6 Read the page from Lisa's diary and answer the questions.
1. What was the next day's activity?
2. How did Lisa feel about it?
3. What part of the river did the group go to?
4. What made the boys disappointed?
5. Why did everybody run to the river?
6. What did the group see there?
7. How many people were in the water?
8. What did Daniel do?
9. Did Daniel manage to save anyone?
10. Who saved Lily?
11. How did the people who were rescued feel?
3 July Yosemite National Park
7 a.m.
Today we are rafting on the Merced River. Rafting may be a very exciting activity, but you must learn a bit about the sport before you go. That's why all of us have had to practise before the trip, and I've learnt just enough to be terribly unsure of myself. I may get hit in the face by a large wave. And what do I do if I fall out of the raft in the rapids? The water is very cold, even in summer, so I may freeze to death. I am watching my friends and my brother right now. Dima is really excited. He must be looking forward to it. But my friend Mary is very pale. She may be thinking about all of the terrible things that could happen, but she will never admit it. Belle is not in a good mood at all. Can she have changed her mind about the rafting trip? David looks quiet and upset. He can't be afraid. It must be something else that's worrying him. Only Daniel looks like he usually does — enthusiastic. After all, Australians like the water, so he may be good at rafting even if it's his first time.
12 p.m.
The first part of the day is over. We are now on the bank of the Merced River just where we started — behind the Ned's Gulch rapid. The bus took us back here for lunch. The morning session wasn't bad at all. This part of the river is considered easier than both the upstream and downstream stretches, so we were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery and still experience some
Class II rapids. None of us fell out of the raft, so the boys must be a bit disappointed. Now they want the instructor to take us further down to a more difficult stretch of the river, but the instructor refuses. He says that none of us is ready for a lot of the Class IV rapids and even one Class V rapid, so he says there is nothing further to discuss. But suddenly we hear loud cries from the river. A man is running along the bank and shouting...
14 p.m.
In minutes, the river quickly became a scene of disaster. An overturned canoe passed us. The canoe was followed by an empty raft which had been attached to it by the rope. Three people were hanging on to the canoe, but they looked unconscious. And that wasn't all.
In about ten metres from the canoe somebody in a yellow life jacket was drifting. The person was trying to move, but the river current was too strong.
Before anybody could say anything, Daniel took the rope, jumped into a tiny kayak and paddled to the canoe. Our instructor cried with horror and followed Daniel to the edge of the river. He was shouting, "It's useless! Your kayak is too light! You won't be able to pull them out! Your kayak will turn over! You've got no life-jacket!" But Daniel wasn't listening. He made it to the raft and then tied it to his kayak. It was the only right decision in that situation. Daniel couldn't pull out three people and a heavy canoe which was filled with water. But he could pull out a light empty raft and that was just what he did.
Daniel paddled back to the bank, and tied the rope round a tree. Thus the raft and the canoe were secured.
The instructor was already there to help Daniel and started to pull the raft and canoe towards the bank. Other people from our group also rushed to help him. The three men saved by Daniel were half-conscious when he brought them to the bank, and we had to unclasp their frozen hands and take off their life-jackets. And then came more cries of horror.
While we were watching Daniel and the instructor help the three men, nobody noticed that David had jumped into the river seconds after him. We only noticed him when he had already reached the person in yellow life-jacket and was pushing him or her towards the bank. When this person got to the bank, it turned out that it was a young woman called Lily. Lily was suffering from shock, but on the whole, she was fine. She hadn't got frozen in the river. A man in wet clothes and a life-jacket ran to Lily. It was her friend Jack who had raised the alarm. Three canoers were tired but recovering. Meanwhile all our group gathered round Daniel and congratulated him for his bravery. But where was David? They can't have forgotten about him. But he wasn't there. I went looking for him and found him near the river. It looked like he had been sitting there the whole time. He smiled when he saw me and it made me feel terribly awkward. "You have done a very brave thing, David," I said finally. "You must be proud of yourself." "I don't know. It was scary, Lisa," David answered with a sigh. "I didn't even know if that woman was alive until I got her back to the bank." Everything I could think of at that moment seemed stupid, so I just said, "Okay, well, you must be tired. I guess I should go." "Sure, I'll see you around," he answered and walked away.
