Practice Lesson 3

Lost Overnight in a Near-Hurricane-Force Blizzard

1 The six-member International Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1989-1990 had successfully dog-

sledded 3,725 miles across Antarctica and were just 16 miles from their destination at Russia's
Mirnyy base when Keizo Funatsu, its Japanese member, vanished in a raging blizzard. Though
visibility was perilously low, expedition leader Will Steger quickly organized a search, spacing his
fellow team members along a 340-foot rope, which the group then "walked" in a giant circle, calling 5
frantically all the while for Funatsu. After a night and a morning of searching, with hope draining
away, Funatsu suddenly stumbled out of the whiteness. Here's his tale of the night from hell.

2 I went outside, about four-thirty, to feed the dogs. Then I could not find my tent.

When I went out, the blizzard was not so bad - only about -25°F. I didn't wear mukluks [seal- or
3 reindeer-skin boots], only Gore-Tex boots, my wind parka and wind pants, long underwear and wool 10
socks. Very fast the visibility became very bad. When I tried to go back to the tent I found the first
ski, no problem. [Skipoles planted upright in the snow served as guideposts.] But I could not find the
second ski.

I stayed between the skis for a while, maybe ten minutes, waiting for the visibility to break. But it
4 didn't. Then I tried to move back toward the first ski, but it was very difficult to walk straight ahead, 15
into the wind. I went left, I went right, I tried to go straight, but I could not find the first ski. I could
not find anything.

I stopped many times, and shouted, "I am here. I am here. Come on." The most frustrating thing was
5 I knew I wasn't far from camp, that's why I kept walking. Most, I was upset with myself. I did not
want to make trouble and cause people to look for me. I thought about that a lot. 20

At that time I was not cold; the adrenaline, the excitement was keeping me warm. But I was very
6 worried about my toes; they were getting very cold. Fortunately, I found some dog shit and the faint
trail of a sled, which I tried to follow, but it disappeared. But that meant I was close to camp, behind
it actually, which was a good sign, so I decided to stop.

I always carry pliers in my pocket, to help unfreeze dog collars and fix broken ones, and now I used 25
7 them to dig into the icy surface, which was very hard. I scooped out a shallow ditch, about two and a
half feet deep, and a hole to put my feet into, because it was my toes that were the coldest.

Once I was in my snow ditch, blowing snow covered me in five seconds. I was completely covered,
8 like the dogs. I could breathe through a cavity close to my body, but the snow was blowing inside
my clothes and I was getting wet. I thought under the snow I would be warm, but I was cold because 30
I didn't wear much. The snow was heavy and packed down on my wind jacket, so my clothes were
touching my skin and there was no layer for warm air to gather. I knew my teammates would be
looking for me, I believed I would be found, it was just a matter of time. I had to believe that. But I
knew I would have to stay one night, because I knew [my teammates] could not find me in the dark.

When I was digging it was warm, but once inside it was cold. I worried about losing energy. I didn't 35
9 know which was better: to move around to keep my body warm, or to lie still to conserve my
energy. In the hole I curled up and kicked my feet to keep them warm. Every 20 or 30 minutes I
would jump out of my snow ditch and jump up and down, rub my arms and shout, to warm up. After
a while I stopped the shouting. It was too windy to be heard, very noisy.

10 When I jumped up, the wind would push me away from my snow ditch, sometimes so far I would 40
have to crawl on my stomach looking for it. That happened many times. But I always found it,

A. Mannan Shafik// O/A Level English Phone: 01713 043858; 01613 043858; 01973 043858.
 Practice Lesson 3

helped by the fact that I'd spread everything in my pockets around it as guides - my pliers, my
headband, lip cream, compass, pocket knife.
When I was in my snow ditch I tried to enjoy the opportunity . . . .

I thought to myself, "Very few people have this kind of experience, lost in the blizzard; settle down, 45
11 try and enjoy this." When I did I truly felt Antarctica. With the snow and quiet covering me I felt as
if I was in my mother's womb. I could hear my heart beat - boom . . . boom . . . boom - like a small
baby. My life seemed very small in comparison to nature, to Antarctica.

I thought many, many things while I was lost, especially that I could not die at that place, only 16
12 miles from Mirnyy. I had big responsibility. If I died there, everybody would have big trouble - I 50
simply could not die. If I died there, it would be a real shame for me, big shame, deep shame.

