Fill

Choose the correct verb: do or make

Workers were _____ repairs when the tower fell down.

The investigators need to _____ more tests on the foundations.

The collapse _____ a lot of noise when it happened.

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