The words below appear in the text in Exercise 2. Find the words and guess their meanings. Use a dictionary to check your guesses. 1. uninhabited ……………………
4. isolated ……………………
2. challenge ……………………
5. broadcast ……………………
3. life-threatening ……………………
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Read the text and write questions with the words below. Use the Present Perfect Simple. Alone Against Nature Some people enjoy taking risks. Ed Stafford is one of them. He has always loved excitement and has done many daring things in his life. He has even broken a record – he was the first man to walk the length of the Amazon River. It took him more than two years and he received the European Explorer of the Year award in 2011. On his travels, Ed has also done some very unusual things, like eating spider monkeys and wearing a grass skirt! In 2012, Ed went to an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean for 60 days. He had no food, no water and no clothes! It was the ultimate survival challenge. All he had were some basic medical supplies, an emergency satellite phone and a camera. He used the camera to document the experience. The phone was only for a life-threatening situation. Ed survived the 60 days without using the phone, but it wasn’t easy. The most difficult thing for him was being totally isolated and having no one to talk to. At times, he couldn’t stop hearing the same songs in his head and he was scared that he was going crazy. When he arrived home, it took him a few months to get back to normal. After that, Ed faced the same challenge in other countries, such as Venezuela, Botswana, Rwanda and Borneo, but he spent only ten days in each place. Although Ed is fearless, he doesn’t take unnecessary risks. In Venezuela, he realised that he was in danger because he couldn’t find a warm place to sleep, so he used his emergency survival blanket. Ed has always filmed his adventures and his survival challenge has become a successful TV series. It was first broadcast in 2014, and it has been popular in many countries around the world since then. What will Ed’s next challenge be? So far, he hasn’t given us any clues. He says, “I think new experiences make you grow”, so he is probably planning his next “new experience” even now. 1. Why / Ed / take / many risks / in his life ..................................................................................................... 2. What kinds of unusual things / Ed / do ..................................................................................................... 3. In which countries / Ed / face / the ultimate survival challenge ..................................................................................................... 4. How long / Ed’s TV series / be / popular ..................................................................................................... 5. What / Ed / say / about / his future plans ..................................................................................................... 1
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Answer the questions in Exercise 2. 1. ..................................................................................................... 2. ..................................................................................................... 3. ..................................................................................................... 4. ..................................................................................................... 5. .....................................................................................................
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Tick ( ) the sentences T (true) or F (false). Then correct the false sentences. 1. Ed spent more than two years sailing down the Amazon River.
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F
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..................................................................................................... 2. Ed experienced a life-threatening situation on the Pacific island. ..................................................................................................... 3. Ed’s biggest problems on the islands were psychological ones. ..................................................................................................... 4. Ed’s challenges in Venezuela, Botswana, Rwanda and Borneo lasted for 60 days. ..................................................................................................... 5. Ed always takes risks, no matter how dangerous they are. .....................................................................................................
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Imagine you are alone doing an ultimate survival challenge. Write a blog about your experience.
