The Reading / Listening - Himalayas Rescue - Level 6

A dramatic nighttime rescue has taken place on one of the world's most dangerous mountains. A team of elite mountain climbers from Poland made a hazardous night ascent of the 8,126-meter-high Nanga Parbat in the Pakistani Himalayas. The peak is widely known as "Killer Mountain" because of the number of climbers who have perished there. The Polish team rescued French climber Elisabeth Revol from the slopes of Nanga Parbat. She was reported to have been 7,400 meters up on the icy slopes. Unfortunately, a Polish climber Ms Revol had been climbing with remains missing. The conditions were too treacherous for the rescuers to spend any further time on the rescue mission.

The team of Polish climbers had been attempting the first ever winter ascent of the nearby K2 mountain, the second highest summit in the world. The drama began on Saturday afternoon when military helicopters spotted Revol in distress. The helicopters picked up the Polish climbers from K2 and flew them to Nanga Parbat, where they were dropped off at an altitude of 4,900 meters. The team then made its daring attempt in pitch darkness. Unfortunately, conditions were too perilous for Ms Revol's co-climber Tomasz Mackiewicz to be rescued. A rescuer said: "The rescue for Tomasz is unfortunately not possible. Because of the weather and altitude it would put the life of rescuers in extreme danger."

Try the same news story at these easier levels:

    Himalayas Rescue - Level 4  or  Himalayas Rescue - Level 5

Sources
  • https://www.voanews.com/a/polish-team-rescues-french-climber-pakistan-nanga-parbat/4228241.html
  • http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/2130890/daring-rescue-team-climbs-pitch-darkness-reach-stranded-french
  • http://www.atimes.com/article/polish-climbers-pull-off-daring-winter-rescue-nanga-parbat/


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice, drag and drop activities, crosswords, hangman, flash cards, matching activities and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Warm-ups

1. THE HIMALAYAS: Students walk around the class and talk to other students about the Himalayas. Change partners often and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, talk about these topics or words from the article. What will the article say about them? What can you say about these words and your life?
       nighttime / rescue / mountains / climbers / Himalayas / icy / missing / mission /
       winter / K2 / summit / drama / helicopters / altitude / darkness / weather / danger
Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. BANNED: Students A strongly believe climbing dangerous mountains should be banned; Students B strongly believe it shouldn't.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
4. RESCUE: How difficult might these rescues be? What safety precautions would rescuers need to take? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.


Rescue

Difficulties

Safety Precautions

Mt Everest

 

 

Deep in the desert

 

 

The deepest Amazon

 

 

The Moon

 

 

The South Pole

 

 

A collapsed building

 

 
MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

5. ELITE: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "elite". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.
6. DANGEROUS RESCUES: Rank these with your partner. Put the most dangerous rescues at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

  • burning building
  • flood
  • hostage
  • avalanche
  • mountains
  • earthquakes
  • deep sea
  • space station

 

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1. dramatic a. A climb or walk to the top of a mountain or hill.
      2. rescue b. A special part of a group that is superior to the rest in terms of ability or qualities.
      3. elite c. Save someone from a dangerous or worrying situation.
      4. hazardous d. Died, usually in a violent, sudden, or untimely way.
      5. ascent e. Of an event or circumstance that is sudden and shocking or amazing.
      6. peak f. Very risky and dangerous.
      7. perished g. The pointed top of a mountain.

    Paragraph 2

      8. attempting h. An exciting, emotional, or unexpected series of events or set of circumstances.
      9. drama i. As black as tar (very black).
      10. distress j. Reaching a high or the highest degree; very great.
      11. altitude k. The state of someone when in danger or difficulty and needing help.
      12. pitch l. Full of danger and risk to the extent that it could lead to disaster or ruin.
      13. perilous m. The height of an object or point in relation to sea level or ground level.
      14. extreme n. Making an effort to achieve or complete something, usually a difficult task or action.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

