2

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3 2014
When I got to Iceland, I was immediately struck by the unique natural beauty
and absence of pollution. These things make the island stand out from other places,
as it is truly untouched by those evils that have spoilt much of the rest of the world.
One of the reasons that Iceland is such an amazing place is that about half of the island
is made up of volcanoes and a mountainous lava desert. Who would imagine that a
place with a name like Iceland! would feature landscape like that" Of course, Iceland
also has several glaciers, or frozen rivers!, and many f#ords. $lus, it has more land
covered by glaciers than anywhere else in %urope. &o, when you think of it, the name
Iceland does make sense after all'
When I was told that my trip to Iceland had been scheduled for the first week in
(anuary, what I e)pected was e)treme cold. *owever, I was in for a surprise. The
climate of Iceland is milder in winter than most people think. In +eyk#avik, the average
temperature in (anuary is ,
-
. and although wind and gales are common in winter,
thunderstorms are e)tremely rare. /s it turned out, the weather was no obstacle to
my e)peditions to some fascinating places.
I have been travelling around the world for more than a quarter of a century, and
I have been to several breathtaking natural wonders. 0ery few of them can be
compared to the 1reat 1eyser in &outh Iceland. This geyser, or hot spouting spring,
spouts hot water to the height of 23 metres, which is a truly remarkable and
incredible sight' /nother e)traordinary sight I visited was the famous volcano of
*ekla, one of the 433 active volcanoes in the country. 5uring the 6iddle /ges it was
believed to be the home of the damned. Its first recorded eruption was in /5 7738 and
since then there has been a series of eruptions, some of which were gentle while others
caused significant damage to the nearby countryside.
1A. Read the passage and decide if the following sentences are True (T) or
False (F).
7. When the writer went to Iceland, the weather was warmer than he had e)pected.
4. There are often thunderstorms in Iceland during winter.
9. The 1reat 1eyser is one of the most remarkable sights the writer has visited.
8. What is remarkable about the great 1eyser is the temperature of the water.
,. /ll of *ekla:s eruptions have caused great damage to the island.
;7, $OI<T&=
1B. atch the following words with their definitions.
7. stand out a. &omething that blocks one:s way
or progress
4. geyser b. special and worth mentioning
9. obstacle c. to be very noticeable
8. gale d. a natural spring that shoots up
hot water from deep inside the earth
,. remarkable e. strong wind
;7, $OI<T&=
4./. .omplete the sentences with the words and phrases in the bo).
7. 6any people leave their small villages and move to the city >>>>>>>>>>>
work.
4. ?ook at this sentence. I don:t think it>>>>>>>>>.
9. *e is an e)cellent student and he really >>>>>>>>> from the rest of the class.
8. *e >>>>>>>>> a big surprise when he got home@ he discovered that his house
had been broken into.
,. /ll teenagers should be informed about the risks >>>>>>>>>>> taking drugs.
2. We have the >>>>>>>> of either ordering something to eat or making
something quick and easy. Which one do you prefer"
A. I:ve lost my car keys and unfortunately I don:t have any >>>>>> ones.
B. The $resident tried to >>>>>>>>>> his decision to go to war.
C. Dnfortunately, no house was left >>>>>>>>> by the hurricane.
73.There is a cool mountain >>>>>> #ust outside the village.
;43 $OI<T&=
2.

associated with in search of justify
makes sense option spare
spring stands out untouched
was in for
(20 POINTS)
C.
(30 POINTS)

- !" #