Exercise 8. Прочитайте текст и выполните задания 1 – 7, выбирая букву A, B, C или D. Установите соответствие номера задания выбранному вами варианту ответа.
Whilst travelling in 2001, I had my
first but definitely not last go at snowboarding. Rhona and I went to the
Cardona ski resort, a couple of hours from Queenstown in
On arrival I went straight to the
Ski Patrol and explained my situation. They suggested that I should wear a
vest, that they supplied, with the words ‘BLIND SKIER’ on the front and back on
top of my jacket. They told me that this was more for the benefit of the other
skiers around me. I must admit, I wasn’t very keen to do this, but thought I
would give it a try.
Once onto the slopes, I put my vest
on and began to practise my limited skills. Because I have done some other
board sports, i. e. skateboarding, surfing, etc., it wasn’t too hard to learn
the basics. Once I was comfortable with this, I headed off for the ski lift and
the big slopes. As I stood in the queue I could hear people talking about that
‘poor blind guy’. This niggled me a bit, but I decided to try to ignore it. At
the top of the lift I stepped off and strapped my feet onto the board.
As we headed off I could hear more
people talking about the vest. I was starting to get paranoid. Then as I
gathered speed and Rhona would shout directions, I realized that the people who
saw the vest were getting out of my way. Fantastic! This was better than a
white stick in a crowd. We picked up speed turning left, then right, hitting a
few bumps, but mainly going really well. I even managed to control the
snowboard. Well, sort of control it. Before I knew it, we had zipped down a
long straight slope and had come to the end of the run. The adrenaline was
buzzing and I was ‘high as a kite’. What a feeling. I got back on the ski lift
and headed back up. This time I was going to do the run solo!
I had memorized the slope from my
first run and felt very confident. As I came off the lift, I rushed to get started.
Again, I could hear people talking about me, but now it didn’t matter. The vest
was a definite benefit for the novice snowboarder! I took the first stage at a
steady pace, looking for my first left bend. No problems there. I found that
easy enough. I was now looking for my fast approaching right bend. I missed
this one completely and ended up in the safety netting at the edge of the run.
At this point, I decided I was not
the world’s best snowboarder and would have to take things a little slower. As
the day progressed, so did my skills. I had a great time. Even taking ‘air’ on
quite a few occasions. However this was not deliberate! I was now very wary
about that bend I had missed, so I started to take it a bit earlier.
Unfortunately, this meant that I would leap about
We boarded at Cardona for two days
and had a fantastic time. Because it is a bit of a drive away from most of the
tourist places, it is not as busy as the other ski resorts. It is mostly
visited by the locals and I think that says something. If you get the chance, I
would definitely recommend Cardona. I would also like to thank the Ski Patrol
for that great suggestion. Without the vest, I am sure there could have been
some crashes, caused by me. But with the vest , everyone just got out of the
way. However, I think that if I was to get a vest for myself, it would probably
read “BLIND &DAFT”.
1. The
narrator and his companion decided to choose the Cardona ski resort
because
A) it was a
short distance from Queenstown.
B) they couldn’t find a room at other
resorts.
C) somebody
said that it was worth going to.
D) it was
popular with snowboarders.
2. The Ski Patrol suggested that
the narrator should wear a vest in order to
A) make it
easier for them to locate the narrator in case of an accident.
B) make the
narrator feel more confident during his first go at snowboarding.
C) keep an
eye on him on the slope.
D) prevent
other people from colliding with him on the slopes.
3. When
the narrator was standing in the queue he
A) felt
annoyed by people’s comments.
B) felt
comfortable in his vest.
C) tried to
focus his eyes on the track.
D) tried to
ignore his fear.
4. “This” in “This was better than
a white stick in the crowd” refers to
A) the fact
that people were getting out of the narrator’s way.
B) the
narrator’s moving at a high speed down the slope.
C) the fact
that Rhona was giving the narrator directions.
D) the
narrator’s hearing more people talking about the vest.
5. The narrator did the second run
solo and he
A) tried to
memorize all the bends.
B) failed
to go round one of the bends.
C) tried
not to listen to Rhona’s directions.
D) fell
down and was injured.
6. The
narrator believes that his successful leaps into the air and landing on his
feet
were due to
A) his
personal courage.
B) people’s
encouragement.
C) his
intensive practising.
D) pure
chance.
7. The
narrator recommends the Cardona ski resort because
A) of the Ski
Patrol efficient service
B) skiers
are supplied with vests there.
C) it is
less crowded than other places.
D) there
are few crashes on the slopes.