1. What was the next day's activity?
2. How did Lisa feel about it?
3. What part of the river did the group go to?
4. What made the boys disappointed?
5. Why did everybody run to the river?
6. What did the group see there?
7. How many people were in the water?
8. What did Daniel do?
9. Did Daniel manage to save anyone?
10. Who saved Lily?
11. How did the people who were rescued feel?
3 July Yosemite National Park
7 a.m.
Today we are rafting on the Merced River. Rafting may be a very exciting activity, but you must learn a bit about the sport before you go. That's why all of us have had to practise before the trip, and I've learnt just enough to be terribly unsure of myself. I may get hit in the face by a large wave. And what do I do if I fall out of the raft in the rapids? The water is very cold, even in summer, so I may freeze to death. I am watching my friends and my brother right now. Dima is really excited. He must be looking forward to it. But my friend Mary is very pale. She may be thinking about all of the terrible things that could happen, but she will never admit it. Belle is not in a good mood at all. Can she have changed her mind about the rafting trip? David looks quiet and upset. He can't be afraid. It must be something else that's worrying him. Only Daniel looks like he usually does — enthusiastic. After all, Australians like the water, so he may be good at rafting even if it's his first time.
12 p.m.
The first part of the day is over. We are now on the bank of the Merced River just where we started — behind the Ned's Gulch rapid. The bus took us back here for lunch. The morning session wasn't bad at all. This part of the river is considered easier than both the upstream and downstream stretches, so we were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery and still experience some
Class II rapids. None of us fell out of the raft, so the boys must be a bit disappointed. Now they want the instructor to take us further down to a more difficult stretch of the river, but the instructor refuses. He says that none of us is ready for a lot of the Class IV rapids and even one Class V rapid, so he says there is nothing further to discuss. But suddenly we hear loud cries from the river. A man is running along the bank and shouting...
14 p.m.
In minutes, the river quickly became a scene of disaster. An overturned canoe passed us. The canoe was followed by an empty raft which had been attached to it by the rope. Three people were hanging on to the canoe, but they looked unconscious. And that wasn't all.
In about ten metres from the canoe somebody in a yellow life jacket was drifting. The person was trying to move, but the river current was too strong.
Before anybody could say anything, Daniel took the rope, jumped into a tiny kayak and paddled to the canoe. Our instructor cried with horror and followed Daniel to the edge of the river. He was shouting, "It's useless! Your kayak is too light! You won't be able to pull them out! Your kayak will turn over! You've got no life-jacket!" But Daniel wasn't listening. He made it to the raft and then tied it to his kayak. It was the only right decision in that situation. Daniel couldn't pull out three people and a heavy canoe which was filled with water. But he could pull out a light empty raft and that was just what he did.
Daniel paddled back to the bank, and tied the rope round a tree. Thus the raft and the canoe were secured.
The instructor was already there to help Daniel and started to pull the raft and canoe towards the bank. Other people from our group also rushed to help him. The three men saved by Daniel were half-conscious when he brought them to the bank, and we had to unclasp their frozen hands and take off their life-jackets. And then came more cries of horror.
While we were watching Daniel and the instructor help the three men, nobody noticed that David had jumped into the river seconds after him. We only noticed him when he had already reached the person in yellow life-jacket and was pushing him or her towards the bank. When this person got to the bank, it turned out that it was a young woman called Lily. Lily was suffering from shock, but on the whole, she was fine. She hadn't got frozen in the river. A man in wet clothes and a life-jacket ran to Lily. It was her friend Jack who had raised the alarm. Three canoers were tired but recovering. Meanwhile all our group gathered round Daniel and congratulated him for his bravery. But where was David? They can't have forgotten about him. But he wasn't there. I went looking for him and found him near the river. It looked like he had been sitting there the whole time. He smiled when he saw me and it made me feel terribly awkward. "You have done a very brave thing, David," I said finally. "You must be proud of yourself." "I don't know. It was scary, Lisa," David answered with a sigh. "I didn't even know if that woman was alive until I got her back to the bank." Everything I could think of at that moment seemed stupid, so I just said, "Okay, well, you must be tired. I guess I should go." "Sure, I'll see you around," he answered and walked away.