Listening.

You will hear an interview with Tanya Streeter, a record-breaking free diver.
For questions 1 to 7, choose the best answer, A, B or C.
You join us now as we welcome Tanya Streeter, who recently broke the world record
in free
diving, diving 160 metres without using any kind of breathing apparatus or air
supply.
Tanya, tell us how you came to take up free diving in the first place.
Well, I was born in the Cayman Islands near the Bahamas.
My parents ran a water sports shop there and they first took me swimming when I was
only
six weeks old.
So being in the water was always a natural feeling for me.
So were you very young when you started free diving?
No, I only discovered it much later.
After university, in fact, when I was invited to join a group of people in a free
diving
class, when I turned up, I was the only woman there, the rest were all big guys who
wanted
to learn how to go deeper and shoot bigger fish when they went spearfishing.
But actually, I took to it immediately.
I was the one who could hold my breath the longest and go the deepest.
But at first it was just a hobby.
I suppose so, but quite soon my teachers started encouraging me to take it up
seriously
and try to set records.
I didn't know if I was capable of it, but I wanted to try.
I suppose I was rather insecure as a child, and so when I was older I wanted to
make people
proud of me, especially my mother and father.
For your world record, you went down to 160 metres.
How do you actually get down so far?
Presumably you don't swim down all that way.
Oh, no one could do that.
They'd use up far too much energy.
I stand on a special platform that's gradually lower down bit by bit.
Then when I get as far down as I can, I release myself and shoot up to the surface
again.
I don't have to come up slowly, stage by stage, like a diver with a tank.
And all the time you're holding your breath?
Yes.
I can hold my breath for just under three and a half minutes.
So what effect does all this have on you physically when you're actually down
there?
Well, the water pressure at these depths is enormous.
So my whole body's really compressed.
My wetsuit just hangs off me.
And the rate at which my heart beats is very much lower than normal because my
heart's
not getting much oxygen.
And because of this, I can easily get confused and there is always the danger of
losing consciousness
completely.
But there are regular divers watching me all the way down.
But in the end, you're on your own down there.
Well, yes and no.
I mean, the most important thing is that I believe in my dive team.
They're there to support me and they know exactly what to do if something happens.
If there's a problem, there's no way I could take on something like this in my own.
Tell us about how you felt when you broke the world record.
Oh, it wasn't an incredible feeling.
Not only for the record itself, although of course I'm pleased about that.
And it was a great achievement, but it's more than that.
I think it's amazing to be the person who shows what's possible.
To be part of something which changes the perceptions of what people can do.
People who think that free diving is life-threatening, misunderstand the sport.
It's just the opposite.
You're learning about the possibilities of a human species.
After all, I'm at a dive 260 meters and imagine what we can all do as human beings.
Daniel Streeter, thank you.
Now listen to the recording again.