XII. Listening Extreme Sports

1. Pre-Listening. Have you ever done any extreme sports? Are you an adrenaline junkie⁸?

Make sure you understand the meaning of the following words and expressions:

To scribble – to write or draw something carelessly or hurriedly.

Bungee jumping – the sport of leaping from a bridge, crane, or other high place while secured by a long nylon-cased rubber band around the ankles.

To gatecrash – to enter a party or some other gathering without invitation.

Ditch – a narrow channel dug at the side of a road or field, to hold or carry away water.

Elastic rope – a rope able to resume its normal shape spontaneously after being stretched or compressed.

To get tangled up in sth – to get twisted together into a confused mass.

Exhilarated – feeling very happy and excited.

Bruise – an injury appearing as an area of discoloured skin on the body.

Thrilling – very exciting or stimulating.

2. Listening. Listen to this story (“Coming Back Up” by Chris Rose) about one man facing his fear. Be ready to say whether these statements are true or false.

1. … there hasn’t been a town for ages and then you see this sign, not really a proper sign at all, just a piece of card with some words scribbled on it: “Bungee Jumping, 5km”, and an arrow pointing to the right.

2. As usual, you get your way, I give in and off we go along this dirt road, for what seems much more than 5 kilometres to me.

3. As soon as we’re out of the car we can hear voices: people shouting and quarrelling.

4. They’re polite, friendly even, and I don’t feel like we’re interrupting a private party – gatecrashing something they’re doing.

5. The bridge doesn’t look too stable. I think the kids had built it themselves.

6. Another person is hanging from a long piece of elastic rope in the middle of the ditch. He is screaming in terror like he is mad.

7. As the guy comes to the top he looks exhilarated and shocked, but also very, very happy.

8. You’ve always been a lot more adventurous than me.

9. I breathe in, close my eyes, don’t think about anything. I jump.

10. Then there’s a pull and I’m going back up again, and, yes, it is dangerous, and no, it is not thrilling.

3. Listen again and answer the questions:

1. What did the travellers see on that road “in the middle of nowhere”?

2. What feelings and emotions does the idea of bungee jumping arouse within the author? In what way does he describe them?

3. Whom did they see when they got to the place and how did these people behave?

4. What did the place for jumping look like?

5. How did the jumping guy behave? Did his jump inspire or threaten the author?

6. What event from his childhood did the person remember?

7. Did the man dare to jump? If so, what emotions was he preoccupied by after the jump?

Follow-Up. Look at the list of names of extreme sports. Match them with their descriptions. Which of them would you like to try and which ones do you consider to be too dangerous?

1) base jumping	a) the sport of jumping into a fast-flowing mountain stream and allowing oneself to be carried
2) adventure racing	b) the action of being pulled over snow or ice on skis by a horse or dog, as a sport or recreation activity
3) paragliding	c) the sport that involves mountain biking, orienteering, hiking, canoeing, rappelling
4) kite surfing	d) the sport of descending a steep road or track on a large type of skateboard on which riders lie on their backs, descending feet first
5) canyoning	e) the sport of cross-country gliding using a specially designed parachute shaped like flexible wings
6) wakeboarding	f) the sport that offers the thrill of winter sports but without the snow
7) street luge	g) the sport of riding on a short, wide board resembling a surfboard and performing acrobatic manoeuvres
8) mountain boarding	h) the sport that supposes controlling a kite in the air and surfing simultaneously
9) skijoring	i) a sport in which a participant parachutes from any of a variety of fixed objects such as high buildings, cliffs, etc.

Audio: learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/stories/coming-back