Comprehension Practice [0500/13 Nov 2021]

 

Text A: Chasing the Northern Lights

 

This text is an article about a night-time climb to witness the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis).

 

Night falling, calf muscles burning and a heavy pack pulling on my shoulders were all good reasons to sit down and rest. To the west, a crimson glow lit the inlet, and beyond this massive body of water, the mountains were painted with fading light.

 

The aurora occurs when bursts of solar energy sweep past Earth and energise

 

magnetised particles in our upper atmosphere. In order to see this unusual light show,

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you need to consider the time of day and the presence of clouds. Just picture a white

 

crayon drawn on a piece of purely black paper compared to on a piece of light blue and

 

white paper. One picture is clearly more dramatic and rewarding than the other.

 

The aurora forecast tonight was good, and news had spread fast among photographers,

 

outdoor enthusiasts, and sky-watchers. As watching an aurora requires a bit of sacrifice,

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we had all given up our sleep to find a good place for spectating.

 

After hiking for a few hours, we set up camp on a high ridge. Despite having tents, we

 

laid our sleeping-bags out on the ground for best viewing. The show started at 23:00

 

and got progressively more brilliant and active throughout the night. My arms ached

 

from holding my camera above my head.

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I took a few photographs and then put my camera away. I’d realised I also wanted to

 

live in the moment. No camera can capture the huge spectacle that dominates the

 

heavens. At around 03:00. the entire sky filled with freely-moving bands of colour, a

 

cosmic neon light show zigzagging erratically from horizon to horizon, streaming and

 

gyrating.

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Words and images fail to describe such an experience, the essence of which relates

 

deeply to our perspective on life. When you’re looking up into the night sky, seeing a

 

360-degree view of brilliant lights literally changing by the second, it makes you realise

 

how insignificant you are and how immense the world is. And yet there’s a strange sort

 

of comfort in that realisation. Maybe that comes from knowing that you share your awe

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with your fellow humans out on this cold ridge. You are warmed and embrace your

 

place in humanity.

 

 Questions

Question 1

 

(a)    Give three reasons why the narrator decides to sit down on the way up the mountain, according to the text.

 

(b)    Using your own words, explain what the text means by:

 

(i)      ‘crimson glow’ (line 2):

 

(ii)    ‘massive body’ (line 3):

 

(c)    Re-read paragraph 2 (‘The aurora occurs rewarding than the other.’).

         Give two circumstances in which you would be unlikely to see the aurora very clearly.

(d)    Re-read paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 (‘The aurora forecast gyrating.’).

 (i)      Identify two things the narrator needed to do in order to see the aurora.

  (ii)    Explain why it was better for the narrator to put his camera away.


 (e)    Re-read paragraph 6 (‘Words and images place in humanity.’).

Using your own words, explain the effects of seeing the aurora on the narrator.

Answers

1(a)

•   night falling / getting late / getting dark

•   calf muscles burning / physical strain on legs

•   shoulders aching / heavy backpack pulling on shoulders

1 (bi)

 

•   reddish-pink / reddish-purple / red

 

•   light / shining / shine / fluorescence

1(bii)

•   huge / enormous / very big / vast / extra-large / immense

•   amount of / volume / expanse / area / mass / quantity (of water)

1(c)

•   daylight / daytime / wrong time of day / when the sun is shining / when the sun

is out

 

•   cloudy / sky not clear / presence of clouds

 

1(di)

•   give up sleep / to find a good place for spectating / camp on a high ridge

•   hike for a few hours

 

•   stay out of his tent / lie down outside

1(dii)

 

•   aching arms

 

•   live in the moment / enjoy the experience in real time

 

•   camera wasn’t adequate for capturing the (incredible) experience

1(e)

•   lost for words / can’t describe it / can’t find the words to describe

 

•   altered perspective on life / realises own insignificance / humans in the system

/ enormity of the world

 

•   bond with people on the ridge that night / enjoyed the shared experience (of watching the aurora)


 

•   wider comfort of being part of human race / feels bond to other humans in general


 

 





















 

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