Unit 8 Adventure racing

WHAT'S AN ADVENTURE RACE?

An adventure race is a mix of different sports in one long race. Each team
in the race has three men and a woman, and all four must finish together.
These notes are about an international four-day race . There were 68 men
and women from many countries in 17 teams, and the race was in China.
One of the women wrote these notes every evening:

DAY I 1
.3D ki(ow,.efres Ofl b,C-!Jdes afld, Ofl foot. Eae-"1 feaw,.
"1ad, Oflf!J fwo biC-!Jdes. So f"1e fastest rl.A.flflers d,,d,
MOsf of f"1e rl.A.flfliflg. T"1efl ID k,loMefres Ofl loflg
skates wif"1 wiule w"1eels. r::iflaff!J, across a lake 5
1fl a ka!jak CID kt/ow,.efres).

DAY 2
We rafl up afld, ulowfl a MOI.A.flfaifl, f"1roug"1 a beCll.A.fiful
forest afld, fwo villages (20 kMS). 25kM ulowfl a river 1fl a
ka!jak. 1<oug"1 wafer afld, "1eaV!J raifl. A 15-kw,. rl.A.fl f"1roug"1 • 10
rie-e fieluls. M!J feet are "1wf,J'l0 J'IOW.

DAY .3
.3[! kM Ofl biC-!je-les ae-ross a nver aflul 1.A.p a MOI.A.flfaifl.
11.e sfrof10er riulers puf (ed, f"1e weaker r,d,ers wif"1 ropes.
Wafer afld, food, af f"1e fop, f"1efl a 20-kM rl.A.fl ulowfl. 15
I )/"Vl a(MOsf clew!

DAY 4
a 12-kw,. rl.A.fl up a MOI.A.flfaifl afld, iflfo a ulark e-ave.
11.roug"1 f"1e e-ave afld, f"1efl ulowfl f"1e MOI.A.flfaifl Ofl a rope.
We C-!Je-fed, SD kM, f"1efl 12 kM 1fl a ka!jak aflul a .3-kw,. rufl. 20

1.3 of f"1e 17 feaMs fiflis"1eul. M!J feaw,. fif11s"1eul IDfk

Ow f,Me was 21o /riows, 2 7 Mifll.A.fes afld, 5.3 seC-ofluls.

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 Unit 8 Adventure racing

C Choose a, b or c.
1 Every person in an adventure race .......... ..
a) does many sports b) is a woman c) finishes at the same time
2 The fastest .... .... ... wins.
a) man b) person c) team
3 The teams in this race were ............
a) from China b) from many different countries c) all women
4 For the first 30 kilometres, each person ran ........... of the way.
a) half b) some c) most
5 The journey down the river in a boat was very ........... .
a) easy b) slow c) wet
6 On the third day, the stronger riders ........... the slower riders in
their team.
a) pushed b) carried c) helped
7 They went through a dark cave before ........... the last mountain.
a) running up b) climbing down c) cycling down
8 ........... teams did not finish the race.
a) Four b) Thirteen c) Seventeen

D Answer the questions.

1 How many different sports did they do?

2 How many mountains did they go up?

3 How many times did they travel in a boat?

E Read, think and discuss.

1 Did the writer enjoy the race? Why or why not?
2 How did the stronger people help the others? Why?
3 Where is a good place for an adventure race in your country?
 Unit 9 Th e m oving stones

The moving stones

These big stones leave long tracks behind them. The long tracks 1
show that the stones have moved along the ground. But how do
they move? Scientists have tried to answer this question for the
last 50 years.
These famous moving stones are in Death Valley, USA. Many s
of the stones are small but a few of them are very big. Some of
the big stones are as big as a man. The biggest stones weigh
350 kilograms. They are heavier than four men!
The stones only move at night arid only once every year or
two. Nobody has ever seen them moving, but now scientists 10
know the answer to the question.
The answer is the wind. When the wind comes from the
west, the stones move to the east. When the wind is from the
south, they always move to the north. But how can the wind
move a stone that weighs 350 kilograms? JS
This answer is more complicated . Death Valley is one of the
hottest places in the world, but it can be very cold at night.
Sometimes there are bad storms in the night. Rain falls, and the
hard ground becomes soft and wet. The wind is very strong
and cold. The water on the ground changes to very thin ice. 20
Then the strong wind can move flat stones along the flat
ground . In the morning, the sun comes up and dries the ground.

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 Unit 9 The m oving stones

C Choose a, b or c.
1 Scientists ........... the stones 50 years ago.
a) understood b) moved c) began thinking about
2 ........... of the moving stones are very heavy.
a) All b) Some c) None
3 The stones do not move ........... .
a) at night b) often c) more than once
4 They ........... move the same way as the wind.
a) always b) sometimes c) never
5 The ........... longer and more difficult.
a) second answer is b) first question is c) bigger stones are
6 The nights are ........... .
a) sometimes very cold and wet b) hot in the daytime
c) never stormy
7 The wind can move stones because the ground is ........... .
a) soft and wet b) flat and icy c) hot and dry
8 The ground is ........... .
a) dry in the daytime b) always wet at night c) not flat

D Answer the questions.

1 Where are the moving stones?

2 How do we know they move?

3 How heavy are the heaviest stones?

E Complete the sentences with these words.

along behind to of for than
1 The stone has a track ......................... it.
2 It has moved ......................... the ground.
3 They have tried ......................... 50 years.
4 Some ......................... the stones are very big.
5 They are bigger ......................... a man.
6 We know the answer ......................... the question.

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