  1. The article said the mountain is the world's most dangerous.     T / F
  2. Mount Nanga Parbat is over 8,000 meters high.     T / F
  3. The mountain is notorious for being deadly.     T / F
  4. A co-climber of the rescued woman is still missing.     T / F
  5. The rescuers had been climbing on the world's second highest mountain. T / F
  6. A small airplane spotted the climber on the mountain.     T / F
  7. The rescuers were dropped off at an altitude of 9,400 meters.     T / F
  8. The rescuers said a lack of fuel made it difficult to continue the rescue.    T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. hazardous
  2. ascent
  3. known
  4. perished
  5. remains
  6. summit
  7. distress
  8. altitude
  9. unfortunately
  10. extreme
  1. sadly
  2. is still
  3. danger
  4. climb
  5. very great
  6. risky
  7. height
  8. died
  9. peak
  10. recognized

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

  1. A dramatic nighttime rescue
  2. A team of elite
  3. the number of climbers who
  4. reported to have been 7,400 meters
  5. The conditions were too
  6. the first ever winter ascent of the
  7. the second highest
  8. military
  9. they were dropped off at an
  10. put the life of rescuers in extreme
  1. have perished there
  2. danger
  3. treacherous for the rescuers
  4. summit in the world
  5. altitude of 4,900 meters
  6. has taken place
  7. helicopters
  8. up on the icy slopes
  9. mountain climbers
  10. nearby K2 mountain

Gap fill

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
widely
slopes
rescue
further
ascent
icy
elite
perished

A dramatic nighttime (1) ____________ has taken place on one of the world's most dangerous mountains. A team of (2) ____________ mountain climbers from Poland made a hazardous night (3) ____________ of the 8,126-meter-high Nanga Parbat in the Pakistani Himalayas. The peak is (4) ____________ known as "Killer Mountain" because of the number of climbers who have (5) ____________ there. The Polish team rescued French climber Elisabeth Revol from the (6) ____________ of Nanga Parbat. She was reported to have been 7,400 meters up on the (7) ____________ slopes. Unfortunately, a Polish climber Ms Revol had been climbing with remains missing. The conditions were too treacherous for the rescuers to spend any (8) ____________ time on the rescue mission.

Put these words into the spaces in the paragraph below.
altitude
summit
rescuer
daring
extreme
ever
distress
conditions

The team of Polish climbers had been attempting the first (9) ____________ winter ascent of the nearby K2 mountain, the second highest (10) ____________ in the world. The drama began on Saturday afternoon when military helicopters spotted Revol in (11) ____________. The helicopters picked up the Polish climbers from K2 and flew them to Nanga Parbat, where they were dropped off at an (12) ____________ of 4,900 meters. The team then made its (13) ____________ attempt in pitch darkness. Unfortunately, (14) ____________ were too perilous for Ms Revol's co-climber Tomasz Mackiewicz to be rescued. A (15) ____________ said: "The rescue for Tomasz is unfortunately not possible. Because of the weather and altitude it would put the life of rescuers in (16) ____________ danger."

Listening — Guess the answers. Listen to check.

1)  A team of elite mountain climbers from Poland made a hazardous ______
     a.  night decent
     b.  night as scent
     c.  night ascent
     d.  night a scent
2) known as "Killer Mountain" because of the number of climbers ______ there
     a.  who have perished
     b.  who have perishing
     c.  who have parish
     d.  who have polished
3)  She was reported to have been 7,400 meters up on ______
     a.  the iced tea slopes
     b.  the ice sea slopes
     c.  the iced sea slopes
     d.  the icy slopes
4)  a Polish climber Ms Revol had been climbing ______ missing
     a.  with remain
     b.  with remnants
     c.  with rim mains
     d.  with remains
5)  too treacherous for the rescuers to spend any further time on ______
     a.  the rescue mission
     b.  the rescues missing
     c.  the rescue miss on
     d.  the rescues mission

6)  the first ever winter ascent of the nearby K2 mountain, the second highest ______
     a.  summit on the world
     b.  summit in the world
     c.  summit of the world
     d.  summit at the world
7)  The drama began on Saturday afternoon when military helicopters spotted ______
     a.  Revol in distress
     b.  Revol in this dress
     c.  Revol in de-stress
     d.  Revol indie stress
8)  flew them to Nanga Parbat, where they were dropped off at an ______ meters
     a.  attitude of 4,900
     b.  all to tube of 4,900
     c.  alt tuba of 4,900
     d.  altitude of 4,900
9)  The team then made its daring ______ darkness
     a.  attempting pitch
     b.  attempts in pitch
     c.  attempt tin pitch
     d.  attempt in pitch
10)  Because of the weather and altitude it would put the life of rescuers ______
     a.  in ex-stream danger
     b.  in ex-dream danger
     c.  in extreme danger
     d.  in next ream danger

