UNIT 12: READING

1 Read the text about two travellers. Then match the words below with their
meanings.
TWO TRAVELLERS
In 1983, after journeys in Africa and Latin America, John Pilkington did a 500-mile solo
crossing of the western Himalaya and told the story in his first book, Into Thin Air. His
interest in Asia grew even more when the border between Pakistan and China opened in
1986. This made it possible - for the first time in forty years - to travel nearly the whole of
the Silk Route. John was one of the first modern travellers to do this and he wrote about
the journey in An Adventure on the Old Silk Road. Then he wrote another book in 1991
called An Englishman in Patagonia, which told the story of eight months’ exploring the
southernmost tip of South America. John is now a broadcaster with the BBC World
Service and with Radio 4.
Chris Brown is a photographer and he has spent some time living in Ladakh, in northern
India. He spent several months living and travelling with the Kharnak, the nomadic people
of Ladakh. The Kharnak move three or four times a year in search of fresh fields for their
animals. Chris joined them in the summer at Yagang and travelled with them on their
winter move to Dat, then on to their spring camping grounds. Conditions were very harsh
for the Kharnak while Chris was there; it was a very bad winter. The temperature regularly
dropped to -40ºC at night. Because the Kharnak are nomadic people, Chris was living in a
tent.

1 solo a) all the time

2 border b) on your own
3 nomadic c) moving from place to place
4 harsh d) a line which separates two countries
5 permanently e) often, for example every week or every day
6 regularly f) difficult and very uncomfortable

2 Read the text again and answer the questions.

1 When did John Pilkington do his 500-mile crossing of the western Himalaya?
2 What was the name of the book John wrote after crossing the western Himalaya?
3 Why could John travel along nearly the whole Silk Route in 1986?
4 What was An Englishman in Patagonia about?
5 Who are the Kharnak?
6 Why do the Kharnak move three or four times a year?
7 How was the winter when Chris Brown stayed with the Kharnak?
8 What did Chris sleep in when he stayed with the Kharnak?

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