IV. Read the text, and answer the questions.

The Boat Race

The Boat Race takes place in London every year in the spring. It is a race between two teams-one from Oxford University and the other from Cambridge University. Each team has eight rowers and a 'cox', the person who shouts instructions to the rowers and steers the boat. The rowers are usually very big and strong (often about 200 centimetres tall), but the cox is usually small and light so that the boat doesn't have to carry much extra weight.

The teams spend months preparing for the race. They begin training in September.Then, in December, there are practice races but not between Oxford and Cambridge. Teams from the same university compete in practice races so that they can choose the best rowers for the 'big' race in the spring. The race takes place along the river Thames, in West London. The course is 6,779 metres from start to finish. It is an extremely popular event. Every year, about 250,000 spectators watch the race from the banks of the river, and about half a billion people around the world watch it on TV.

1. How many rowers are there in a team?
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2. Why is the cox usually small?
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3. When do the teams begin training?
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4. What happens in December?
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5. How long is the race?
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6. How many people watch the race from the banks?
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V. Read the text, and do the tasks that follow.

Surfing superstar

On the morning of 31 October 2003, Bethany Hamilton and some friends decided to go surfing. The sky was clear, the sun was shining and it was a perfect day for enjoying the big waves near the island of Kauai, Hawaii.

The 13-year-old surfing star was lying sideways on her surfboard about 300 metres from the shore with her left arm in the clear, blue water. Her friends were floating nearby, looking out to sea. They were all waiting for the next big wave.

Suddenly a five-metre shark appeared just below the g surface and attacked her. It bit her left arm and shook her violently backwards and forwards. Bethany saw the water around her turn red. She held on to her board and the shark swam away - but it took her arm with it. It also took a piece of her board. Luckily for Bethany, the shark attacked only once. It all happened so fast that she didn't even scream.

In her mind, Bethany repeated: 'Get to the beach. Get to the beach.' She started to paddle towards it with one arm. Her friends didn't know about the shark attack- they thought at first she was joking. Then they saw the blood and quickly came to help. It took fifteen minutes to reach the shore. They called the emergency services and Bethany eventually got to hospital.

Bethany's parents are both keen surfers. As a baby, Bethany liked to splash in the shallow water. She started surfing at the age of five. By thirteen, she was one of the best teenage surfers in the world, and was planning to become a professional surfer. Then the shark attack happened.

The really incredible thing about Bethany is that she liked to stay in the water right after the incident and only ten weeks later she was surfing again in a competition. Less than a year after the accident she won first place in a surfing competition in Hawaii. Before the accident, a lot of professional surfers thought that Bethany was going to be the women's world champion one day. After the accident, they haven't changed their minds.

Task 1. Put the events in the correct order.
__ a. The shark swam away.

__b. Ten weeks later she took part in a surfing competition.

__c. She started to swim back to the beach.

__d. Bethany decided to go surfing with some friends.

__e. Her friends saw the blood and came to help her.

__f. While she was waiting for a wave, a shark attacked her.

Task 2. Are the sentences true (T) or false (F)? Correct the false sentences.

1. Bethany was standing on her surfboard when the shark attacked her.
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2. Her friends were close to her when the shark bit her.
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3. Bethany lost her surfboard in the attacked.
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4. The shark attacked her again a few minutes later.
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5. Immediately after the attack, she wanted to stay in the water.
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6. Bethany is not the only person in her family who likes surfing.
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7. Ten weeks later, Bethany won a surfing competition.
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8. A lot of professional surfers still think Bethany can be a champion surfer.
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Task 3. Complete the sentences. Use the correct form of the words below from the text.

shore

floating

wave

surface

paddle

splash

1. I hate going swimming with my brother - he always ___me.

2. The east coast is not good for surfing because the___are too small.

3. You need to lie on the surfboard and__ with your hands.

4. We stood on the__and watched the boats go past.

5. An empty canoe was__down the river.

6. She accidentally dropped her phone into the river and watched it disappeared below the___.