Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Level 3
Advanced
1 Key words
Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text. adrift atoll castaway stranded remote ragged exposure sceptical dehydration life-threatening
1. A ______________________ place is far away from other cities, towns or people. 2. An ______________________ is an island in the form of a ring, made of coral. 3. ______________________ clothes are torn and dirty. 4. If a boat is ______________________, it is floating on the water without being tied to anything or controlled by anyone. 5. A ______________________ is someone whose ship has sunk and who is left on an island or beach where there are no other people. 6. A ______________________ disease or condition is one that is likely to cause someone to die. 7. ______________________ is the harmful effect of extreme weather on your body. 8. ______________________ is a dangerous lack of water in the body resulting from not drinking enough. 9. A ______________________ person has doubts about something that other people think is true or right. 10. If you are ______________________, you are left somewhere with no chance of going anywhere else.
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O FR BE C O DO O M W P W N IA EB LO B SI A L TE DE E D
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Level 3
Advanced
castaway. Hes staying at the local council house and a family is feeding him, said Fjeldstad, who added that the man had a basic health check and was found to have low blood pressure, but did not appear to have any lifethreatening conditions and was able to walk with the aid of men on the island. Weve been giving him a lot of water and hes gaining strength. 6 Fraser Christian, who teaches maritime survival courses at his Coastal Survival School in Dorset, said the mans story, if true, would be remarkable but far from unique. It was entirely possible to catch turtles or small fish by hand, he said, since they are inquisitive and they will approach a small boat to shelter underneath it. Christian advises clients who find themselves forced to eat turtles to start with their eyes lots of fluid then move on to the blood. 7 The major problems the man would have faced were exposure and dehydration. The basic rule is: no water, no food. You need water to digest protein. If you have no fresh water and it doesnt rain for a few days, so you cant collect rainwater, you have basically had it. Individual physiology also plays a part, he said, with some people better suited to survival than others. The mental thing is key and thats often down to peoples situation in life and how used they are to dealing mentally with hardship. 8 Stories of survival in the vast Pacific Ocean are not uncommon. In 2006, three Mexicans made international headlines when they were discovered drifting, also in a small fibreglass boat near the Marshall Islands. They claimed to have survived for nine months at sea on a diet of rainwater, raw fish and seabirds, with their hope kept alive by reading the Bible. But Cliff Downing, who teaches sea survival to sailors, said he was sceptical about the latest tale. It just doesnt sound right to me. There are 1,001 hazards that would make his survival for so long very unlikely. One would want to know a lot more. More castaways Poon Lim, a Chinese sailor from a British ship sunk by a German submarine in 1942, survived 133 days on a wooden raft floating in the South Atlantic before being rescued by Brazilian fishermen. In 1971, experienced Scottish sailor Dougal Robertson and his family were sailing to the
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Level 3
Advanced
before being rescued by the US coastguard. The men stayed alive by eating tuna. A Panamanian fisherman sued Princess Cruises in 2012 after one of their ships ignored cries for help from him and two companions who were stranded in their broken boat. He survived 28 days adrift, but his friends both died of thirst.
Guardian News and Media 2014 First published in The Guardian, 31/01/14
Galpagos Islands from Panama when their boat was sunk by killer whales. They survived 38 days on a lifeboat before being rescued by a passing fishing trawler. In 2006, three Mexican fishermen were discovered drifting in a small boat near the Marshall Islands, nine months after setting out on a shark-fishing expedition. They apparently survived on a diet of rainwater, raw fish and seabirds. In 2011, two fishermen, aged 26 and 53, from the Republic of Kiribati, drifted for 33 days
3 Comprehension check
Choose the best answer according to the text. 1. What is the greatest threat to a sailor adrift on the ocean? a. an attack by killer whales b. exposure c. no fresh water 2. Why are some people sceptical about the castaways story? a. because there are so many potential hazards which make it extremely unlikely that someone could survive for as long as 16 months b. because no one is mentally strong enough to deal with such hardship c. because it is impossible to catch turtles with your bare hands 3. Why did the Panamanian fisherman sue Princess Cruises? a. because their ship collided with his fishing boat b. because the crew on one of their ships ignored his cries for help c. because they were left stranded on a broken boat 4. Why should people who are forced to eat turtles start with the eyes? a. because they are the easiest part of the turtle to eat b. because they are full of blood c. because they contain a lot of fluid
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O FR BE C O DO O M W P W N IA EB LO B SI A L TE DE E D
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Level 3
Advanced
6 Word-building
Complete the sentences using the correct form of the word in brackets at the end of each sentence. 1. Stories of _________________ in the Pacific are not uncommon. [SURVIVE] 2. _________________ is a major problem for people adrift on the ocean. [EXPOSE] 3. The mans story is _________________ but not unique. [REMARK] 4. Turtles and small fish are _________________. [INQUIRE] 5. Some people are _________________ about the mans story. [SCEPTIC] 6. The three Mexican fishermen _________________ survived on a diet of rainwater, raw fish and seabirds. [APPARENT]
7 Discussion
Do you believe this mans story? Why? Why not?
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Level 3 KEY
Advanced
1 Key words
1. remote 2. atoll 3. ragged 4. adrift 5. castaway 6. life-threatening 7. exposure 8. dehydration 9. sceptical 10. stranded
6 Word-building
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. survival exposure remarkable inquisitive sceptical apparently
3 Comprehension check
1. 2. 3. 4. c a b c
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