Part 8: Multiple-cross
matching
You are going
to read tour short articles by people who have climbed Mount Everest. For
questions 47-56, choose from the articles (A-O). The articles may be chosen
more than once.
In which
article is the following mentioned?
47.- A
remarkable coincidence ___
48.- A
suggestion that other climbers sometimes take risks ___
49.- A
determination to continue climbing despite a problem ___
50.- An
awareness of the dangers of the descent ___
51.- An
obsession the climber briefly experienced ___
52.- The
temporary nature of the sense of achievement ___
53.- The fact
that the writer made the climb without some support that could have been used
___
54.- The appeal
of climbing to one of the senses other than sight ___
55.- Something
that failed to live up to expectations ___
56.- A claim
that the writer rejects ___
How I felt on
conquering Everest
Four climbers
who succeeded in climbing the world’s highest mountain write about how they
felt when they reached I the summit.
A.- Roddy
Mackenzie
It has
occasionally been claimed that people climb far the smell of it. Air at very
high altitude smells completely different. When I reached the South Summit, I
was suffering from a lack of Spanish olives. I was preoccupied with thoughts of
a tin of them sitting in my tent at base campo This was the result of a very
intense dream about I olives that was interrupted by the alarm summoning me I
to our summit attempt. At the South Summit, the view of I the main summit
fascinated me from a mountaineering I point of view and all dreaming of olives
evaporated. On the summit, I felt a mixture of apprehension and curiosity. It
seemed to me that the curvature of the Earth was apparent, and I spent some
time trying to think of a means to test if this was a real observation or an
illusion. Many people on the Indian subcontinent believe that the ascent of
Everest confers on the climber a greater wisdom in manifold subjects. That is
something I do not agree with but never dispute.
B.- Anna
Czerwinska
When I reached
the South Summit, I looked back at the mists rising from the valleys and I
could feel their damp touch on my face. They prevented me from looking down on
the long painful way up, but it was not only that. The curtain of mist had
closed over my past. My oxygen was running out, and common sense demanded that
I return, but before long I was c1imbing on an exposed ridge to the foot of the
Hillary Step. A crampon had come undone and I painfully put it on again.
Everest was doing everything to discourage me. I registered that dreamily and,
as jf dreaming, conquered the final metres of the snowy slope. Suddenly the
clouds above me lifted in one blue moment and, very low down, I saw a rugged
precipitous ridge. The wind was growing stronger and it was snowing lightly. I
did not get the beautiful view as a eward and I felt fleetingly disappointed.
However, those few minutes on the highest spot on Earth were worth very effort
and have given me joy ever since.
C.- Andy Politz
On the summit,
I set out to get some sponsor photos, which at 8,850 metres without oxygen
gives a unique insight into hypoxia. At one point, I looked down at Nepal and
the South East Ridge only to be surprised by another climber coming up through
the clouds. He was startled to see someone looking down at him. He was also
climbing without oxygen and was tiring. The other thought I had, remembering
six years of attempting to climb Everest, was 'He could take my picture'.
Through scudding cloud, I saw that the colour and design of his clothing were
unmistakably French. I do not speak French. As this Frenchman was taking his
last steps to the summit, I made the international hand sign for 'Stop and 1'11
take your picture'. While I was struggling to focus the camera, he looked hard
at me and exclaimed 'Andy!' To my amazement, it was my close friend Ed
Viestours on his second ascent of the mountain.
D.- Frits
Vrijlandt
I approached
Everest with respect and was well aware of being just a small human being. An
excellent preparation is very important but far from a guarantee that you'll
reach the summit. You have to be mentally ready to go far it, sufficiently
experienced and a brave and careful climber. Before our summit bid, our team
agreed that returning without injuries was our main objective. Some people can
be blindly obsessed by Everest. I reached the top after eight hours of
climbing. After I contacted base camp and they had congratulated me, I replied,
'Thank you, but first I have to get back down safely.' After my return to
Kathmandu, I felt like a super-being because I had stood on the top of the
world. I still had this feeling when I came back home but it soon faded away.
The world or your life doesn't change because you climbed a mountain, even if
it is the highest. But climbing Everest was a spiritual experience for me. It
puts your feet back on the surface of mother Earth.
O’Dell Felicity
(2016) Advanced Trainer. Reading Use of English Test 1 Part 8. Cambridge
University Press: Dubai. Pages 40 and 41.
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