About five o'clock it started to get light and I tried to find the sled trail again, but I could not. I
thought maybe I would have to stay lost one more night, and I thought I could survive that. But I
13 was worried about my feet. They weren't really cold, but they felt very strange, like they were
swelling, like my socks were broken [torn], because I'd kicked my feet all night. It was a sign of 55
frostbite, but I could not take off my socks to rub my feet, because then they would get wet. Now at
least they were dry.

I was in the ditch when I thought I heard somebody yelling. The storm hadn't let up at all and I
14 thought I heard, faintly, "Keizo! Keizo!" But I thought it was wind noise. I'd been hearing things all
night long; the wind can sound very much like the human voice. But I jumped out of the ditch to 60
look and heard the voice again. "Keizo. Keizo. Keizo." Two or three times more I went out to look,
to see if I could see anyone. I yelled, "I am here. I am here."

Fiinally I heard a voice just outside the ditch and I knew you were close to me. But I could not see
15 anything. I shouted again, "I am here." Finally I saw Will and I just ran toward him, because I knew
I might not see him again, it was so whiteout. I left everything behind. If it had been my 65
imagination, a mirage, I'd have been lost again and in big trouble. I was very happy to see the people
looking for me in the blizzard. I felt the human love - everybody had watering eyes, crying and wet.
I cried, yes, I cried too.

From Paragraph 4

1) I could not find anything. Why couldn’t he find anything?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………......………………………………………………….. [1]

From Paragraph 5

2) I knew I wasn't far from camp. How did Funatsu know that?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………......………………………………………………….. [1]

A. Mannan Shafik// O/A Level English Phone: 01713 043858; 01613 043858; 01973 043858.
 Practice Lesson 3

3) Most, I was upset with myself. Why was he upset?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………...………………………………………………….. [1]

From Paragraph 6

4) What was the second sign that told him he was near the camp?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………...………………………………………………….. [1]

From Paragraph 7

5) How did he try to save his toe?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………......……………………………………………….. [2]

From Paragraph 8

6) What was ironic about the snow ditch?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………......……………………………………………….. [2]

7) “I know I would be found.” What delayed him being found?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………......……………………………………………….. [1]

From Paragraph 9

8) In your own words, write what dilemma the writer was in.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………......……………………………………………….. [2]

From Paragraph 10

9) He was sometimes blown away far from the ditch. What helped him find the ditch again?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………......………………………………………………….. [1]

A. Mannan Shafik// O/A Level English Phone: 01713 043858; 01613 043858; 01973 043858.
 Practice Lesson 3

From Paragraph 11

10) Pick out a phrase (not more than three words) from the paragraph that shows that it was a rare
experience.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………......……………………………………………….. [1]

From Paragraph 13

11) “My socks were broken”. Why do you think the writer used the word “broken” instead of “torn”?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………......……………………………………………….. [1]

From Paragraph 14

12) The writer faintly heard someone calling his name. Why couldn’t he believe it at first?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………......……………………………………………….. [2]

13) Pick out one word that shows the author was excited to hear his friend.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………......……………………………………………….. [1]

From Paragraph 15

14) Explain in your own words why Funatsu ran to Will without making any delay.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………......………………………………………………….. [1]

15) What trouble would he have to face if that were not Will?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………......………………………………………………….. [1]

From the passage as a whole:

16) Choose five of the following words. For each of them give one word or short phrase (of not
more than seven words) which has the same meaning that the word or phrase has in the
passage.

visibility (paragraph 1, line 4) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…

guidepost (paragraph 3, line 13) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

unfreeze (paragraph 7, line 25) ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………,,…

A. Mannan Shafik// O/A Level English Phone: 01713 043858; 01613 043858; 01973 043858.
 Practice Lesson 3

ditch (paragraph 7, line 26) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………......…

scooped (paragraph 7, line 26) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

cavity – (paragraph 8, line 29) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

conserve (paragraph 9, line 36) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

crawl (paragraph 10, line 41) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….[5].

Extra vocabulary

blizzard (paragraph 1, line 3) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

disappeared (paragraph 6, line 23) …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…

Marks
Marks
obtained
obtained

Remarks
Remarks

A. Mannan Shafik// O/A Level English Phone: 01713 043858; 01613 043858; 01973 043858.