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Diving at Sipadan

New words:

We found a cheap flight from Bangkok to Kota Kinabalu with Air Asia. This was great as it brought us directly to Borneo so we could avoid travelling via Kuala Lumpur, saving us some time & money.

The first thing that I wanted to do, was learn to dive, several places in South-East Asia had passed my review, but I had finally settled on Semporna & Sipadan. This was one of the main reasons to come to Borneo.

In Semporna, I followed a 3-day diving course, at the end of which I received my PADI open-water diver certification. It was a fast course & the closed-water training dives, which are supposed to be held in a swimming pool, were in the open sea, in a shallowarea off an island. After the first basic dive in shallow water, I did another five dives as part of the course at Sibuan Island, Sabangkat Island (twice), Bohedulang & Church reef. I was learning while watching beautiful coral, lionfish, nudibranches, frogfish, crocodilefish, hawksbill & green turtles passing below me! This was definitively a great place to learn diving.

After passing the exam with perfect marks, we went to dive off Sipadan itself, which deservedly ranks as one of the top diving spots in the world. We saw an uncountable number of hawksbill turtles, green turtles & sharks. In particular, we encountered a group of about 10 reef sharks resting on the ocean floor.

Still being a beginner of diving, my air usage was (& still is) very high. During our second dive at Sipadan, my instructor, Graham, exchanged his BCD (air tank & everything) with me while we were at depth of 24 m. As he had used up much less air, I could stay underwater for longer. It was a very nice thing of him to do.

While I was diving Maris was snorkeling, when I surfaced after the first dive, the boat came to collect me & Maris was left alone in the water. This was already not a smart thing to do on the part of the boat crew, but while she was alone, a triggerfish tried to protect the territory where his mate had laid eggs & started to bite Maris’ flipper in an attempt to chaseher away.

Then she obviously wanted to get out of the water, but the boat had disappeared! When the boat came back to where she was snorkeling, I found a panicky girlfriend in the water, so I jumped in to pull her toward the boat.

1. On the way to Borneo ___

A) the travellers had a through flight.

B) they changed the plane.

C) their flight was cancelled.

D) they had to wait at the airport for a long time

2. What was the author’s main purpose of visiting Borneo?

A) to see the underwater world;

B) to learn to swim under water using breathing equipment;

C) to go angling;

D) to start an environmental project

3. The author took his diving course ____

A) in the open ocean.

B) in the river.

C) in the swimming pool.

D) in the sea.

4. The word ’encounter’ in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to ___

A) ‘number’ B) ‘meet’ C) ‘account’ D) ‘include’

5. While Maris was left alone, ___

A) she was diving underwater when a fish attacked her.

B) the boat didn’t come to collect her.

C) a fish bit her underwater.

D) she was attacked by a big marine fish.

10. Read the text. Match choices (A-H) to (1-5). There are three choices you do not need to use.

1( ) Carnival

Brazil’s most popular & festive holiday is Carnival. In fact, many people consider Carnival one of the world’s

biggest celebrations. Each spring, on the Saturday before Ash Wednesday, the streets of Brazil’s largest city,

Rio de Janeiro, come alive with wild parties, festivals & glamorous balls. The Samba School Parade is the highlight

of the four-day event. About 3,000 performers, clad in ornate costumes embellished with feathers, beads &

thousands of sequins, dance down the parade route alongside dazzling floats into the Sambadrome – a dance

stadium built for the event. Judges award a prize to the most spectacular group of dancers.

2( ) Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is the longest & most important celebrations in the Chinese calendar. The New Year begins on

the first day of the Chinese calendar, which usually falls on February, & the festivities continue for 15 days.

At Chinese New Year celebrations, people wear red clothes, give children ‘lucky money’ in red envelopes & set

off firecrackers. Red symbolizes fire, which the Chinese believe drives away bad luck. Family members gather

at each other’s homes for extravagant meals. Chinese New Year ends with a lantern festival. People hang

decorated lanterns in temples & carry lanterns to an evening parade under the light of the full moon. The highlight

of the lantern festival is often the dragon dance. The dragon which can stretch a hundred feet long is typically made

of silk, paper & bamboo.

3( ) Cocuk Bayrami

Each April 23, turkey celebrates Cocuk Bairami, or Children’s Day. Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Ataturk declared

the holiday in 1920, as Turkey was becoming an independent nation after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, to

illustrate that children were the future of the new nation. Children all over Turkey dress up in special outfits or

the national costume for Cocuk Bairami. Boys who dress in the national costume typically wear baggy silk pants,

a colourful vest, a white shirt & a sequinedhat, called a tepelik. Girls wear a long colourful gown called a kaftan

& an ornate veil. Many children perform in plays or musicals. The centerpiece of Cocuk Bairami takes place

in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, where children from all over the world sing & dance in a spectacular show.

4( ) Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead is celebrated on 1 November in Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala & other parts of Central & South

America. Families gather to pray to the souls of dead relatives, asking them to return for just one night. People

decorate alters in their homes & gravesites with food, candles, candy skulls & marigolds to welcome the souls

back to earth. Skeletons are displayed throughout cities, & people dressed as skeletons parade through the

streets. Pan de los muertos (bread for the dead) is baked in the shape of skulls & crossbones, & a toy is hidden

inside each loaf. The person who bites into the toy is said to have good luck. Day of the Dead is a time to celebrate

& remember the lives of dead family members.

5( ) Diwali

Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is the best-known of Hindu celebrations & certainly the brightest. Amid the

darkest skies in autumn, lights brighten homes throughout India – a sign of welcome to the gods Rama &

Lakshmi. Families get together & celebrate with gifts & feasts. Many families decorate their homes with flowers

& draw a colourful rangoli, an intricatepattern made in rice flour, at the entrance of the home.

During this festival _______

Akids participate in a bright pageant.

B people use a source of food cultivated in Asia to adorn their houses.

C people remember the grim events of their lives.

D a dance of African origin takes place in a specially built place.

Epeople watch an animal parade.

Fthe celebrations last a fortnight.

G participants show their skills.

H people take part in the races.

11. Read the text below. Choose from (A-H) the one which best fits each space (1-6).

There are 2 choices you do not need to use.

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