Two Journalists and the Butterflies of Britain

Independent journalist Michael McCarthy reports on a new book about butterflies which has made a remarkable impression on him.

It's not often that you're brought up with a start, right at the beginning of a book, but here's an insight from the first page of a new volume on butterflies which did that for me. "For most of us," writes the author, "butterflies are bound up with childhood." [1] That was certainly the case with me, in a hot August long ago, when I was seven and my brother was nine, and we had been sent to live with an aunt and uncle as my mother was ill and my father was abroad.

 

[2] Every morning when I was let out to play I would run up to it and gaze up at these dazzling creatures and long for them, and perhaps because of the time in my life when they appeared, something in me has longed for them ever since.

 

[3] Early last year, Patrick, now a feature writer on a well-known daily paper, decided to bring his own enthusiasm to a climax by seeing every species of British butterfly in a single summer, and his book, The Butterfly Isles, is the narrative of this undertaking.

 

[4] We were aware of each other's activities, but we never actually met, although we saw several species in exactly the same place. Reading his book I realised how close our paths came to crossing: I saw the large blue, for example, at Green Down in Somerset on 15 June, and he saw it at Green Down on 16 June; and I saw the Lulworth skipper at Lulworth Cove in Dorset on 23 July and, once again, he saw it in the same place the following day.

 

[5] His account of all these is beautifully written and enormously entertaining, full of curious pieces of butterfly lore; I for one certainly did not know that you can tell the sex of a small tortoiseshell by tossing a stick gently in its general direction - if it's a male, it will rise up to attack the stick. (Patrick calls it "the playful dog of the butterfly world.")

 

[6] For this, the influence of his father, an ecologist, is responsible: the enthusiasm he inspired in his son proves stronger than mere fashion or peer-group pressure. But it becomes clear as the story unfolds that he gave Patrick much more than just his passion for butterflies; ultimately, the book is about that: it is a splendid and accomplished account of all of Britain's butterflies, but it touches something deeper as it is a tribute from a son to his father, thanking him from the heart for a very special childhood.

 

A And here's an extraordinary thing. At the same time as Patrick was doing it, so was I. The chances of two journalists deciding, simultaneously but entirely independently, to pursue every British butterfly in a single summer must be infinitesimally small, but that's what happened: I wrote a series for this newspaper about my own search, and we invited readers to join in what we called The Great British Butterfly Hunt'.

 

В In the front garden two doors away was a buddleia bush, and that August it was crawling with the bright quartet of late summer British butterflies - the red admiral, the small tortoiseshell, the peacock and the painted lady; glittering in their colours.

 

С I have known since I was a small child, in a way you can think just plain silly, that butterflies will always have significance in my life.

 

D But it is more personal aspects of his search which give depth to the book, such as his personal struggle between wanting to be Cool and wanting to pursue butterflies, which he worries is extremely Uncool, certainly for someone of his generation. Eventually the butterfly-desire wins out, even to the extent of bringing himself to use binoculars and risk the ultimate horror of Looking Like A Nerd.

 

E The new book's author, Patrick Barkham, encountered his butterflies at a similar time in his life but his attraction to them was founded not in the absence of parents but in their presence: he inherited his father's love for them. Maybe "inherited" is the wrong word, as it was not something passed on in the genes, but rather by his father's enthusiasm, companionship and friendship for his small son, who accompanied him on butterflying expeditions.

 

F I felt the shock of recognition in reading that, and even more in the sentence that followed: "Many of our earliest and most vivid memories of a garden, a park or flower will feature a butterfly, and, our little hand trying to close around it."

 

G We eventually met not long ago and laughed about it ("it feels like we spent last summer in a parallel world," he said) and as you might imagine, I was fascinated by his account in The Butterfly Isles. He did better than I did, for although we both managed to see in one summer all 58 species which breed regularly in Great Britain, he went over to Ulster to see the one which makes the total 59 for the United Kingdom as a whole.

Exercise 2. You are going to read an article about a man who is not afraid of bears. Six paragraphs have been removed from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A-G the one which fits each gap (1-6). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

 

Learning about Black Bears

Most of us are afraid of meeting a bear in the wild. Lynn Rogers certainly isn't. Find out more about this unusual man below.

