Name: Date: Class: Mark: /31 Reading The Thundering Smoke Before the exploration of Africa in the 19 th century, myths and legends circulated around Europe about the continent. Europeans knew very little about this vast mass of land as few travellers had ever dared venture into its mysterious interior. One enthusiastic Scottish explorer by the name of Dr David Livingstone was passionate about Africa and extremely eager to discover its secrets. Little did he know what marvels he would find. Dr Livingstone was sent to South Africa in 1840 as a medical missionary. He would end up spending a large part of his life there. Between 1842 and 1846, he explored south and central Africa and became the first European to travel across the entire country West to East. On 16 th November 1855, Dr Livingstone stumbled upon a huge waterfall. He described it as the most wonderful sight he had seen in Africa. No one can imagine the beauty of the view from anything witnessed in England. It had never been seen before by European eyes; but scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in flight, he later wrote. The waterfall was known to the local people as ' the smoke that thunders'. But Livingstone named it Victoria Falls after his queen. Victoria Falls is located in the national park of the same name in southern Africa on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is the largest. The falls itself is 1,708 m wide and 108 m in height. This makes it the biggest single sheet of falling water on the planet. Every minute, 500 million litres of water plunge 100 m into a narrow gorge. The spray from the falls rises to a height of 400 m and can be seen up to 50km away. Page 1
Comprehension A. In your own words, and based on the text, answer the questions. a) What did Dr Livingstone visit Africa? b) How did he feel when he first saw the waterfall? c) Why did Dr Livingstone call the waterfall Victoria Falls? Vocabulary B. Complete the sentences with the correct word. There is one extra word. plunge into, venture, natural wonders, unique experience a) Victoria Falls is in Africa. It's one of the seven of the modern world. b) Every minute 200 million litres of water into a gorge. c) A visit to the waterfall is a. C. Complete the sentences with the appropriate particle(s). down with, up with, round, across 1. While I was on holiday I came an old schoolfriend. (meet by chance) 2. He didn't enjoy his weekend break because he came measles. (become ill) 3. She came the idea for the story while she was visiting Victoria Falls. (think of) 4. It took him some time to come after he slipped and fell down the stairs. (recover consciousness) Page 2
D. Complete the sentences with the correct word. packed, crowded, stuffed 1. Teddy bears are normally with soft; white cotton. 2. The bus was with people so there were no seats free to sit down. 3. The city centre is on the first day of the festival. anticipation, expectation, suspense 4. The music festival lived up to everyone's. 5. Bob prepared lots of food in of a big crowd coming to his party. 6. The film kept everyone in until the murderer was revealed at the end. Listening E. You will hear five people talking about problems they experienced while on holiday. For questions 1-5, choose from the list (A-F) the problem that each person experienced. Use each letter only once. A. They had no money to spend. B. Their accommodation was unsatisfactory. C. They became ill. D. They had a possession stolen. E. They got lost. Speaker 1 Speaker 2 Speaker 3 Speaker 4 Speaker 5 Page 3
Writing Your teacher has asked you to write a description of a place you visited on holiday last year. (120-180 words) Page 4
Reading KEY /31 The Thundering Smoke Before the exploration of Africa in the 19 th century, myths and legends circulated around Europe about the continent. Europeans knew very little about this vast mass of land as few travellers had ever dared venture into its mysterious interior. One enthusiastic Scottish explorer by the name of Dr David Livingstone was passionate about Africa and extremely eager to discover its secrets. Little did he know what marvels he would find. Dr Livingstone was sent to South Africa in 1840 as a medical missionary. He would end up spending a large part of his life there. Between 1842 and 1846, he explored south and central Africa and became the first European to travel across the entire country West to East. On 16 th November 1855, Dr Livingstone stumbled upon a huge waterfall. He described it as the most wonderful sight he had seen in Africa. No one can imagine the beauty of the view from anything witnessed in England. It had never been seen before by European eyes; but scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in flight, he later wrote. The waterfall was known to the local people as ' the smoke that thunders'. But Livingstone named it Victoria Falls after his queen. Victoria Falls is located in the national park of the same name in southern Africa on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is the largest. The falls itself is 1,708 m wide and 108 m in height. This makes it the biggest single sheet of falling water on the planet. Every minute, 500 million litres of water plunge 100 m into a narrow gorge. The spray from the falls rises to a height of 400 m and can be seen up to 50km away. Page 5
Comprehension A. In your own words, and based on the text, answer the questions. a) What did Dr Livingston visit Africa? Dr Livingston went to Africa to work as a doctor. b) How did he feel when he first saw the waterfall? He was impressed- he had never seen anything like it in his life. c) Why did Dr Livingston call the waterfall Victoria Falls? Dr Livingston named the falls after Queen Victoria; he wanted to honour Queen Victoria. /3 Vocabulary B. Complete the sentences with the correct word. There is one extra word. plunge into, venture, natural wonders, unique experience a) Victoria Falls is in Africa. It's one of the seven natural wonders of the modern world. b) Every minute 200 million litres of water plunge into a gorge. c) A visit to the waterfall is a unique experience. /3 C. Complete the sentences with the appropriate particle(s). down with, up with, round, across 1. While I was on holiday I came across an old schoolfriend. (meet by chance) 2. He didn't enjoy his weekend break because he came down with measles. (become ill) 3. She came up with the idea for the story while she was visiting Victoria Falls. (think of) 4. It took him some time to come round after he slipped and fell down the stairs. (recover consciousness) /4 Page 6
D. Complete the sentences with the correct word. packed, crowded, stuffed 1. Teddy bears are normally stuffed with soft; white cotton. 2. The bus was packed with people so there were no seats free to sit down. 3. The city centre is crowded on the first day of the festival. anticipation, expectation, suspense 4. The music festival lived up to everyone's expectation. 5. Bob prepared lots of food in anticipation of a big crowd coming to his party. 6. The film kept everyone in suspense until the murderer was revealed at the end. /6 Listening Module 3 workbook (page 34 exercise 1) E. You will hear five people talking about problems they experienced while on holiday. For questions 1-5, choose from the list (A-F) the problem that each person experienced. Use each letter only once. A. They had no money to spend. B. Their accommodation was unsatisfactory. C. They became ill. D. They had a possession stolen. E. They got lost. Speaker 1 C Speaker 2 E Speaker 3 A Speaker 4 F Speaker 5 B /5 Page 7
Writing Your teacher has asked you to write a description of a place you visited on holiday last year. (120-180 words) SAMPLE ANSWER /10 Page 8