READING

READING

Last spring in the western part of the USA, 4.000 metres above Arizona, six skydivers jumped out of the DC-4 plane. Their instructor, Greg Robertson, jumped a second later. They planned to “freefall” towards the earth, as they did every week. They always formed a circle by holding hands. Then, at 1.500 metres, they separated and pulled their ripcords, their parachutes would then open, and all of them would float down to the earth.

This time the plan didn’t work. One of the skydivers, Debbie Williams, collided with another of the divers at the speed of about 80kph, while her parachute was still unopened. The collision knocked her unconscious. Robertson was 15 metres to one side when this happened. He saw Williams falling “like a rag doll” at a speed of 220 kph, with her face bleeding and her body spinning out of control.

Robertson realized what had happened and knew he had to catch up with her. The only way to do this was to change his was to change his freefall position. Instead or falling in the normal manner with his arms and legs spread out, he put his arms to his sides and his legs together, accelerated to a speed of over 300 kph, and dived like Superman, head first, towards Williams.

He caught up with Williams at a height of 1.000 metres. Then, in mid-air, he pushed her into a sitting position and pulled her ripcord. The parachute opened just in time.

Only a few seconds later, Williams hit the ground, on her back. She was badly hurt, but she survived. Robertson landed safely beside her.

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

1. Choose the best title for the story

a) Death in the Air.

b) Woman Forgets Parachute.

c) Saved at the Last Moment.

d) A perfect Dive.

2. What do the following numbers refer to?

Example: 4.000 = the height at which the skydivers jumped out the DC-4.

80 220 300 1.000 1.500

3. Match each verb with its definition

1. To collide	a) To go faster
2. To spin	b) To move slowly through the air
3. To accelerate	c) To hit someone hard
4. To float	d) To come to rest on the ground from the air
5. To land	e) To turn round and round

4. Say if these sentences are true or false according to the text

1. Greg Robertson jumped out of the plane before the other skydivers.
2. Debbie Williams collided with her instructor.
3. The collision knocked Debbie Williams unconscious.
4. Debbie’s parachute opened only a few seconds before she hit the ground.
5. The instructor spread out his arms and legs so he could go faster.
6. Superman rescued Debbie Williams.

5. Answer the questions about the text

1. How often did skydivers jump out of a plane?.
2. Why didn’t skydivers plan work?.
3. Why did the instructor change his “freefall” position?.
4. Why did Greg Robertson do when he caught up with Williams?

After the Reading answer the questions and send the exercises to the e-mail:todoenidiomas@gmail.com.