OK, I admit it – I’m scared. I’ve been walking for two hours through a spooky forest in northern Minnesota with bear biologist Dr Lynn Rogers, following the beeping radio signals of a female black bear and her three cubs. It’s a hot July morning and the bugs are beginning to hit us hard.

[ 1] Lynn has been interested in bears since childhood. He grew up in what Midwesterners call the ‘Northwoods’ – a huge band of mixed forest that sweeps across the northern states of the USA. As a child he also heard many scary stories about bears, but as he spent more time outside he began to question these tales.

[2] After leaving college over 40 years ago, Lynn began studying bears for the US Forest Service. At that time little was known about their biology. Unlike their polar and grizzly cousins, black bears prefer dense forest and so are hard to observe in the wild.

[3] For an incredible two decades, he persisted with these standard methods, until one day, he'd had enough and made a momentous decision. He decided to move away from convention and he made it his aim to try to work directly with the bears.

[4] One of the assumptions that has long been made by wildlife managers is that feeding bears makes them aggressive towards humans. So a lot of time and effort is spent trying to keep bears out of campsites, and if they won't stay away then they often end up shot.

[5] Bear experts warned him that it was both wrong and dangerous to do this. But, over time, some bears learned to associate Lynn's voice with food and allowed him to approach to within a few metres of them. After more than a year of fighting convention in this way, he finally gained the trust of a few bears. They even allowed him to feed them by hand and stroke their fur. Then once they'd had a few handfuls of nuts from him, they'd ignore him and behave naturally.

 

[6] As a result, he has begun to paint the first accurate and intimate portrait of the life history of these animals. For the first time, a scientist has been able to directly observe bear habitat use, language, social relationships and individual personalities.

 

A It takes only a few hours in Lynn's charismatic, bear-like company to understand why he found this goal easier to achieve than most other people would. He puts it down to the fact that he was aided by the remoteness of his study site and the fact that his nearest boss was more than 350 km away. So he was able to break with conventional approaches without interference.

B Getting bears used to his touch eventually allowed Lynn to fit radio-collars on them without using tranquilisers. Working against the advice of most bear experts, he had achieved what no other human had dreamed possible. He had earned the trust of wild bears and so won the first ringside seat from which to observe their natural behaviour.

C As we go deeper into bear territory, I realise that Lynn resembles the bears he studies. His huge frame moves silently through the forest, aided by hands as large as paws. As he listens to the bear's signal with an antenna, he grunts and murmurs in a deep, gravelly voice.

D Yet this wild bear, One-eyed Jack, who had no reason to be friendly to humans, silently allowed Lynn to stroke his fur and touch his claws while investigating his wounds. That moment spoke volumes about both Lynn j and the true nature of black bears.

E When he started in that job, Lynn did what all other bear scientists did: he tranquilised the animals at their dens or in traps and fitted them with radio-collars. Once a bear was collared, the only data that he could collect, via an aircraft or vehicle, was its position. The bears would not allow anyone to approach them in the forest. As Lynn says, "After many years of research, all we had were dots on

F Lynn decided to test this golden rule' and began taking food into the forest when looking for his collared bears - the ultimate no-no. He'd follow their signs, get as close as he dared and then leave a pile of nuts for them.

G He found that animals that had a reputation for being dangerous ran away from him, while gentler ones could be tempted to take treats from his hand. These early experiences made a lasting impression and he decided to become a bear biologist.

 

Exercise 3. You are going to read an extract from a magazine article. Six paragraphs have been removed from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A-G the one which fits each gap (1-6). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

Conserving Jaguars

An interesting plan to help jaguars survive is being developed in Latin America. Mel White reports for National Geographic.

At dusk one evening, deep in a Costa Rican forest, a young male jaguar rises from his sleep, stretches, and silently but determinedly leaves forever the place where he was born.

[1] But the wanderer chooses the wrong direction. In just a few miles he reaches the edge of the forest; beyond lies a coffee plantation. Pushed by instinct and necessity, he keeps moving, staying in the trees along fences and streams. Soon, though, shelter consists only of scattered patches of shrubs and a few trees, where he can find nothing to eat. He's now in a land of cattle ranches, and one night his hunger and the smell of a newborn calf overcome his reluctance to cross open areas. Creeping close before a final rush, he kills the calf.

