Reading and Use of English (B1) - 9

Andy Thompson describes how he first learnt to dive

I was on holiday and feeling rather bored. My family were all enjoying lying on the beach, but I wanted something more exciting to do that I hadn’t done before. I thought about fishing or water-skiing but when I saw an advert for diving lessons for beginners it looked like the perfect solution, even though it did seem rather expensive. When I told them my plan, my family worried about how safe it was but I did some quick research online and discovered that if you are sensible and follow the rules, it’s as safe as anything else.

The course lasted two days. On the first day we had to meet at the swimming pool rather than on the beach, which I hadn’t expected. Then I realised it was because we had to learn the basics before we could go into the sea. The instructor, Jenny, said the most important thing for a diver was not to be really good at swimming but to be able to move around comfortably in the water, and that was why we were going to spend the first day in the pool.

There were only four of us so it was obvious that we’d get lots of individual attention. Jenny showed us the equipment and explained how to use it and although it looked complicated, I got used to it pretty quickly. I really wanted to get out and explore the underwater world immediately but we spent all day doing different exercises in the pool until we felt totally confident about being underwater. I’m a good swimmer but one person on the course was very nervous and needed a lot of help.

On the second day we went into the sea. The boat stayed close to shore and before we went in Jenny reminded us of everything we had learnt and put us into pairs so we could help each other. The water was incredibly clear and we were surrounded by groups of fish almost immediately. It was fascinating and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had so much to tell my family afterwards! I’ll definitely go diving again.

Andy Thompson describes how he first learnt to dive

I was on holiday and feeling rather bored. My family were all enjoying lying on the beach, but I wanted something more exciting to do that I hadn’t done before. I thought about fishing or water-skiing but when I saw an advert for diving lessons for beginners it looked like the perfect solution, even though it did seem rather expensive. When I told them my plan, my family worried about how safe it was but I did some quick research online and discovered that if you are sensible and follow the rules, it’s as safe as anything else.

The course lasted two days. On the first day we had to meet at the swimming pool rather than on the beach, which I hadn’t expected. Then I realised it was because we had to learn the basics before we could go into the sea. The instructor, Jenny, said the most important thing for a diver was not to be really good at swimming but to be able to move around comfortably in the water, and that was why we were going to spend the first day in the pool.

There were only four of us so it was obvious that we’d get lots of individual
attention. Jenny showed us the equipment and explained how to use it and
although it looked complicated, I got used to it pretty quickly. I really wanted to get out and explore the underwater world immediately but we spent all day doing different exercises in the pool until we felt totally confident about being underwater. I’m a good swimmer but one person on the course was very nervous and needed a lot of help.

On the second day we went into the sea. The boat stayed close to shore and
before we went in Jenny reminded us of everything we had learnt and put us into pairs so we could help each other. The water was incredibly clear and we were surrounded by groups of fish almost immediately. It was fascinating and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had so much to tell my family afterwards! I’ll definitely go diving again.

Andy Thompson describes how he first learnt to dive

I was on holiday and feeling rather bored. My family were all enjoying lying on the beach, but I wanted something more exciting to do that I hadn’t done before. I thought about fishing or water-skiing but when I saw an advert for diving lessons for beginners it looked like the perfect solution, even though it did seem rather expensive. When I told them my plan, my family worried about how safe it was but I did some quick research online and discovered that if you are sensible and follow the rules, it’s as safe as anything else.

The course lasted two days. On the first day we had to meet at the swimming pool rather than on the beach, which I hadn’t expected. Then I realised it was because we had to learn the basics before we could go into the sea. The instructor, Jenny, said the most important thing for a diver was not to be really good at swimming but to be able to move around comfortably in the water, and that was why we were going to spend the first day in the pool.

There were only four of us so it was obvious that we’d get lots of individual
attention. Jenny showed us the equipment and explained how to use it and
although it looked complicated, I got used to it pretty quickly. I really wanted to get out and explore the underwater world immediately but we spent all day doing different exercises in the pool until we felt totally confident about being underwater. I’m a good swimmer but one person on the course was very nervous and needed a lot of help.

On the second day we went into the sea. The boat stayed close to shore and
before we went in Jenny reminded us of everything we had learnt and put us into pairs so we could help each other. The water was incredibly clear and we were surrounded by groups of fish almost immediately. It was fascinating and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had so much to tell my family afterwards! I’ll definitely go diving again.