5 READING & LISTENING
TV presenter's AmazoIJ
a In your country, are there chari ty events to raise n1o ney
fo r a good cause? H ave you ever ta ken part in one? H e len Sk elton hop es to becom e the firs t
\,Vhat d id you do? H o' v n1uch money d id you raise? woman to kayak down t h e Am azon R iver.
Helen Skelton is a 26-year-old TV presenter of Blue Peter,
b You're going to read an article about Helen Skelton, a BBC programme for young people. She has never
vvho agreed to kayak do\vn the Amazo n for charity. been afraid of a challenge. Last year she became the
Read the introduction and ansv;er the questions. second woman to complete the 78-mile Ultra Marathon in
Namibia, running the three consecutive marathons in 23
1 \Vhat did Helen do last yea r fo r charity?
hours and 50 minutes. But when Blue Peter decided to
2 \Vhat is she hoping to do this year? do something to raise money for the charity Sports Relief
3 \\/hat is dangerous abour rhc trip? (which sponsors projects in the UK and abroad) Skelton
4 \\/hat experience does she have? said that she wanted an even bigger challenge. So they
suggested that she kayak 3,200 kilometres down the {!!
GI
c Before you read the texts of Helen's first three phone Amazon from Nauta in Peru to Almeirim in Brazil. ...s:
call , imagine 'vhat kind of pro ble1ns you think she had This is a very risky trip. There are no roads, no towns, only .::.
o n her journey. Then read a nd check. Were you right? rainforest and the river (which is sometimes more than 40
d l 51 >)) Read Phone calls 1- 3 again and co111plete the
kilometres wide and infested with crocodiles). If she falls ill,f
it will take around 11 hours to fly her to a hospital.
gaps with the correct vvord. Then listen and check.
1 a in front b behind c back
2 a freezing b hot c boil ing
3 a exhausted b angry c lost COLOM BJ A
4 a <lo,vn b up c o,·er
5 a long b \Viele c shorr EC U A-DOR
6 a ice cream b coffee c chocolate ,
•••'
7 a sleep b padd le c rest ,,,.
8 a boring b interesti ng c \vorrying .... ,1''
'- "'- I
I""".-",i
'
I
9 a being b feel c feeling \...)
J 0 a sick b \Veil c hard P ERU
e 52 >)) O \.V listen to the resr of H elen's journey do,vn
the Amazon. Did she manage to finish? Phone call 1
' ' Everything went wrong. I only managed half
f Listen again. Then ans,ver the questions.
a day on Wednesday, the first day, and on
Pho n e call 4 Thursday we started late, so I'm already 1_ _
1 \Vhy hasn't she had any rnusic for three days? I've been suffering from the heat. It's absolutely
2
, and the humidity is 100°/o at lunchtime.
2 \\I hat docs she do to pass the tin1e? I went the wrong way and I had to paddle against
3 Why didn't she celebrate reaching the half,vay poinr? the current. I was 3 ! They asked me 'Do you
Phone call 5 want to give 4 ?' but I said, 'No!' I've
also been having a wonderful time! There pink
4 \\/hat have been driving her mad this ' veek? dolphins - pink, not grey - that come close o the
5 \\!hat \Vi Id life has she seen? boat. I think that if I can do 100 kilometres a ay,
6 \\l hy is she scarring co feel a bit ad? then I can make it. ''
The 6.00 news
7 T lo\v n1 any kilon1etres did she do altogether?
8 l low long did the journey take?
9 \\/ hat did Helen n1iss?
l 0 \ \I hat is the first thing she i going to do \.vhen she gets
hon1e?
g Tell your partner about an adventure sport you've
do ne, or an exciting experience you've had. \Vas it a
positive experience? \Vhy (not)? Ho\v did you feel?