[2] This story has been played out thousands of times throughout the jaguar's homeland, stretching from Mexico (and formerly the United States) to Argentina. In recent decades it's happened with even greater frequency, as ranching, farming, and development have eaten up half the big cat's prime habitat, and as humans have destroyed its natural prey in many areas of remaining forest.

[3] Rabinowitz is the world's leading jaguar expert, and he has begun to realise his dream of creating a vast network of interconnected corridors and refuges extending from the U.S.-Mexico border into South America. It is known as Paseo del Jaguar — Path of the Jaguar.

[4] Rabinowitz hopes to convince national governments throughout the jaguar's range to support this conservation program through enlightened land-use planning, such as choosing non-critical areas for major developments and road construction.

[5] Talking to governments and bringing Paseo del Jaguar into existence will take many years. Rabinowitz is currently focusing on Mexico and Central America, where officials in all eight countries have approved the project. Costa Rica has already incorporated protection of the corridor into laws regulating development.

[6] Today even mobile-phone-carrying government ministers sitting in urban offices feel what Rabinowitz calls "a powerful cultural thread binding them to their ancestors. Nobody can say that the jaguar is not part of their own heritage. What better unifying symbol can there be than the jaguar?"

A Alan Rabinowitz wants this situation to stop and is doing something about it. He imagines that the young jaguar, when he leaves his birthplace, will pass unseen by humans through a near-continuous corridor of sheltering vegetation. Within a couple of days he'll find a small tract of forest harboring enough prey for him to stop and rest a day or two before resuming his trek. Eventually he'll reach a national park or wildlife preserve where he'll find a home, room to roam, plenty of prey, females looking for a mate.

В Later he'll tackle South America, where landscapes are more diverse and challenging. Rabinowitz is encouraged, though, by his audiences' emotional response when he talks about jaguars — a response based on the animal's enduring aura of beauty, strength, and mystery. Indigenous peoples around Mexico's central plateau, and the Maya, farther south, incorporated the jaguar into their art and mythology.

С Environmentalists consider such a scheme the best hope for keeping this great New World cat from joining lions and tigers on the endangered species list.

D The jaguar is the only large, wide-ranging carnivore in the world with no subspecies. Simply put, this means that for millennia jaguars have been mingling their genes throughout their entire range, so that individuals in northern Mexico are identical to those in southern Brazil.

 

E There's shelter here, and plenty of food. He has sensed, too, the presence of females with which he might mate. But there's also a mature male jaguar that claims the forest — and the females. The older cat will tolerate no rivals. The breeze-blown scent of the young male's mother, so comforting to him when he was a cub, no longer binds him to his home.

F "We're not going to ask them to throw people off their land or to make new national parks," he said. The habitat matrix could encompass woodlands used for a variety of human activities from timber harvest to citrus plantations. Studies have shown that areas smaller than one and a half square miles can serve as temporary, one- or two-day homes — stepping-stones — for wandering jaguars.

G The next day the rancher finds the remains and the telltale tracks of a jaguar. He calls some of his neighbors and gathers a pack of dogs. The hunters find the young male and take their revenge.

Exercise 4. You are going to read an extract from a magazine article. Six paragraphs have been removed from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A-G the one which fits each gap (1-6). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

Ecology in a Volcanic Lake

McKenzie Funk investigates how the area round Mount St Helens has changed thirty years after its eruption.

Discarded cans once lay at the bottom of Spirit Lake at the foot of the Mount St Helens volcano. Mark Smith remembers them perfectly: shiny gold lettering somehow preserved by the clear, cold water. He remembers ten-inch rainbow trout. He remembers a sunken rowboat, resting on a submerged tree stump. A teenager when he began scuba diving in the shadow of Mount St. Helens, he remembers the lake as it was before the May 1980 eruption, before the top 1,300 feet of the volcano — more than three billion cubic yards of mud, ash, and melting snow — avalanched into it.

[1] What Smith remembers best from his teenage dives is what he called the "petrified" forest: a ghostly group of sunken, branchless firs, buried upright dozens of yards below the surface. The underwater forest was a mystery to him until the mountain exploded. Then it made perfect sense. The trees were evidence of a past eruption — a sign Spirit Lake has always been in the line of fire.

[2] Biologist Bob Lucas of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife believes someone illegally planted them. In the late 1990s, an anonymous call to his home seemed to confirm it: "I'm the one who stocked the fish."

