FULL NAME: Estrella Esmeralda Jinés Ruiz
_________________________________________
READING PRACTICE:
1. Finding the oceanic whitetip shark is an experience I won’t forget.
This is one of the most dangerous sharks in the world, but its
numbers are falling. They used to be common around the Bahamas,
but most people say they haven’t seen them for years. Just as we
arrived there, some sports fishermen in the central Bahamas saw
some oceanic whitetips when they were fishing for tuna. So I set
aside sixteen days to go searching for them.
For the first few days we didn’t see a thing. Then, on the fifth day, I
was looking out from the bridge when I spotted a shark on the
surface. The white tip of its dorsal fin was sticking out of the water,
so I knew we had an oceanic whitetip. I quickly put on my wetsuit
and jumped in the water. The shark was very curious about me and
swam right up to me. It was about three meters long, and it even
stayed around while we were putting the cage in the water. I got
some great pictures! That was really the high point of the
assignment.
2. At the end of the assignment, after a year of work, we were going
after the great hammerhead shark. This species is so elusive that
there are hardly any pictures of it. For the entire first week, the
weather was appalling and it was impossible to dive. It was very
frustrating. Then, on the eighth day, my assistant had to fly home
because his mother was seriously ill.
Suddenly, I was working alone as well as trying to deal with the bad
weather. That was definitely the worst moment on the assignment. It
is so important to have a really good assistant with you. Without him
there, my workload more than doubled. While I was trying to decide
what to do, the weather unexpectedly improved and I got a couple of
not-bad days! And on one of those days, everything clicked and I got
some great pictures of a hammerhead. I was lucky.
Glossary:
bridge (n) /brɪdʒ/ part of a boat or ship where the captain
normally stands
dorsal fin (n) /ˈdɔːrsəl fɪn/ the part of a shark’s back that sticks
up
wetsuit (n) /ˈwetsuːt/ rubber clothes for water sports
elusive (adj) /ˈɪlusɪv/ extremely rare and difficult to see
Read the stories by Brian Skerry about his yearlong assignment
photographing sharks. Match the number of the story (1 and 2) with
the question (a and b).
a. What was one of your worst experiences covering this
story? ____2___
b. b. What was one of your best experiences covering this
story? ___1_____
These statements are true for one or both of Skerry’s stories. Select
W (whitetip), H (hammerhead), or B (both).
a. the sharks were difficult to find._W____
b. Bad weather made it almost impossible to do any
work. ____H__
c. Some fishermen told Skerry where the sharks were.
___W____
d. Skerry had to work without an assistant.__H___
e. Skerry got into the water as soon as he saw a shark.
___W___
f. The shark spent some time swimming close to
Skerry. ___W___
g. Skerry was pleased with the photos he took ___B___
Find these words and expressions in the stories and complete
spotted: photographed/ saw
high point: best moment/ top of the boat
deal with: survive / solve the problem
workload: amount of work you have to do/ problems
doubled: increase as twice as much/ increase by three times as
much
clicked: was quiet / was successful
