New Destinations B1+ Module 2

Read the text below and answer the questions.

THE LOST WORLD

Somewhere deep in the rainforests of South America lies a mysterious place that time has forgotten – and this is where our expedition was heading. For two days we travelled up a large river, dark in colour, yet transparent, so that one could see the bottom. On either side of the river was thick jungle; the trees were incredibly tall and thick and they seemed to shoot upwards in columns forming a green roof far above our heads. Occasionally, if I looked up, I saw a ray of sunshine through the green branches.

As we started walking noiselessly through the thick soft carpet of vegetation, a silence fell upon us and even Professor Challenger’s loud voice sank into a whisper. We passed amazing plant life: vivid orchids and clusters of flowers curled around ancient tree trunks – it was like a fairyland. There was no sign of animal life on the ground, but a constant movement above our heads told us that there existed another world inhabited by monkeys, birds and snakes. At dawn and sunset the monkeys screamed and the parakeets screeched, but during the long slow hours of the day, the buzz of insects, like the crashing of waves, filled our ears.

On our third day, we heard something that terrified us. A deep rhythmic beating in the air. Our Indian companions froze with terror; it was as if they had been turned into bronze statues.

‘What is it?’ I asked.

‘War drums,’ replied Challenger.

‘Yes, sir, war drums,’ said our guide Gomez.

‘Wild Indians. They are watching us. They will kill us if they can.’

The drums continued beating throughout the day. Sometimes they beat quickly, sometimes slowly, at one point, one far to the east let out a loud, fast beat, which was quickly followed by a deep roll coming from the north. They were communicating with each other through the drum beats. There was something terribly threatening about those sounds; they seemed to form an endless repetition of Gomez’s words, ‘We will kill you if we can.We will kill you if we can.’

All day we heard the beating of the drums. I learnt that day that despite their constant quarrelling, both Professor Challenger and Professor Summerlee were extremely brave men. While the other members of the group, myself included, shivered with fear, those two men observed and commented happily on the wealth of wildlife that existed in that place.

That night we made camp and prepared ourselves for an attack. Nothing came, and as the dawn approached we moved on, leaving the frightening drumbeat behind us. We carried on up the river until we arrived at a shallow stream with a sandy bottom. On either side of it, there was thick luxuriant vegetation. The vegetation overhead formed a natural arch and through this golden tunnel flowed the green river. The river was beautifully coloured by the vivid sunlight from above filtering through the green archway. For three days we travelled through this tunnel of green sunshine until the stream became too shallow and we had to continue on foot. We walked up and up a rocky slope until an open plain came into view.

That night we caught a small pig-like animal, half of which was given to the Indians, while our share was slowly roasted over a fire. It was a moonless night with a few stars. We huddled close to the warmth of the fire; our mouths were watering at the thought of our meal when suddenly out of the darkness something flew into our camp. I felt leathery wings touch my skin and caught a glimpse of red, greedy eyes, a long snakelike neck and razor-sharp teeth. Then, with a flap of wings the monster was gone and so was our dinner.

In line 3, what does the word transparent mean?

Read the text below and answer the questions.

THE LOST WORLD

Somewhere deep in the rainforests of South America lies a mysterious place that time has forgotten – and this is where our expedition was heading. For two days we travelled up a large river, dark in colour, yet transparent, so that one could see the bottom. On either side of the river was thick jungle; the trees were incredibly tall and thick and they seemed to shoot upwards in columns forming a green roof far above our heads. Occasionally, if I looked up, I saw a ray of sunshine through the green branches.

As we started walking noiselessly through the thick soft carpet of vegetation, a silence fell upon us and even Professor Challenger’s loud voice sank into a whisper. We passed amazing plant life: vivid orchids and clusters of flowers curled around ancient tree trunks – it was like a fairyland. There was no sign of animal life on the ground, but a constant movement above our heads told us that there existed another world inhabited by monkeys, birds and snakes. At dawn and sunset the monkeys screamed and the parakeets screeched, but during the long slow hours of the day, the buzz of insects, like the crashing of waves, filled our ears.

On our third day, we heard something that terrified us. A deep rhythmic beating in the air. Our Indian companions froze with terror; it was as if they had been turned into bronze statues.

‘What is it?’ I asked.

‘War drums,’ replied Challenger.

‘Yes, sir, war drums,’ said our guide Gomez.

‘Wild Indians. They are watching us. They will kill us if they can.’