[3] "There are as many stories as there are fish tales," he says, "and all of them start, I know somebody who put those fish in there." To him the important question is not how they arrived but how they grew so big.

[4] This is because the 2,700-acre lake now sits at the center of a restricted research area, which Congress set aside in 1982 "to protect the geologic, ecologic, and cultural resources... in as natural a state as possible." Mostly closed to the public, this part of the blast zone has become one of our planet's grandest experiments.

[5] Almost daily, callers inquire about the lessons of St. Helens. One woman is interested in salamanders, another in toads. Officials in Alaska and Chile want to know what to expect after eruptions of their own.

[6] Starting with a single plant Crisafully discovered in 1981 on the barren, 3,750-acre area covered by the eruption, purple prairie lupines became the first color in a world of sterile gray. In life they were nutrient factories, food for insects, habitat for mice and voles; in death they, and the organisms they attracted, enriched the ash, allowing other species to colonise. Gradually the blast zone began to bloom.

 

A Indeed, as a natural lab to study the rebirth of ecosystems, the area has no equal. "It's the most thoroughly studied large-forest disturbance in the world," says Crisafulli. It's been examined from nearly every angle, at nearly every scale, from molecules to ecosystems, bacteria to mammals, steaming geothermal vents to waterlogged meadows.

B Three decades later, Spirit Lake holds a new mystery: How did fish, now twice the length of those pre-eruption rainbows, reappear? Everyone has a theory. Smith, who runs Eco Park Resort at the edge of the volcanic monument, thinks the trout slid down from the smaller, higher St. Helens Lake during a flood year. But that lake has only mackinaw—and the Spirit Lake fish are rainbows.

C A key realisation is the importance of "biological legacies" — fallen trees, buried roots, seeds, amphibians — that survived the eruption, thanks to snow cover, topography, or luck. Ecologists had assumed rebirth would happen from the outside in, as species from border areas encroached on the blast zone. But recovery has also come from within.

 

D Mark Smith grew up at the lake and, as a boy, he fished there. Today he'd have to break the law if he wanted to catch any of those temptingly large fish.

E What I remember from my swim in Spirit Lake is not a sunken forest but an underwater jungle. Last August I drove behind Crisafulli on a sinuous two-lane road along Windy Ridge, through a damaged gate secured by a makeshift chain—"You'd think there'd be enough money to buy a new gate," Crisafulli said — and down a scary, slopeside jeep trail into the restricted area.

F So it was before the lake became twice as big but half as deep. Before virtually all evidence of life, animal and human — the cabins and roads and camps and cans — were obliterated. Before the lake became a stinky soup, devoid of oxygen and covered with a floating mat of tree trunks ripped from the landscape.

G Preliminary genetic testing by Forest Service ecologist Charlie Crisafulli also suggests the trout did not descend from the pre-emption population, but he's given up on figuring out their origin.

 

Exercise 5. You are going to read an article about David Willey, a lecturer in Physics at the University of Pittsburgh. Six paragraphs have been removed from the article. Choose from the paragraphs A-G the one which fits each gap (1-5). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use. There is an example at the beginning (0).

The not so nutty professor

David Willey, a lecturer in Physics at the University of Pittsburgh, recently showed a dramatic video of himself in one of his classes. It was a film in which he walked on hot coals. Why did he do this? He was demonstrating a law of physics to his first year students in a memorable way. Willey, chosen as the University's Teacher of the Year' last year, believes there is real value in starting his lectures with a bang.

G

Other experiments are quieter, though no less dramatic. For a class on energy and pressure, Willey lay on a bed of nails while others broke a concrete block on his chest. But although all of Willey's experiments are interesting and demonstrate fun ways to learn physics, none of them quite captures the students' attention like walking barefoot on red hot coals.

1 –

'Just because something is at a high temperature, doesn't mean that it has a lot of heat to give out,' he explains. 'Firstly, the burning wood does not conduct heat well, and on top of this the walker's feet are only in contact with the burning material for a short time.'

2 –

Although traditionally people have seen fire-walking as proof of the power of mind over matter, in other words, that people could control pain with their minds, in his article Taylor explained that that psychology has nothing to do with it. The secret of fire-walking lies in physics.

