Dramatic events
Reading and Use of English | Part 7
You are going to read an extract from an article about a sport. 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.
The scariest ride on the planet
Charles Starmer-Smith spent a weekend in Norway learning how to ride on a bob skeleton, a
one-person sledge which races down an ice track at 60 mph.
I glanced down at the red snow by my feet just a few yards 3
from the finishing gate of the Lillehammer bob skeleton track.
Halfway up, we arrived at the infamous Turn 13, a shuddering
The bob skeleton is also known as a toboggan and reminded
180-degree U-turn where the centrifugal pressures equal
me of a tray a waiter might use to bring plates of food out in
those experienced by fighter pilots. ‘This is where you’ll feel
a restaurant. But this one was going to have me on it rather
the full force,’ said Tony, our instructor, his eyes sparkling.
than a pile of food so seeing the blood of an earlier rider was
‘So, is the track running quickly?’ I asked tentatively. He did
a little unnerving. Make no bones about it, this has to be one
not need to answer.
of the scariest rides on the planet.
4
1
All we caught was a flash of eyeballs and overalls as the rider
I feigned nonchalance at this information, but I was fooling no
sliced around the curved wall of ice at breathtaking speed.
one. I have made a habit of scaring myself: I’ve leapt down
We glanced at each other, panic etched across our faces and
the face of Switzerland’s Verzasca Dam – the world’s biggest
laughed the nervous laugh of the truly terrified as we realised
bungee jump, I have descended the near-vertical Corbets
this would soon be us.
Couloir at Jacksonhole – perhaps the most fearsome ski run in
North America – and I have learnt to ski-jump at Calgary. 5
2
I therefore took comfort in the knowledge that, with a
professional in charge, someone would be keeping his head
At least I was not alone as several other novices would be
while the rest of us were losing ours. I drew the short straw
joining me. After a fitful sleep, we went out early to walk
and was given position four, where you feel the full brunt of
to the top of the track. The snow, hanging heavy on the
the force with nothing but cool Norwegian air behind you.
branches of Lillehammer’s forested slopes, made the track
look even more imposing. Snaking down the slope like a giant 6
metallic python, the walls were steeper, the straights were We barely had time to check that we were all in one piece
longer but the 16 turns were much sharper than I expected. before we were sent off to get kitted up for the skeleton.
On Tony’s instructions I lay face down on the sledge, arms
clamped by my sides, nose inches from the ice and off I went.
After seventy seconds of terror, I could barely speak and my
body felt as though it had been in a boxing ring, but I had
never felt so alive. What a ride!
26
Unit 5
A Before we had any more time to contemplate our fate, D It started deceptively slowly, but within moments picked
we found ourselves at the top, climbing aboard a bobraft. up speed. It soon became clear that the rider has little
Designed to give you a feel for the track before going control and survival instinct takes over.
down on your own, this giant, padded open-top box E It is hard to describe the debilitating effect that such
looked about as aerodynamic as a bus, but it travelled a immense speeds and forces have on your body. It was
whole lot faster. It had a driver who did this all the time like nothing I have ever experienced. The last thing I
which was reassuring. remember going through my mind was straining just to
B As if on cue, snow crystals began to jump in unison on keep my head upright.
the metallic railings as, high above, a sledge began its F We listened to advice on how to get round them safely
inexorable journey down. What started as a distant hum – use your eyes to steer and tilt your head away from
became a rattle, then a roar as the sledge reached top the corners to minimise the pressure. It sounded simple
speed. The tarpaulin covering the track stiffened in its enough, but get it wrong at these speeds and your chin
wake and the girders groaned. faces the cheese-grater.
C On these previous occasions, I had had experience or the G The man behind these adrenalin-packed weekends at
expertise of others to fall back on, but with this there was Norway’s Olympic park, explained that those who attempt
nothing from which to draw strength. The bob skeleton the famous run often accidentally ‘kiss’ the ice with their
confounds conventional logic. nose or chin, leaving a layer or three of skin behind.
27
Dramatic events
Reading and Use of English | Part 7
You are going to read an extract from an article about a sport. 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.
The scariest ride on the planet
Charles Starmer-Smith spent a weekend in Norway learning how to ride on a bob skeleton, a
one-person sledge which races down an ice track at 60 mph.
I glanced down at the red snow by my feet just a few yards 3 F
from the finishing gate of the Lillehammer bob skeleton track.
Halfway up, we arrived at the infamous Turn 13, a shuddering
The bob skeleton is also known as a toboggan and reminded
180-degree U-turn where the centrifugal pressures equal
me of a tray a waiter might use to bring plates of food out in
those experienced by fighter pilots. ‘This is where you’ll feel
a restaurant. But this one was going to have me on it rather
the full force,’ said Tony, our instructor, his eyes sparkling.
than a pile of food so seeing the blood of an earlier rider was
‘So, is the track running quickly?’ I asked tentatively. He did
a little unnerving. Make no bones about it, this has to be one
not need to answer.
of the scariest rides on the planet.
4 B
1 G
All we caught was a flash of eyeballs and overalls as the rider
I feigned nonchalance at this information, but I was fooling no
sliced around the curved wall of ice at breathtaking speed.
one. I have made a habit of scaring myself: I’ve leapt down
We glanced at each other, panic etched across our faces and
the face of Switzerland’s Verzasca Dam – the world’s biggest
laughed the nervous laugh of the truly terrified as we realised
bungee jump, I have descended the near-vertical Corbets
this would soon be us.
Couloir at Jacksonhole – perhaps the most fearsome ski run in
North America – and I have learnt to ski-jump at Calgary. 5 A
2 C
I therefore took comfort in the knowledge that, with a
professional in charge, someone would be keeping his head
At least I was not alone as several other novices would be
while the rest of us were losing ours. I drew the short straw
joining me. After a fitful sleep, we went out early to walk
and was given position four, where you feel the full brunt of
to the top of the track. The snow, hanging heavy on the
the force with nothing but cool Norwegian air behind you.
branches of Lillehammer’s forested slopes, made the track
look even more imposing. Snaking down the slope like a giant 6 E
metallic python, the walls were steeper, the straights were We barely had time to check that we were all in one piece
longer but the 16 turns were much sharper than I expected. before we were sent off to get kitted up for the skeleton.
On Tony’s instructions I lay face down on the sledge, arms
clamped by my sides, nose inches from the ice and off I went.
After seventy seconds of terror, I could barely speak and my
body felt as though it had been in a boxing ring, but I had
never felt so alive. What a ride!
26