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

A dramatic nighttime rescue (1) ___________________ on one of the world's most dangerous mountains. A (2) ___________________ mountain climbers from Poland made a hazardous night ascent of the 8,126-meter-high Nanga Parbat in the Pakistani Himalayas. The (3) __________________ known as "Killer Mountain" because of the (4) ___________________ who have perished there. The Polish team rescued French climber Elisabeth Revol from the slopes of Nanga Parbat. She was reported to have been 7,400 meters up on (5) ___________________. Unfortunately, a Polish climber Ms Revol had been climbing with remains missing. The conditions were too treacherous for the rescuers to spend any further time on (6) ___________________.

The team of Polish climbers had been attempting the (7) ___________________ ascent of the nearby K2 mountain, the second highest summit in the world. The (8) ___________________ Saturday afternoon when military helicopters spotted Revol in distress. The helicopters picked up the Polish climbers from K2 and flew them to Nanga Parbat, where they were dropped off (9) ___________________ of 4,900 meters. The team then made (10) ___________________ in pitch darkness. Unfortunately, conditions (11) ___________________ for Ms Revol's co-climber Tomasz Mackiewicz to be rescued. A rescuer said: "The rescue for Tomasz is unfortunately not possible. Because of the weather and altitude it would put the life of rescuers (12) ___________________."

Comprehension questions

  1. At what time of the day did the rescue take place?
  2. How high is the mountain Nanga Parbat?
  3. What is Nanga Parbat also known as?
  4. What is the nationality of the lady who was rescued?
  5. What did the rescuers say about the rescue conditions?
  6. What was the name of the nearby mountain?
  7. On what day of the week did the rescue take place?
  8. What kind of vehicles were used to spot the climber?
  9. At what altitude was the rescue team dropped off?
  10. What else besides altitude may have endangered the lives of rescuers?

Multiple choice quiz

1) At what time of the day did the rescue take place?
a) nighttime
b) dusk
c) dawn
d) lunchtime
2) How high is the mountain Nanga Parbat?
a) 8,162 meters
b) 8,612 meters
c) 8,126 meters
d) 8,216 meters
3) What is Nanga Parbat also known as?
a) Father Parbat
b) Killer Mountain
c) Devil Mountain
d) Father Mountain
4) What is the nationality of the lady who was rescued?
a) Peruvian
b) Polish
c) Nepalese
d) French
5) What did the rescuers say about the rescue conditions?
a) they were treacherous
b) they were challenging
c) they were harsh
d) they were cold

6) What was the name of the nearby mountain?
a) Q8
b) X4
c) J3
d) K2
7) On what day of the week did the rescue take place?
a) Tuesday
b) Saturday
c) Monday
d) Sunday
8) What kind of vehicles were used to spot the climber?
a) snow mobiles
b) drones
c) light aircraft
d) helicopters
9) At what altitude was the rescue team dropped off?
a) 49,000 feet
b) 4,900 feet
c) 4,900 meters
d) 490 meters
10) What else besides altitude may have endangered the lives of rescuers?
a) no water
b) weather
c) lack of light
d) no batteries

Role play

Role  A – Mountain Rescue
You think mountain rescues are the most dangerous. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their rescues. Also, tell the others which is the least dangerous of these (and why): deep sea rescues, space station rescues or hostage rescues.

Role  B – Deep Sea Rescue
You think deep sea rescues are the most dangerous. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their rescues. Also, tell the others which is the least dangerous of these (and why): mountain rescues, space station rescues or hostage rescues.

Role  C – Space Station Rescue
You think space station rescues are the most dangerous. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their rescues. Also, tell the others which is the least dangerous of these (and why): deep sea rescues, mountain rescues or hostage rescues.

Role  D – Hostage Rescue
You think hostage rescues are the most dangerous. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their rescues. Also, tell the others which is the least dangerous of these (and why):  deep sea rescues, space station rescues or mountain rescues.

After reading / listening

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words...

'heroic'

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • and 'rescue'.

  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________
  • ________________

    • • Share your findings with your partners.

    • Make questions using the words you found.

    • Ask your partner / group your questions.