3 –

The very first time I tried to step on them, my foot went to the side of the fire,' Willey says. 'My body just said "No Dave!" and I panicked. The second time I made a much more conscious effort, put my foot on the coals, stepped across them and said to myself, "Wow! I'm OK.'"

4 –

Willey has repeated it quite a few times on three different occasions, but the University administration will not allow him to fire-walk on the campus because they are worried about a possible fire, and insurance.

5 –

The other teachers like the idea, but what do Willey's students think of it all? They just think it's me being crazy as usual. They're fairly used to me doing strange demonstrations.'

 

A. After reading the article, Willey remembered his mother picking up hot wood coals that had fallen out of the fireplace and throwing them back without burning her hands. He knew from her example that he would not get burnt fire-walking, but he was still hesitant when it came to actually stepping onto a pile of hot coals he put down in his back garden.

 

B. Fire-walking as a ritual has been practised by people from all parts of the world for thousands of years, according to Willey. The first written reference to it appears in a story from India dating back to 1200 B.C. Since then, it has been observed and recorded in numerous cultures and religions

 

C. He thought that these two facts made fire-walking useful for teaching, and this was reinforced when he was looking through the March 1989 issue of The Physics Teacher'. There he came across an article entitled Fire-Walking as a Lesson in Physics by John R. Taylor.

 

D. In spite of this, Willey has posted information about his experiments on his webpage for other physics teachers who would like to use fire-walking or some of his other experiments in the classroom.

 

E. Having passed his own test on a small pile of hot coals in private, Willey then decided to try a full fire-walk, and film it. After the first step he again found that his foot was fine. Then he made his full walk.

 

F. He feels that this is because the principle is demonstrated so clearly in what looks like a very dangerous thing to do. He uses his video to demonstrate the difference between temperature and heat, and backs this up with a simple explanation.

 

G. Sometimes there is a real explosion! To demonstrate the effects of heat, for instance, Willey has been known to pour liquid nitrogen into a soft drink bottle and cover it with a plastic rubbish bin. The nitrogen changes into gas, expands and then causes the bottle to explode.

PART III

Exercise 1. You are going to read a magazine article about teenagers driving go-karts around a track. For questions 1-15, choose from the people (A - D). The people may be chosen more than once.

Which person

was grateful that someone with them wasn't worried about their own performance?
had assumed they'd be far more successful than they actually were?
expresses an ambition to try driving somewhere apart from on a track?
found it hard to remember what they'd been told before they started driving?
was given confidence by the instructors despite initial nerves?
felt embarrassed by what they had to wear?
was thrilled to be among the most successful in their group?
became keen to go to the track on a more regular basis?
was concerned that someone with them was having problems?
suspected the speed they'd achieved wasn't as impressive as they thought?
thinks their success was thanks to being shown what to do?
was given the opportunity for a truly memorable trip in a very different vehicle?
found the people with them behaved differently from usual at the track?
got to take part in an activity that was almost cancelled?
was told they needed to make a change in their driving?

A. Jane

I went to the go-kart track with some friends, and never done anything like this before so I was a bit worried before I went. But the instructors couldn't have been nicer, and once I'd put on my safety suit and got into the go-kart, they made me feel completely at ease behind the wheel. The go-kart I drove was in great condition - although maybe not so great after I'd finished with it! The only thing was, things got much more competitive amongst my friends than I would ever have imagined - I'd really never seen them like that before, and I even thought there'd be some tears at one point as one friend took a while to learn how to get the car moving. But I was far more worried than she was. Once she'd got it, she was fine - and actually just as fast as everyone else around the track!

B. Mark

We'd been to similar events as a family, but I suspect my mum never likes it that much. She had a go at driving this time, but she was so slow that my brother and I passed her twice on the same lap round the track! She laughed about it as usual, though, I'm relieved to say; she just wanted us to have a good time. The instructor drove with us round the track as an example of how it should be done - I don't believe I would have remembered it all so quickly without that. Part of the track was wet too, in places, so at one point there was a chance we wouldn't be allowed to drive after all, but in the end they decided it was safe enough to show us how to brake safely in the wet! I was a bit nervous at first, but it was fine. Our lap times were being displayed on a big electronic scoreboard - and I was one of the fastest! Not surprisingly, my mum definitely looked worried at that!

