On a sunny afternoon last April climbers at the Everest Camp at 17,700 feet saw the sky turn purple with huge dark clouds. Over the next 36 hours, five people would die in Everest's most popular climbing route and three others would disappear in the same storm. Ten others survived but either their hands or their feet were completely frozen. And this happened only because they all wanted to stand on the place on Earth that is closest to the stars.

A lifetime is not too long to prepare for such a journey because only one in seven of those who set out for the summit actually reaches it. Many are the dangers that mountaineers face in high altitudes. First, extreme cold can lower the body temperature, which slows the heart and can lead to death. Second, the air contains only one third of the oxygen at sea level. Third, the air is dry and the climber loses water with every breath, which thickens the blood. Finally, high altitudes can affect the brain, creating confusion and bad judgement.

Since the first Western expedition on that route in 1921, more than 140 have died trying, or have succeeded and died trying to get home. Even the survivors die a little along the way. For instance, Makalu Gao, an experienced climber, lost most of his toes after spending the night in the middle of that terrible storm and John Weathers, a mountain guide, lost his right hand. It is true that those who make it to the top and come back safely are exceptionally fit, skilled and well-equipped mountaineers, but unfortunately, as Gao and Weathers can tell, expert climbers are not safe either.

However, mountaineers from all over the world keep on traveling to the Everest. Despite last April's deaths, even amateurs dare to go and want to climb the mountain. Why do people risk their lives this way? What is it that they see from that place, so near the stars?

PART ONE: READING COMPREHENSION

1. Answer the following questions without copying from the text.

1. What happened to those who tried to climb the Everest on that April afternoon?

2. Why is it dangerous to breathe the dry air in high altitudes?

3. What is the average number of climbers who succeed in reaching the top of the mountain?

4. What is John Weather's job?

5. What does the writer mean when he says that «even survivors die a little along the way»?

6. Which of the following phrases (a, b, or c) would you choose as the best title for the article? (Write the title you choose.)
a) The beauty of the Everest Mountain.
b) High risk in the Everest Mountain.
c) How to prepare for the Everest climbing routes.

  PART TWO: WRITING
Choose ONE. Write about either 1 or 2.

Option A: Imagine you are a climber and once you reached the Everest summit. Write your
diary entry for that day describing what you saw and how you felt. Don’t use your
real name.

Option B: A journalist interviewed John Weathers right after being rescued. Imagine what he
said about what he had just experienced and write that interview.

3. Vocabulary

Explain next words in English, write the phonetics and also an example: huge, closest, actually, breath, fit, safe, to dare