    2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

    •Share your questions with other classmates / groups. •Ask your partner / group your questions.

    3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

    4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

    5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

    • attempting
    • drama
    • flew
    • 4,900
    • conditions
    • life
    • place
    • night
    • because
    • 7,400
    • remains
    • further

    Student survey

    Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

    (Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

    Discussion - Polish climbers in heroic Himalaya rescue

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    1. What did you think when you read the headline?
    2. What images are in your mind when you hear the word 'Himalayas'?
    3. What do you think of mountain climbing?
    4. How dangerous is climbing in the Himalayas?
    5. What advice do you have for the rescued climber?
    6. What would it be like to be lost in the Himalayas?
    7. Should climbing in the Himalayas be banned?
    8. What training do you need to be a mountain rescuer?
    9. Have you ever done anything heroic?
    10. What's the biggest danger you've ever been in?

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    1. Did you like reading this article? Why/not?
    2. What do you think of when you hear the word 'rescue'?
    3. What do you think about what you read?
    4. What do you know about the Himalayas?
    5. How would you feel if you climbed to the top of Mt. Everest?
    6. How should you prepare for a Himalaya climb?
    7. Why do people climb dangerous mountains?
    8. Should the Himalayas be protected from climbers?
    9. What's the most dangerous thing you've ever done?
    10. What questions would you like to ask the rescuers?

    Discussion — Write your own questions

    STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

    (a) ________________

    (b) ________________

    (c) ________________

    (d) ________________

    (e) ________________

    STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

    (f) ________________

    (g) ________________

    (h) ________________

    (i) ________________

    (j) ________________

    Language — Cloze (Gap-fill)

    A (1) ____ nighttime rescue has taken place on one of the world's most dangerous mountains. A team of elite mountain climbers from Poland made a (2) ____ night ascent (3) ____ the 8,126-meter-high Nanga Parbat in the Pakistani Himalayas. The peak is widely known as "Killer Mountain" because of the number of climbers who have (4) ____ there. The Polish team rescued French climber Elisabeth Revol from the slopes of Nanga Parbat. She was reported to have been 7,400 meters up on the icy (5) ____. Unfortunately, a Polish climber Ms Revol had been climbing with remains missing. The conditions were too treacherous (6) ____ the rescuers to spend any further time on the rescue mission.

    The team of Polish climbers had been attempting the first (7) ____ winter ascent of the nearby K2 mountain, the second highest (8) ____ in the world. The drama began on Saturday afternoon when military helicopters spotted Revol (9) ____ distress. The helicopters picked up the Polish climbers from K2 and flew them to Nanga Parbat, where they were dropped off at an (10) ____ of 4,900 meters. The team then made its (11) ____ attempt in pitch darkness. Unfortunately, conditions were too perilous for Ms Revol's co-climber Tomasz Mackiewicz to be rescued. A rescuer said: "The rescue for Tomasz is unfortunately not possible. Because of the weather and altitude it would put the life of rescuers in (12) ____ danger."

    Which of these words go in the above text?

    1. (a)     dramatist     (b)     dramatic     (c)     dramatically     (d)     dramas    
    2. (a)     hazard     (b)     hazardous     (c)     hazardously     (d)     hazards    
    3. (a)     in     (b)     to     (c)     by     (d)     of    
    4. (a)     perched     (b)     perished     (c)     parched     (d)     parish    
    5. (a)     sleeps     (b)     slaps     (c)     slips     (d)     slopes    
    6. (a)     on     (b)     by     (c)     for     (d)     at    
    7. (a)     ever     (b)     even     (c)     every     (d)     event    
    8. (a)     summer     (b)     summary     (c)     summit     (d)     summation    
    9. (a)     of     (b)     as     (c)     on     (d)     in    
    10. (a)     altitude     (b)     attitude     (c)     altimeter     (d)     attention    
    11. (a)     daring     (b)     dares     (c)     dare     (d)     dared    
    12. (a)     extreme     (b)     extremity     (c)     extremes     (d)     extremely

    Spelling

    Paragraph 1

    1. A aidrtmca nighttime rescue
    2. a hazardous night stacne
    3. the number of climbers who have hreepsdi there
    4. 7,400 meters up on the icy loessp
    5. The conditions were too eoarceruhst
    6. further time on the rescue nimisso

