Electricity is such a part of our everyday lives and so much taken for granted nowadays 1 ___ we rarely think twice when we switch on the light or turn on the TV set. At night, roads are brightly lit, enabling people and 2 ___ to move freely. Neon lighting used in advertising has become part of the 3 ___ of every modern city. In the home, many 4 ___ devices are powered by electricity. 5 ___ when we turn off the bedside lamp and are 6 ___ asleep, electricity is working for us, 7 ___ our refrigerators, heating our water, or keeping our rooms air-conditioned. Every day, trains, buses and subways take us to and from work. We rarely 8 ___ to consider why or how they run——9 ___ something goes wrong. In the summer of 1959, something 10 ___ go wrong with the power-plant that provided New York with electricity. For a great many hours, life came almost to a 11 ___. Trains refused to move and the people in them sat in the dark, 12 ___ to do anything; lifts stopped working, so that 13 ___ you were lucky enough not to be 14. ___ between two floors, you had the unpleasant task of finding your way down 15 ___ of stairs. Famous streets like Broadway and Fifth Avenue in a(n) 16 ___ became as gloomy and uninviting 17 ___ the most remote back streets. People were afraid to leave their houses, 18 ___ . although the police had been ordered to 19 ___ in case of emergency, they were just as confused and 20 ___ as anybody else.