Speed Reading — Himalayas Rescue - Level 6 — 500 wpm 

Now do this put-the-text-back-together activity.

This is the text (if you need help).

A dramatic nighttime rescue has taken place on one of the world's most dangerous mountains. A team of elite mountain climbers from Poland made a hazardous night ascent of the 8,126-meter-high Nanga Parbat in the Pakistani Himalayas. The peak is widely known as "Killer Mountain" because of the number of climbers who have perished there. The Polish team rescued French climber Elisabeth Revol from the slopes of Nanga Parbat. She was reported to have been 7,400 meters up on the icy slopes. Unfortunately, a Polish climber Ms Revol had been climbing with remains missing. The conditions were too treacherous for the rescuers to spend any further time on the rescue mission.

The team of Polish climbers had been attempting the first ever winter ascent of the nearby K2 mountain, the second highest summit in the world. The drama began on Saturday afternoon when military helicopters spotted Revol in distress. The helicopters picked up the Polish climbers from K2 and flew them to Nanga Parbat, where they were dropped off at an altitude of 4,900 meters. The team then made its daring attempt in pitch darkness. Unfortunately, conditions were too perilous for Ms Revol's co-climber Tomasz Mackiewicz to be rescued. A rescuer said: "The rescue for Tomasz is unfortunately not possible. Because of the weather and altitude it would put the life of rescuers in extreme danger."

Comprehension questions
  1. At what time of the day did the rescue take place?
  2. How high is the mountain Nanga Parbat?
  3. What is Nanga Parbat also known as?
  4. What is the nationality of the lady who was rescued?
  5. What did the rescuers say about the rescue conditions?
  6. What was the name of the nearby mountain?
  7. On what day of the week did the rescue take place?
  8. What kind of vehicles were used to spot the climber?
  9. At what altitude was the rescue team dropped off?
  10. What else besides altitude may have endangered the lives of rescuers?

Back to the Himalayas lesson.

More Activities