    Paragraph 2

    1. the second highest stmimu in the world
    2. yrlimati helicopters
    3. an tuitlaed of 4,900 meters
    4. made its daring ttepatm
    5. conditions were too lreiupos
    6. in ermeext danger

    Put the text back together

    (   )  The team of Polish climbers had been attempting the first ever winter ascent of the nearby K2 mountain, the second
    (   )  Himalayas. The peak is widely known as "Killer Mountain" because of the number of climbers who have perished
    (   )  distress. The helicopters picked up the Polish climbers from K2 and flew them to Nanga Parbat, where they
    (   )  highest summit in the world. The drama began on Saturday afternoon when military helicopters spotted Revol in
    (   )  treacherous for the rescuers to spend any further time on the rescue mission.
    (   )  were dropped off at an altitude of 4,900 meters. The team then made its daring attempt in pitch
    (   )  of elite mountain climbers from Poland made a hazardous night ascent of the 8,126-meter-high Nanga Parbat in the Pakistani
    (   )  darkness. Unfortunately, conditions were too perilous for Ms Revol's co-climber Tomasz Mackiewicz to
    (   )  there. The Polish team rescued French climber Elisabeth Revol from the slopes of Nanga Parbat. She was
    (   )  of the weather and altitude it would put the life of rescuers in extreme danger."
    (   )  climber Ms Revol had been climbing with remains missing. The conditions were too
    (   )  reported to have been 7,400 meters up on the icy slopes. Unfortunately, a Polish
    (  1  ) A dramatic nighttime rescue has taken place on one of the world's most dangerous mountains. A team
    (   )  be rescued. A rescuer said: "The rescue for Tomasz is unfortunately not possible. Because

    Put the words in the right order

    1. dangerous   one   mountains   .   the   world's   On   most   of
    2. of   elite   team   A   mountain   from   Poland   .   climbers
    3. The   who   climbers   perished   number   have   there   .   of
    4. to   meters   7,400   She   was   been   have   reported   up   .
    5. too   conditions   the   The   treacherous   for   rescuers   .   were
    6. ascent   the   of   ever   Attempting   winter   first   K2   .
    7. picked   helicopters   climbers   up   Polish   The   K2   .   from
    8. attempt   The   its   darkness   .   daring   team   in   made
    9. possible   .   rescue   Tomasz   not   The   for   unfortunately   is
    10. in   would   rescuers   It   of   put   the   extreme   danger   .   life

    Circle the correct word (20 pairs)

    A dramatic nighttime rescue / rescuer has taken place on one of the world's most dangerous mountains. A team / teem of elite mountain climbers from Poland made a hazardous / hazard night ascent of the 8,126-meter-high Nanga Parbat in the Pakistani Himalayas. The peek / peak is widely known as "Killer Mountain" because of the number of climbers who have persisted / perished there. The Polish team rescued French climber Elisabeth Revol from the slopes / slips of Nanga Parbat. She was reported to of / have been 7,400 meters up / top on the icy slopes. Unfortunately, a Polish climber Ms Revol had been climbing with remains / remain missing. The conditions were too treacherous for the rescuers to spend any further / farther time on the rescue mission.

    The team of Polish climbers had been attempted / attempting the first ever winter ascent / recent of the nearby K2 mountain, the second highest summit in / on the world. The drama began on Saturday afternoon when military helicopters spotted Revol in / on distress. The helicopters picked up the Polish climbers from K2 and fly / flew them to Nanga Parbat, where they were dropped off at an attitude / altitude of 4,900 meters. The team then made its baring / daring attempt in pitch darkness. Unfortunately, conditions were too precious / perilous for Ms Revol's co-climber Tomasz Mackiewicz to be rescued. A rescuer said: "The rescue for Tomasz is unfortunately not possible / possibly. Because of the weather and altitude it would put the life of rescuers in extremity / extreme danger."

    Talk about the connection between each pair of words in italics, and why the correct word is correct.

