Text 11: OFF-ROAD RIDING

The past few years have seen quite an increased interest by women in off-road riding. A good 15
percent of our female members ride off-road, and mountain bikes seem to be gaining in popularity as
a means to this end. In an effort to learn why, earlier this year, readers of this column were invited to
write about their experience.

The most frequently mentioned reason for trying a mountain bike was that a world existed out there
that was waiting to be explored, but walking provided limited possibilities, and light touring bikes
were not felt to be tough enough for the job. Some began by way of hiring one or borrowing someone
else’s while on holiday. For others, it was a husband, a father, a daughter or a ‘mad friend’ that got
them started. One woman claimed she would never have seen much of her husband if she had not
started riding a mountain bike.

Only about half had ridden with a group of women only, but their experiences were strongly
recommended. Overall it was regarded as a positive and healthy experience, women being regarded as
more supportive, more cooperative, more patient and less competitive than men. Such groups were
more likely to take time to stop and notice things around them, and to share the enjoyable experience
of riding deep into the countryside, rather than to feel the need to ride for riding’s sake or become
competitive. Men were considered to be too keen on taking risks, and showing off the strong points of
their bicycles. However, some women felt that mixed company encouraged them to try harder.

Buying the right bike can be a tricky task, though. For most of the women, the first bike was either too
large (most common) or too small: good service seemed hard to come by. It is easy to get talked into
buying a cheap and cheerful machine (or even a very expensive one) by a shop assistant who does not
see mountain biking from your point of view. Often, shop assistants do not consider that a not
particularly strong woman might benefit more from a lighter bike than one built to take rough
treatment from a professional rider. Unhelpful shops seemed to come high on women’s list of
complaints. They were either too eager to sell products the buyer did not want or need, or came out
with insulting comments. Some women did not feel they were treated as legitimate customers. “Is the
bike for your son?” is not a helpful opener to someone prepared to fork out a large sum on a purchase
for herself.

As for the riding itself, suggestions included starting with someone of your own level or a bit better,
but not someone competitive, so as to gain experience and confidence gradually. Plan to cover fewer
miles than you would riding on a hard surface, and remember that there are few eating and watering
places off-road. One reader was particularly encouraging: “Once you start, you will probably want to
do more and discover a whole new freedom -and that’s precious.”

1. Many women take up mountain biking because they _____.

a) want to spend more time with their husbands and friends
b) are interested in cycling with women’s groups
c) are trying to prove that they are as capable as men
d) want to get to areas which are difficult to reach otherwise
2. Which of the following is an advantage of cycling in a women’s group?
a) The women do not have to try so hard.
b) It is easier to compete with other women.
c) The group atmosphere is more pleasant.
d) Everyone has similar bicycles.

3. The writer says that shop assistants often _____.

a) have a tendency to talk too much b) do not understand what women really need
c) are not interested in selling bikes to women d) do not know much about mountain bikes

4. The advice the text gives to women who begin riding mountain bikes is that they should _____.
a) ride as much as they can b) not forget to stop and eat
c) not push themselves too hard at first d) ride to experience more freedom

5. What does “insulting” in paragraph 4 mean?

a) helpful b) rude c) necessary d) interesting

6. What does “fork out” in paragraph 4 mean?

a) have b) take c) earn d) spend

7. What does “precious” in paragraph 5 mean?

a) probable b) exhausted c) valuable d) challenging

8. What does “this end” in paragraph 1 refer to?

a) having mountain bikes b) riding off-road
c) the gain in popularity d) a means

9. What does “some” in paragraph 2 refer to?

a) fathers b) mad friends c) touring bikes d) women

10. What does “it” in paragraph 3 refer to?

a) starting to ride b) riding with a group of women
c) a positive experience d) being less competitive

11. What does “they” in paragraph 4 refer to?

a) unhelpful shops b) women’s list of complaints
c) insulting comments d) products
Text 12: CRYOGENICS

About 90 years ago, the American naturalist and fur trader, Clarence Birdseye, observed Indians
fishing in subzero temperatures. He noticed that the frozen fish were fresh enough to eat many days
later when they were thawed. It was in this way that a whole new industry began which many of us
would now find hard to live without. He could never have imagined that the next stage in science and
industry he started would be freezing, not of food, but of human beings.

At minus 130 C°, life comes to a complete stop and a living cell can be stored and preserved for a
thousand years. This new science of deep freezing –or cryogenics, as it is called- is already turning
into big business. People are queuing up to their bodies frozen after death, in the hope that future
generations will have developed the technology to bring them back to life.

When a person is pronounced dead, the blood circulation is restarted artificially; the body is
gradually cooled in liquid nitrogen, ultimately frozen at a temperature down as low as minus 200 C.
The Alcor Foundation in Arizona has been carrying out research for over 20 years and the techniques
they have developed have now become routine.

However, suggestions in some newspaper articles that cryogenics already provides the secret of
eternal life are misleading. The main problem with cryogenic preservation is that when cells are
frozen, water turns to ice and this forms crystals which can damage the cells. Even if the brain can be
preserved, at the moment it is impossible to keep the body in good condition.

In spite of these problems, people are prepared to pay up to 120,000 dollars to be put into cold storage
in Alcor Laboratories. New developments in the science of cloning mean that it may soon be possible
to make identical copies of cells that have been damaged by ice. If this happens, the high cost of
cryogenic storage may seem worth it.

Of course, there has been some debate about the ethics of cryogenics, but, generally, there is less
anxiety about this than there is about cloning. It has not provoked the same sort of reaction as Dolly
the sheep and there have been few suggestions that the process should be banned. Cryogenics looks
like it will remain a cool science.

1. How did Clarence Birdseye decide to freeze food?

a) He watched Indians fishing in cold temperatures.
b) He noticed that the fish were fresher in cold water.
c) He saw that the frozen fish could still be eaten several days later.
d) He knew that we would not be able to live without frozen food.

2. Cryogenics became very popular because _____.

a) it is a big business b) people can live for a thousand years
c) future generations will need it d) people want to return to life later

3. A body is frozen _____.

a) just before it dies completely
b) when the Alcor Foundation has done its research
c) when the temperature is minus 200
d) when the future generations develop the technology needed
4. People may need new bodies because _____.
a) the newspapers are wrong b) the cells are frozen
c) the brain is not in good condition d) ice crystals destroy the cells

5. What does “preserved” in paragraph 2 mean?

a) protected b) destroyed c) controlled d) identified

6. What does “pronounced” in paragraph 3 mean?

a) assumed b) declared c) proposed d) offered

7. What does “them” in paragraph 2 refer to?

a) future generations b) a thousand years
c) people d) the methods that cryogenics use

8. What does “this” in paragraph 5 refer to?

a) the high cost of cryogenic storage b) progress in cloning techniques
c) paying a lot for cold storage d) ice damaging cells