The drums continued beating throughout the day. Sometimes they beat quickly, sometimes slowly, at one point, one far to the east let out a loud, fast beat, which was quickly followed by a deep roll coming from the north. They were communicating with each other through the drum beats. There was something terribly threatening about those sounds; they seemed to form an endless repetition of Gomez’s words, ‘We will kill you if we can.We will kill you if we can.’

All day we heard the beating of the drums. I learnt that day that despite their constant quarrelling, both Professor Challenger and Professor Summerlee were extremely brave men. While the other members of the group, myself included, shivered with fear, those two men observed and commented happily on the wealth of wildlife that existed in that place.

That night we made camp and prepared ourselves for an attack. Nothing came, and as the dawn approached we moved on, leaving the frightening drumbeat behind us. We carried on up the river until we arrived at a shallow stream with a sandy bottom. On either side of it, there was thick luxuriant vegetation. The vegetation overhead formed a natural arch and through this golden tunnel flowed the green river. The river was beautifully coloured by the vivid sunlight from above filtering through the green archway. For three days we travelled through this tunnel of green sunshine until the stream became too shallow and we had to continue on foot. We walked up and up a rocky slope until an open plain came into view.

That night we caught a small pig-like animal, half of which was given to the Indians, while our share was slowly roasted over a fire. It was a moonless night with a few stars. We huddled close to the warmth of the fire; our mouths were watering at the thought of our meal when suddenly out of the darkness something flew into our camp. I felt leathery wings touch my skin and caught a glimpse of red, greedy eyes, a long snakelike neck and razor-sharp teeth. Then, with a flap of wings the monster was gone and so was our dinner.

The expedition group

Read the text below and answer the questions.

THE LOST WORLD

Somewhere deep in the rainforests of South America lies a mysterious place that time has forgotten – and this is where our expedition was heading. For two days we travelled up a large river, dark in colour, yet transparent, so that one could see the bottom. On either side of the river was thick jungle; the trees were incredibly tall and thick and they seemed to shoot upwards in columns forming a green roof far above our heads. Occasionally, if I looked up, I saw a ray of sunshine through the green branches.

As we started walking noiselessly through the thick soft carpet of vegetation, a silence fell upon us and even Professor Challenger’s loud voice sank into a whisper. We passed amazing plant life: vivid orchids and clusters of flowers curled around ancient tree trunks – it was like a fairyland. There was no sign of animal life on the ground, but a constant movement above our heads told us that there existed another world inhabited by monkeys, birds and snakes. At dawn and sunset the monkeys screamed and the parakeets screeched, but during the long slow hours of the day, the buzz of insects, like the crashing of waves, filled our ears.

On our third day, we heard something that terrified us. A deep rhythmic beating in the air. Our Indian companions froze with terror; it was as if they had been turned into bronze statues.

‘What is it?’ I asked.

‘War drums,’ replied Challenger.

‘Yes, sir, war drums,’ said our guide Gomez.

‘Wild Indians. They are watching us. They will kill us if they can.’

The drums continued beating throughout the day. Sometimes they beat quickly, sometimes slowly, at one point, one far to the east let out a loud, fast beat, which was quickly followed by a deep roll coming from the north. They were communicating with each other through the drum beats. There was something terribly threatening about those sounds; they seemed to form an endless repetition of Gomez’s words, ‘We will kill you if we can.We will kill you if we can.’

All day we heard the beating of the drums. I learnt that day that despite their constant quarrelling, both Professor Challenger and Professor Summerlee were extremely brave men. While the other members of the group, myself included, shivered with fear, those two men observed and commented happily on the wealth of wildlife that existed in that place.

That night we made camp and prepared ourselves for an attack. Nothing came, and as the dawn approached we moved on, leaving the frightening drumbeat behind us. We carried on up the river until we arrived at a shallow stream with a sandy bottom. On either side of it, there was thick luxuriant vegetation. The vegetation overhead formed a natural arch and through this golden tunnel flowed the green river. The river was beautifully coloured by the vivid sunlight from above filtering through the green archway. For three days we travelled through this tunnel of green sunshine until the stream became too shallow and we had to continue on foot. We walked up and up a rocky slope until an open plain came into view.

That night we caught a small pig-like animal, half of which was given to the Indians, while our share was slowly roasted over a fire. It was a moonless night with a few stars. We huddled close to the warmth of the fire; our mouths were watering at the thought of our meal when suddenly out of the darkness something flew into our camp. I felt leathery wings touch my skin and caught a glimpse of red, greedy eyes, a long snakelike neck and razor-sharp teeth. Then, with a flap of wings the monster was gone and so was our dinner.

In the beginning, who didn’t know what the drum beating meant?