On the trail of Kit Man

Part 8.- You are going to read a magazine article about the use of gadgets by people doing outdoor activities. For questions 47-56, choose from the sections of the article (A-D). The sections may be chosen more than once.

 

In which section of the article are the following mentioned…

47.- why people were willing to suffer outdoors in the past _____

48.- the need to understand certain terminology _____

49.- a belief about what the reason for doing outdoor activities should be _____

50.- a feeling of reassurance provided by a certain gadget _____

51.- how many people have taken up outdoor activities because of gadgets _____

52.- a criticism of the motivation of people who get a lot of gadgets for outdoor activities _____

53.- a belief that gadgets may prove not to be useful _____

54.- a belief that someone with gadgets would not be a good companion in certain circumstances _____

55.- the high level of demand for gadgets connected with outdoor activities _____

56.- an advantage of outdoor gadgets in addition to the benefits for users _____

 

On the trail of Kit Man

Gadgets that bring some comfort to the great outdoors have given rise to a new breed of outdoor adventurer. But purists are unconvinced.

 

A)      Up there, in the clear fresh air, it isn’t just the stars that are glowing. You can climb a mountain and find at the top of it a bleeping nightmare of hi-tech gadgetry and hardship-avoidance devices. Worried about getting lost? Relax with a handheld GPS unit, featuring 3D and aerial display, plus built-in compass and barometric altimeter. Even the sacred covenant between outdoor types and wet socks has come unravelled with the development of ‘hydrophobic’ fabrics which repel all moisture.  At next month's Outdoors Show in Birmingham, all this kit and more will be on display for an audience which seemingly can’t get enough of it. ‘When we ask people what they come to the show for, they list two things,‘ says the event’s sales manager, Mike Simmonds. ‘One is the inspiration to get outdoors in the first place, and the other is to see the new gear, the gadgets, the breakthroughs. That’s what they love.’ The event, the showcase of Britain’s booming adventure business shows everything the tech-savvy adventurer could wish for, from solar-heated sleeping bags to remote-controlled lanterns.

 

B)      The rise of Kit Man, as the gizmo-fixated menace of the 21^st century mountains has been christened, reflects both changing social trends and the dizzying speed of scientific advance. Modern hikers have moveed on from the Spartan routes of 50 years ago, when discomfort, bad food and danger were seen as part of the – map-reading, camp-laying, First-Aid – have declined, to shakily replaced by the virtual skills offered by technology. With so muh gear now available, Kit Man and his kind stand accused by the old-schoolers of being interested only in reaching the summits of gadgetry.

 

 

C)     ‘I think these people are completely missing the point,’ huffs author and TV presenter Guy Grieve, who spent a year living alone in the Alaskan wilderness. ‘The whole idea of going into the wild is to get away from the things tht tie you in knots at thome. I’d prefer to take as little as possible – a tent, a rifle, and a few pots and pans. All this technology, I mean, it might look fantastic on paper, but when there’s a real problem, it’s almost certainly going to let you down. What will see you through is the old stuff, the maps and the bits of rope. There are times when you need that kind of dependability. Who’’d want to be stranded out in the wild with a gadget freak?’ Travel and adventure writer Clive Tully agrees. ‘Be suspicious of anything that claims to make your life easier,’ he warns. ‘My experience is that people who depend on technology are woefully ill-prepared in other ways. You still need to be able to read a map and do the basic stuff.’

 

D)     None of which is enough to keep Kit Man from his toys. The mountains and hills area alive with the sound of ringing mobiles, beeping biometric pressure metres, clicking ultra-violet radiation sensors and the whirring of the current ultimate in gadget chic – a micro-helicopter which can be controlled from an iPod to send back live pictures of the route ahead. Thus tooled up, Kit Man must consider what he is to wear. And as any visit to a contemporary outdoor store shows, this involves not only acquiring new clobber, but new jargon. When he asks about a pair of pants, he will learn about Moisture Vapour Transfer Rate, Hydrostatic Heat Resistance and Wickability. It is tempting to scoff at Kit Man, but not everyone sides with he romantics. Many in the adventure business say gadgets have encouraged thousands who would otherwise not have ventured into the great outdoors. Evidence from the American market also suggests that technology has had a positive environmental impact, and increased safety standards.