1.

Read the text about a famous mountain climber

Catherine Destivelle is a rock star. She loves rock, but she can’t sing or play the guitar! She is a
rock climber and a big star in France and Italy. She is probably the most famous woman climber
in the world because she often climbs without ropes. She climbs in many countries but most
often in the French Alps near Chamonix, where she lives.

1
She started climbing near her home in Paris
when she was five. Then, at fourteen, she
joined the French Alpine Club to learn more,
but immediately she climbed better and more
quickly than the older members of the club. She
won her first competition in Italy in 1985.

Three years ago she found a new route up the

Dru Mountain near Chamonix. The climb took
eleven days and for four days the snow was so
heavy that she could not move. She slept and
ate in a bivouac on the side of the mountain. Last year other climbers tried to follow the new
Destivelle Route, but they failed. They are going to try again this year.

People always ask her this question. She

says ‘I climb because I’m in love with
mountains. I like touching the rock and
reading the face of the rock. I like it a
lot. I feel comfortable and at home on
the side of a mountain. I prepare well
before I go, so I’m never worried.’

_____________________________________________
4
Catherine chooses new mountains from books – like buying from a shopping catalogue! ‘ I see a
nice mountain and I go to climb it.’ Her next mountain is Pakistan. She is going there next month. ‘It’s
much bigger than the Dru, so it’s going to take longer to climb. An American climber, Jeff Lowe, is
going to come with me to help.’

2. Put the four paragraphs heading into the correct places in the text. (8)

a- WHY DOES SHE CLIMB?

b- HER FUTURE
c- HOW DID SHE BEGIN?
d- HER BEST CLIMB

3. Are these sentences true or false? Correct the false sentences. (12)
a- She is famous because she climbs in France and Italy. __

b- The climb up the Dru took four days. __

c- Climbers followed Catherine’s new route last year. __

d- She likes reading books when she is on the mountains. __

e- She is never worried because she prepares a lot before climbing. __

f- Pakistan Mountain is bigger than Dru Mountain. __

 1. You are a journalist from the BBC and you are interviewing Catherine Destivelle.
Complete the questions.(14)

YOU: Today we’re with Catherine Destivelle, the most famous climber in the world. Good
morning, Catherine. Can I ask you some questions?

CATHERINE: Hello! Yes, of course.

YOU: First of all, _______ _______ _______ _______?

CATHERINE: I live in France, near Chamonix.

YOU: _______ _______ _______ _______ _______?

CATHERINE: I started climbing when I was five. I was really young!

YOU: _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ first competition?

CATHERINE: I won my first competition in Italy.

YOU: Everybody asks you the same question, _______ _______ _______
_______?

CATHERINE: Well, I climb because I’m in love with mountains.

YOU: And, _______ _______ _______ _______ the rock?

CATHERINE: Oh, yes! I like touching the rock. I love reading the face of the rock, too.

YOU: _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ to Pakistan?

CATHERINE: I’m going to to Pakistan next month.

YOU: _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______?

CATHERINE: Jeff Lowe, an American climber, is coming with me! He is a good friend of mine
and he is going to help me!

YOU: Thanks Catherine, and good luck!

2. Catherine travels all around the world. This is an e-mail she sent to her family when
she was in Switzerland. Complete with the right tense. (16)
Hi everyone! I hope everything is going well. I ______________(have) a great time in
Switzerland at the moment. People here ______________(speak) French and Italian, so I
____________ (not have) any problem to understand them. Besides, they
______________ (be) very friendly.
I ______________ (arrive) here last week and when I _______________ (get) to the
hotel I _________________ (meet) Josune Bereziartu, the most famous mountain climber
in Spain!
First, I _______________ (not recognize) her because she looks really different!!
Now she _________________ (stay) at the same hotel, so we always
_________________ (spend) a lot of time together.
Yesterday, it _____________ (be) a wonderful day, so we _____________ (go) to
Bürgenstock and we ____________ (climb) one of the highest mountain there. Josune and
I ______________ (be) really excited. We _______________ (have) a great time!
We have plans for tomorrow. We ________________ (visit) the Pennine Alps and we
_______________ (climb) Pigne d’Arolla.
What about you? I miss you a lot! Write me soon and tell me your news!
Loves,
Caty
2. This is part of an article about sports and mountains. Choose the correct option.(10)

a- Mount Everest, located in the Himalaya, is _________ mountain in the world.

the highest the higher higher than

b- Annapurna Mountain is ___________ than Baintha Brakk

.
dangerouser more dangerous the
most dangerous

c- Aleister Crowley became a famous climber because ____________ father loved mountain
climbing.

his her your

d- Walter Bonatti said ‘ I like ____________ at the sky when I reach the top of the
mountain.’
look looks looking

e- Briton Edward Fitzgerald ____________ the first to climb the Aconcagua in 1897.

is was were

f- In France there ____________ lots of prominent mountains.

are is be

g- Surprisingly, in Denmark there isn’t _____________ mountain.

any some lots of

h- Professional mountaineers argue that it’s important to have _________water when they are
climbing.

a any some

i- Edmund Percival Hillary climbed the Everest three times, always __________ Thursdays.

on in at

j- Experts claim that it’s _____________ to do mountain climbing during autumn due to
weather conditions

more easy easier the easiest