C. Katie

I’d always been keen to start driving, even when I was small. I had a toy pedal car I used to drive all the time. So I guess I expected I was really well prepared for go-karting, but maybe I was a bit too self-confident, as I couldn't even get the car to move forward initially! Still, I did learn how to go round corners really fast - or at least it seemed fast to me, but probably not to the spectators. My mum said I'd done brilliantly, but then she always says something positive! I think, though, I might have appreciated a bit more training when I first got into the car and a bit less in the training room, as it wasn't easy to keep it all in my head before I'd actually tried driving. I can't say the safety suit I had to put on was particularly stylish either - I'm really glad my mates at school couldn't see me!

D. Harry

It was an amazing day - I went with my school class, and we were allowed to see how a go-kart is put together, and how to build your own. I learnt a lot just from that, so I decided to join the group that meets at the track every Saturday to learn how to fix old go-karts - and improve my driving skills, of course! I'm keen to start driving as soon as I'm old enough, anyway - we live out in the country, so it's pretty important. Anyway, driving on the track was cool - we were shown exactly what to do, then the instructors watched us and gave us individual feedback on our driving. Mine was OK, although there were areas for improvement -attempting to be the fastest round bends, for one thing! So I had to slow down. The highlight, though, was when some of us were taken for a ride in a yellow Lamborghini - a very expensive, luxury sports car! That was an experience I'll never forget!

Exercise 2. You are going to read an article about people’s experiences of going to the theme parks. For questions 1-15, choose from the people (A-D). The people may be chosen more then once.

Which person

found a way to avoid the crowds who were walking around in the park?
welcomed the opportunity to wander round the park without their parents?
was pleased to that one ride completely lived up to its promise?
found the trip distracted them from fights with family members?
felt they attempted to do too much during their visit?
was happy about the short time it took to get on the rides?
admired their parents for the amount of planning that had been done?
had planned before they arrived how they'd spend their time?
was concerned that not everyone had got to do what they wanted at the park?
says their trip was spoilt slightly by the weather?
says they felt excited rather than nervous about one ride?
took home a lot of purchases?
was surprised by the size of the park?
was relieved to discover they had things in common with their companions
says it was expensive to go to the park

A Joanna

We went on a four-day trip to a huge theme park, and I feel now that we might have burnt out too quickly. The first day was fantastic, going on absolutely every ride, however scary! But by the fourth day, we were getting a bit fed up with the constant race to fit in as many attractions as possible. And my parents must have spent loads - by the end of the trip we seemed to have acquired half the contents of the souvenir shops! But we had a great time and for once my brothers and I forgot all about the stupid arguments we have with each other over trivial stuff. They're usually friendly but a bit annoying for my mum and dad, especially if we're stuck somewhere in the pouring rain - like we were sometimes on this trip! That was a pity as it meant we missed out on some of the rides. But never mind -we still managed not to quarrel!

 

B Matthew

My family had insisted we sat down at home with the friends who were going with us and discussed who wanted to do what, so that we weren't wasting time fighting when we got there - and it seemed to work! Anyway, if we'd ended up waiting around in the burning heat that we had that day, we'd have been in trouble, I reckon. The theme park was amazing. The roller coaster alone was worth the high entrance fee - although my parents might not agree! It claimed to be the fastest in the world, but I doubted that. Still, judging by the track, I suspected the ride would be a different experience from the usual stuff, so I was determined to have as many goes as possible. I still found myself shaking in the queue, but it was definitely from the thrill of what was to come. And we weren't disappointed. Once the ride took off, the massive loops and drops just forced us back in our seats - all part of the fu

 

C Tim

Mum and Dad gave us each some spending money for the day, so there'd be no further argument over buying must-have souvenirs from the shops! And to my relief we were allowed to go off by ourselves for a bit - luckily I’ve got an older brother and sister to accompany me, and we all managed to do the rides we wanted. That was important as the place was far more extensive than even my wildest dreams, and that's saying something! Dad had got some special offers that reduced the price of entry - and this doubled the fun, as they entitled us to go to the head of the queue for the rides, like celebrities. That was lucky - we could have wasted hours otherwise. And it meant I managed endless goes on my favourite, Ghost Train. Even in the pouring rain that we had at one point, it never failed to thrill!