    Insert the vowels (a, e, i, o, u)

    A   d r _ m _ t _ c   n _ g h t t _ m _   r _ s c _ _   h _ s   t _ k _ n   p l _ c _   _ n   _ n _   _ f   t h _   w _ r l d ' s   m _ s t   d _ n g _ r _ _ s   m _ _ n t _ _ n s .   A   t _ _ m   _ f   _ l _ t _   m _ _ n t _ _ n   c l _ m b _ r s   f r _ m   P _ l _ n d   m _ d _   _   h _ z _ r d _ _ s   n _ g h t   _ s c _ n t   _ f   t h _   8 , 1 2 6 - m _ t _ r - h _ g h   N _ n g _   P _ r b _ t   _ n   t h _   P _ k _ s t _ n _   H _ m _ l _ y _ s .   T h _   p _ _ k   _ s   w _ d _ l y   k n _ w n   _ s   " K _ l l _ r   M _ _ n t _ _ n "   b _ c _ _ s _   _ f   t h _   n _ m b _ r   _ f   c l _ m b _ r s   w h _   h _ v _   p _ r _ s h _ d   t h _ r _ .   T h _   P _ l _ s h   t _ _ m   r _ s c _ _ d   F r _ n c h   c l _ m b _ r   E l _ s _ b _ t h   R _ v _ l   f r _ m   t h _   s l _ p _ s   _ f   N _ n g _   P _ r b _ t .   S h _   w _ s   r _ p _ r t _ d   t _   h _ v _   b _ _ n   7 , 4 0 0   m _ t _ r s   _ p   _ n   t h _   _ c y   s l _ p _ s .   U n f _ r t _ n _ t _ l y ,   _   P _ l _ s h   c l _ m b _ r   M s   R _ v _ l   h _ d   b _ _ n   c l _ m b _ n g   w _ t h   r _ m _ _ n s   m _ s s _ n g .   T h _   c _ n d _ t _ _ n s   w _ r _   t _ _   t r _ _ c h _ r _ _ s   f _ r   t h _   r _ s c _ _ r s   t _   s p _ n d   _ n y   f _ r t h _ r   t _ m _   _ n   t h _   r _ s c _ _   m _ s s _ _ n .
    T h _   t _ _ m   _ f   P _ l _ s h   c l _ m b _ r s   h _ d   b _ _ n   _ t t _ m p t _ n g   t h _   f _ r s t   _ v _ r   w _ n t _ r   _ s c _ n t   _ f   t h _   n _ _ r b y   K 2   m _ _ n t _ _ n ,   t h _   s _ c _ n d   h _ g h _ s t   s _ m m _ t   _ n   t h _   w _ r l d .   T h _   d r _ m _   b _ g _ n   _ n   S _ t _ r d _ y   _ f t _ r n _ _ n   w h _ n   m _ l _ t _ r y   h _ l _ c _ p t _ r s   s p _ t t _ d   R _ v _ l   _ n   d _ s t r _ s s .   T h _   h _ l _ c _ p t _ r s   p _ c k _ d   _ p   t h _   P _ l _ s h   c l _ m b _ r s   f r _ m   K 2   _ n d   f l _ w   t h _ m   t _   N _ n g _   P _ r b _ t ,   w h _ r _   t h _ y   w _ r _   d r _ p p _ d   _ f f   _ t   _ n   _ l t _ t _ d _   _ f   4 , 9 0 0   m _ t _ r s .   T h _   t _ _ m   t h _ n   m _ d _   _ t s   d _ r _ n g   _ t t _ m p t   _ n   p _ t c h   d _ r k n _ s s .   U n f _ r t _ n _ t _ l y ,   c _ n d _ t _ _ n s   w _ r _   t _ _   p _ r _ l _ _ s   f _ r   M s   R _ v _ l ' s   c _ - c l _ m b _ r   T _ m _ s z   M _ c k _ _ w _ c z   t _   b _   r _ s c _ _ d .   A   r _ s c _ _ r   s _ _ d :   " T h _   r _ s c _ _   f _ r   T _ m _ s z   _ s   _ n f _ r t _ n _ t _ l y   n _ t   p _ s s _ b l _ .   B _ c _ _ s _   _ f   t h _   w _ _ t h _ r   _ n d   _ l t _ t _ d _   _ t   w _ _ l d   p _ t   t h _   l _ f _   _ f   r _ s c _ _ r s   _ n   _ x t r _ m _   d _ n g _ r . "

