READING 1 B1+
Doctors of adventure
Dr Pilar Fuentes is a small woman with a soft, polite voice. It's difficult to
imagine her half way up a mountain, struggling against heavy snow and
strong winds to deal with a climber who has just fallen and broken his
leg. But that's what she was doing just two weeks ago in the Himalayas,
far away from a hospital, her equipment limited to what she could carry.
Pilar is an expedition doctor, and her job is to look after groups of people
travelling in difficult and often dangerous parts of the world.
'I work with all sorts of people,' she explains. 'They could be scientists
carrying out research, serious climbers or divers, or just ordinary people
looking for an adventure.'
Since becoming a doctor, Pilar has worked all over the world. But what
kind of person actually enjoys dealing with snake bites in a jungle or
getting a group of not particularly fit people up a mountain for charity?
'I like variety,' she laughs. 'I'm easily bored. When I've been in a place for a
few months, I start to need another adventure! I love meeting new people
and the challenge of working in different situations.'
Is there anything about being an expedition doctor she doesn't enjoy?
'Sometimes people don't tell you the truth about their health before we
set off, because they're worried that they may not be allowed to go. When
that happens, it's impossible to be fully prepared,
and preparation is the most important part of
my job. There's nothing worse than someone
becoming ill in the middle of a trip and then
admitting that they have an illness that I
knew nothing about.'
1 Put the phrases in the correct order to make sentences
about the article.
1 talks about / expedition doctor / this article / the life / of an
2 conditions / often have / expedition doctors / in difficult /
to work
2 Read the article. Are these sentences true or false?
1 Expedition doctors have the same equipment available to
them as doctors in hospitals. TRUE/FALSE
2 Pilar enjoys working in unusual places. TRUE/FALSE
3 Expedition members always give her all the information
she needs about their health. TRUE/FALSE
4 Before each expedition, she needs to make careful plans
for anything that might happen. TRUE/FALSE
5 People get hypothermia when their bodies get too cold.
TRUE/FALSE
6 People often become ill as they come down from the top
of a mountain. TRUE/FALSE
7 Expedition doctors have to learn extra skills to help them
in the areas they visit. TRUE/FALSE
8 Pilar will increase the number of expeditions she does in
the future. TRUE/FALSE
The skills that Pilar needs depend on the type of trip she is doing. In
Antarctica, she needs to know what to do if someone falls into icy water,
or develops hypothermia and their temperature becomes dangerously low.
On a mountain trip, altitude sickness is the big danger as people go higher
and higher, and the amount of oxygen in the air goes down.
'In the mountains, I always walk at the back of the group. People often
don't realise that they're becoming ill, and it can happen very quickly, so if
they start to get sick, I must examine them immediately.'
However, some of the most important skills an expedition doctor needs are
nothing to do with medicine. Courses in jungle survival, for example, may
include lessons on lighting fires or crossing rivers safely, while doctors in
polar regions like Antarctica may need to learn to deal with the dogs that
pull them and their equipment over the ice.
It's clearly an exciting life, but does Pilar think she'll ever have enough of
travelling around the world?
'Well actually, I'm starting a new job in a hospital in Madrid next month,'
she says. 'I want to spend time with my family and friends again. But I'll
probably still do one or two expeditions each year – I'm not ready to give
up my life of adventure yet!'
3 Choose the correct definitions for the phrases.
1 struggle against something
A to make a lot of effort in difficult conditions
B achieve nothing due to difficult conditions
C to be successful in destroying something
2 carry out research
A to write a report about information you have found
B to take scientific equipment to a place
C to study something to find out information
3 deal with something
A be the leader B do a task or solve a problem
C get away
4 for charity
A making money for an organisation that helps people
B without charging people any money
C helping people become more confident
5 altitude sickness
A an illness people can get when they fall over
B an illness people can get from eating bad food
C an illness people can get in very high places
Skills Boost B1+ READING 1 © Richmond 2014 Photocopiable