BEST IELTS Academic Reading Test 509

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IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST 509 – PASSAGE – 3

IELTS ACADEMIC READING TEST – 509

READING PASSAGE – 3

It’s Dangerous at the Top

In spring, 1996, ten separate teams were making their attempt on Mount Everest by way of the South Col. Twenty-four climbers reached the top, but on the way down they were hit by a ferocious storm. Five climbers died, and another one was horribly injured in what would become one of the most public of Everest disasters. That year, in fact, was the worst in Everest’s climbing history, with a death toll of 15. Yes, it’s dangerous at the top of the world, very dangerous, and the scores of frozen bodies that dot the high ridges of Everest attest to this fact. And yet the lure of this great mountain–the world’s highest-continues to draw climbers onwards.

In the early 1920s, the first serious attempts were made to climb Everest. In those days, the risks were much underestimated. It was even considered unsportsmanlike to use bottled oxygen in that rarified high-altitude air. This conceit quickly fell by the wayside when those pioneers felt the effects of oxygen deprivation: exhaustion, lack of clear thinking, and serious medical complaints.

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In 1924, when two climbers, Mallory and Irving, carrying only rudimentary and heavy oxygen equipment, and wearing inadequate clothing, disappeared into the fog high on the North-east Ridge, never to be seen alive again, the expectant British public were shocked. Since then, the risks have been fully analysed, and the technology has advanced, but despite these benefits, playing with Everest will always be a lethal game.

So, what are these risks? The weather will always be the biggest variable, and the one that plays the biggest role in the ultimate success of any summit bid. The Sherpa porters know the weather patterns best, but even they will admit it is difficult, if not impossible, to predict. The 1996 climbers ascended in seemingly perfect conditions, yet within hours a blizzard descended over the mountain to take a lethal toll. Winds can be so strong as to literally blow a climber off the mountain, as Yasuo Kato, the foremost Japanese climber of his generation, and his partner, discovered, disappearing without trace in a savage storm in 1982.

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With such strong winds comes the cold. Even in the summer season, on the sunniest days, overnight on Everest’s heights the temperature plummets to minus 30. Living beings were simply never designed for such conditions-in fact, once in the ‘death zone’ (above 8,000 metres) no living being can live for very long. Trying to do so is a logistical nightmare. A succession of camps needs to be established, equipped with all the necessities to preserve the frail human body: tents, sleeping bags, thick clothing, stoves, fuel, food and drink, and oxygen, and all hauled up slowly and steadily in an inhospitable and windswept desolation of ice, snow, and rock.

Then there is the risk of falls, what one would think is the biggest killer of climbers. Certainly Everest’s exposed slopes of loose scree and shale slabs, often covered with snow and ice, have seen many fatal falls. When Mallory’s body was found in 1999, it was quickly determined that he died in this way. Yet it is avalanches which cause the most deaths.

Everest’s three great faces fill with snow during the monsoon season, presenting a constant danger, as the 1984 British expedition discovered. High on the North Face, they settled into their sleeping bags with no warning of what was to happen. A chunk of ice far above them broke free, falling 1000 feet onto the mountain side, triggering an avalanche which swept their camp away, killing Tony Swierzy and injuring three others.

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The final big risk relates to the low oxygen levels. In the high realms of Everest the human body breathes only a quarter of the oxygen compared to sea-level. Each step is a maximal gasping brain- straining effort. The body attempts to receive more energy by metabolising muscle mass, wasting it away, and the higher one climbs, the faster this happens, and the weaker one becomes.

Additionally, the brain needs the highest proportion of oxygen to properly function, and deprived of this, thinking fast and clearly becomes difficult-and yet this is absolutely crucial at that height, where the margin of safety is perilously slim, and sound decisions need to be quickly made. Little wonder then that many climbers just stop, sit down, curl up, and remain there, inevitably and tragically meeting their deaths.

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This is exactly what happened to David Sharp in 2006. Overcome with exhaustion, he huddled under a small rock overhang at 8,500 meters. His oxygen supply eventually ran out, but he was noticed, clearly alive, on numerous occasions by almost 40 other climbers. Most decided that attempting a rescue would be too dangerous at that altitude, and that Sharp was beyond help anyway.

Low on oxygen, suffering from cold and exhaustion themselves, they felt that the obligation towards their own safety was more important. True, one would think, yet the ethics of abandoning another human being to certain death in order to summit a mountain are immediately questionable. With the increasing commercialisation of Everest climbing operations, such concerns can only increase.

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Questions 27 to 30

Write True, False, or Not Given, according to the information given in the reading passage.

27. Five climbers died in 1996.

28. Many people want to climb Everest.

29. The early climbers thought their oxygen equipment was heavy.

30. Mallory was never seen again..

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Questions 31 to 36

Complete the table by filling in the gaps with no more than TWO words.

RISK	ASSOCIATED FACTS
Weather/Wind	Best assessed by 31………
Cold	Fighting this is a logistical 32…………
Falls	Caused the death of 33…………
34…………	Greatest taker of life
Reduced 35…………	Extra energy is gained by the conversion of 36…………

Questions 37 to 40

Fill in the gaps with no more than TWO words or numbers.

At an altitude of 37………… David Sharp’s 38………… supply eventually ran out. Many other climbers 39………… him, but continued their climb, in doing so displaying highly questionable 40…………

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