Passage A
Phil Bruff recounts his experience of sky-diving for the first time.
Nothing can match the adrenaline buzz that you feel the first time you leap out of a plane. Hurtling two
miles towards the ground is unbelievable. I haven’t felt anything like it before or since. Nothing else
exists, just you and the sky.
The buildup is the most terrifying aspect: the waiting, the explanation of risk factors, the suit. All of
these delays really serve to heighten the tension. Did I want my jump videoed? Was it wrong that my
first thought was about how my family would have a record of my last moments if anything went
wrong? I decided that yes, I would like a video; I also decided that I would give my mum a quick ring, just
to check how she was...
I have always been attracted to extreme sports. I love heights and used to enjoy climbing as a child, but
as I progressed to adult walls my shorter-than-average limbs struggled to reach the next hold and
eventually I decided I just wasn’t built to be a climber. Skiing is fun but it is very expensive and requires
travel and correct conditions to get that buzz. Also, I have always been keen to push boundaries and
pursue the next adventure so sky-diving seemed a logical next step. I think we should all push ourselves
in life; it can be so rewarding. I also planned to make some money for a local charity while I was at it.
The walk to the plane was over too quickly. With great efficiency I was strapped in and sat between my
instructor Neil’s legs. I tried not to think about the awkwardness of the situation. My mind went back to
when I was sat on my comfy sofa, reading articles about people who had done this and survived, I tried
to recall the headlines but my mind went blank as the propellers whirred...
As the plane climbed I steeled myself. Statistically this was supposed to be safer than the drive up the
motorway. My mind was in turmoil but that didn’t matter as the big moment had arrived. I was to go
first! There was nobody ahead of me to watch and take comfort from; I was to be the pathfinder for the
anxious faces I knew were seated behind me. Those others who had also abandoned the comfy sofas we
all inhabit too regularly to fling themselves out of a plane! Those who were also raising money for a
variety of good causes, I remembered the various names I’d seen emblazoned across their T shirts. It
was time...
I scooted over to the edge and had a brief moment to marvel at what was before me. The clouds, fluffy
as fleece but fragile as gossamer puffed around the plane. The ground below opened up, a yawning
chasm into which I was about to fling myself. The countdown began... Three! Two! One! And out we
went, tumbling, deafened by the wind.
The free fall was only a few seconds long but was completely exhilarating. The initial moments when my
senses were bombarded almost to the point of numbness, were quickly exchanged for a mesmerising
peace when the chute opened. The deafening roar of the wind became a brief scream, and then the
wind merely whispered as we glided... I found a kind of inner-peace and relished the tranquillity of the
flight I had left.
The landing was similar to one you might experience after a long zipwire at the end of a high-wire
course. My heels slid across the grass as we came to a bumpy halt. Relief flooded over me as I brushed
myself off and turned around to return Neil’s high-five. My time sky-diving was certainly memorable; I
now feel almost like part of an elite club of extreme sports enthusiasts. I have a funny feeling it won’t be
my last trip plummeting to Earth from a plane...
After his sky-diving experience, a reporter for a publication called Extreme Sports Magazine
interviewed Phil and asked him the following three questions:
What made you choose sky-diving as an activity?
What were your thoughts and feelings about the experience?
What are your opinions on people engaging in extreme sports such as sky-diving?
Write the words of the interview.
Base your interview on what you have read in the passage, but be careful to use your own words.
Address each of the three bullet points.
Begin your interview with the first question.
Write about 250 to 350 words.
Up to 15 marks are available for the content and 10 marks for the quality of your writing.