    Punctuate the text and add capitals

    a dramatic nighttime rescue has taken place on one of the worlds most dangerous mountains a team of elite mountain climbers from poland made a hazardous night ascent of the 8126meterhigh nanga parbat in the pakistani himalayas the peak is widely known as killer mountain because of the number of climbers who have perished there the polish team rescued french climber elisabeth revol from the slopes of nanga parbat she was reported to have been 7400 meters up on the icy slopes unfortunately a polish climber ms revol had been climbing with remains missing the conditions were too treacherous for the rescuers to spend any further time on the rescue mission

    the team of polish climbers had been attempting the first ever winter ascent of the nearby k2 mountain the second highest summit in the world the drama began on saturday afternoon when military helicopters spotted revol in distress the helicopters picked up the polish climbers from k2 and flew them to nanga parbat where they were dropped off at an altitude of 4900 meters the team then made its daring attempt in pitch darkness unfortunately conditions were too perilous for ms revols coclimber tomasz mackiewicz to be rescued a rescuer said the rescue for tomasz is unfortunately not possible because of the weather and altitude it would put the life of rescuers in extreme danger"

    Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

    Adramaticnighttimerescuehastakenplaceononeoftheworld'smostda
    ngerousmountains.AteamofelitemountainclimbersfromPolandmad
    eahazardousnightascentofthe8,126-meter-highNangaParbatinth
    ePakistaniHimalayas.Thepeakiswidelyknownas"KillerMountain"bec
    auseofthenumberofclimberswhohaveperishedthere.ThePolishteam
    rescuedFrenchclimberElisabethRevolfromtheslopesofNangaParbat.
    Shewasreportedtohavebeen7,400metersupontheicyslopes.Unfortu
    nately,aPolishclimberMsRevolhadbeenclimbingwithremainsmissing
    .Theconditionsweretootreacherousfortherescuerstospendanyfurthe
    rtimeontherescuemission.TheteamofPolishclimbershadbeenattemp
    tingthefirsteverwinterascentofthenearbyK2mountain,thesecondhig
    hestsummitintheworld.ThedramabeganonSaturdayafternoonwhen
    militaryhelicoptersspottedRevolindistress.Thehelicopterspickedupt
    hePolishclimbersfromK2andflewthemtoNangaParbat,wheretheywe
    redroppedoffatanaltitudeof4,900meters.Theteamthenmadeitsdarin
    gattemptinpitchdarkness.Unfortunately,conditionsweretooperilous
    forMsRevol'sco-climberTomaszMackiewicztoberescued.Arescuersa
    id:"TherescueforTomaszisunfortunatelynotpossible.Becauseofthew
    eatherandaltitudeitwouldputthelifeofrescuersinextremedanger."

    Free writing

    Write about Himalayas for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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    Academic writing

    Climbing on dangerous mountains should be banned. Discuss.

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    Homework

    1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
    2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about this news story. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
    3. THE HIMALAYAS: Make a poster about the Himalayas. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
    4. CLIMBING BAN: Write a magazine article about banning climbing on dangerous mountains. Include imaginary interviews with people who are for and against this.
    Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
    5. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Write a newspaper article about the next stage in this news story. Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Give each other feedback on your articles.
    6. LETTER: Write a letter to an expert on the Himalayas. Ask him/her three questions about the mountains. Give him/her three of your ideas on how to increase safety for climbers. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

    A Few Additional Activities for Students

    Ask your students what they have read, seen or heard about this news in their own language. Students are likely to / may have have encountered this news in their L1 and therefore bring a background knowledge to the classroom.

    Get students to role play different characters from this news story.

    Ask students to keep track of this news and revisit it to discuss in your next class.

    Ask students to male predictions of how this news might develop in the next few days or weeks, and then revisit and discuss in a future class.

    Ask students to write a follow-up story to this news.

    Students role play a journalist and someone who witnessed or was a part of this news. Perhaps they could make a video of the interview.

    Ask students to keep a news journal in English and add this story to their thoughts.

    Also...

    Buy my 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers eBook. It has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for:

    • News
    • Warm ups
    • Pre-reading / Post-reading
    • Using headlines
    • Working with words
    • While-reading / While-listening
    • Moving from text to speech
    • Post-reading / Post-listening
    • Discussions
    • Using opinions
    • Plans
    • Language
    • Using lists
    • Using quotes
    • Task-based activities
    • Role plays
    • Using the central characters in the article
    • Using themes from the news
    • Homework

    Buy my book

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    Answers

    (Please look at page 26 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

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