 

D Kaori

We went to the theme park with another family my parents knew, and their teenage daughters. My sister and I hadn't met them before, so I was a bit doubtful. But it turned out they were just like us – especially when it came to wanting stuff from the souvenir shops! First we sat in the park cafe and sorted out who was going where, so that no-one got cross about missing out on the roller coaster or whatever. I reckoned our friends were too polite to say what they really wanted, though. Then we overtook everyone and headed immediately for the end of the park, where it was quiet, and worked backwards - we missed a few queues that way, too. The weather was on our side too - mid-20s. Mum and Dad had even checked the forecast when they arranged the day - amazing. Can't imagine I'll be doing all of that when I've got kids!

 

Exercise 3. For questions 1-15, chose from the sections (A-G). The sections may be chosen more than once.

LIGHTNING STRIKES!

Which section

talks about a gadget?
refers to a person who has made a change to when they do something?
mentions a person who only seemed unharmed on the outside?
mentions victims being in an enclosed space?
mentions a myth?
describes how someone felt when they were struck?
states that someone was brought back to life?
mentions possible warning signs of a lightning strike?
mentions some people who had a lucky escape?
blames lightning for certain natural disasters?
recommends the best position to get into?
mentions keeping souvenirs of being hit?
mentions a person who was given wrong information?
mentions someone who made a discovery about lightning?
recommends a safe location to be in?

 

A Three years ago a bolt of lightning all but destroyed Lyn Miller's house in Aberdeen - with her two children inside. There was a huge rainstorm,' she says, recalling the terrifying experience. 'My brother and I were outside desperately working to stop floodwater from coming in the house. Suddenly I was thrown to the ground by an enormous bang. When I picked myself up, the roof and the entire upper storey of the house had been demolished. The door was blocked by rubble, but we forced our way in and found the children, thankfully unharmed. Later I was told that being struck by lightning is a chance in a million.' In fact, it's calculated at one chance in 600,000. Even so, Dr Mark Keys of AER Technology, an organisation that monitors the effects of lightning, thinks you should be sensible. 'I wouldn't go out in a storm -but then I'm quite a careful person.' He advises anyone who is unlucky enough to be caught in a storm to get down on the ground and curl up into a ball, making yourself as small as possible.

B Lightning is one of nature's most awesome displays of sheer power. No wonder the ancient Greeks thought it was Zeus, father of the gods, throwing thunderbolts around in anger. 250 years ago, Benjamin Franklin, the American scientist and statesman, proved that lightning is a form of electricity, but scientists still lack a complete understanding of how it works.

C Occasionally there are indications that lightning may strike, Positive electrical charges streaming upwards from trees or church spires may glow and make a buzzing noise, and people's hair can stand on end. And if you fear lightning, you'll be glad to know that a company in the USA has manufactured a hand-held lightening detector which can detect it up to 70 km, sound a warning tone and monitor a storm’s approach.

D Nancy Wilder was playing golf at a club in Surrey when she was hit by a bolt of lightning. Mrs Wilder's heart stopped beating, but she was resuscitated and, after a few days in hospital, where she was treated for burns to her head, hands and feet, she was pronounced fit again. Since that time, she has been a strictly fair-weather golfer. In fact, a golf course is one of the most dangerous places to be during a thunderstorm. The best place to be is inside a car!

E Lizzie Anne Bright was on a camping trip when lightning struck a tree and then travelled to where she was sitting. The feeling I got is hard to explain. I felt as if I was rising above the ground. I couldn't move and my shoulder really hurt and had burns. I was in hospital for five days. I still keep the clothes I was wearing that day. My jacket has a large black hole in it and my trousers and socks just melted.'

F Harold Deal, a retired electrician from South Carolina, USA, was struck by lightning 26 years ago. He was apparently unhurt, but it later emerged that the strike had damaged the part of the brain which controls the sensation of temperature. Since then the freezing South Carolina winters haven't bothered Harold, since he is completely unable to feel the cold.

G Animals are victims of lightning too. Hundreds of cows and sheep are killed every year, largely because they go under trees. In East Anglia in 1918, 504 sheep were killed instantaneously by the same bolt of lightning that hit the ground and travelled through the entire flock. Lightning is also responsible for starting more than 10,000 forest fires each year world-wide.

Exercise 4. You are going to read an article containing reviews of computer games. For questions 10-15, choose from the reviews (A-E). The reviews may be chosen more than once.