Into the desert - Unit 11

C1 Advanced · Multiple Choice Reading · Complete Advanced, Cambridge University Press

You are going to read an article about a writer’s journeys to the Sahara Desert. For questions 1–6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

I’ve spent a lot of time in the many deserts that there are in the world, all equally striking in their wildness, and written articles about my experiences to the best of my ability. Yet the question I almost fear the most following my return is ‘What was it like?’ Doing these places justice in words has proved to be something of a sticking point, and could well turn out to be something that forever escapes me, even though on the face of it, it doesn’t appear that difficult. After all, it’s quite straightforward to describe how they look, as that’s relatively well known thanks to the big screen: the waves of unending golden sand, the dry, leafless landscapes of rock and scrub as you approach the dunes. Yet conveying the feelings it inspires is quite another matter. There’s the potentially eliminating prospect of near open miles of nothingness, and the thought that your survival depends on you and your companions alone. However, for me, that doesn’t really detract from the appeal of one of the most spectacular environments on earth. Probably my most memorable trip was my first: one to the Sahara in Africa where, far from missing the lively comings and goings of everyday life at home, as I’d anticipated, I actually welcomed the vast, enveloping silence and the strange sense that the surrounding landscape was somehow deeply asleep. The only signs of movement were the rippling waves of heat rising up from the ground. The overall effect became extraordinarily calming, rather than ‘threatening’. And as the journey wore on, I could see I’d inevitably be fundamentally transformed by the experience, and arrive home desperate to return. As expected, it was the first of many adventures. On my most recent trip to the Sahara, I travelled with a group in a minibus, driven by a guide. On the first night of our journey towards the desert, we’d made camp in a valley that was flooded with light at sunrise, against a backdrop of mountain peaks. It was the first view so far that I’d found truly breathtaking, but I knew there’d be plenty more to come. Our very experienced and knowledgeable guide was descended from nomads. He was completely at home in the area and knew all its traditions. Like many others we met, he seemed instinctively tuned in to our precise location and even the time of day from his observations of the sky – skills I realised I ought to acquire for myself. He had a contagious self-assurance with other people we met along the way, and became increasingly animated the closer we got to the desert. As we drove along, he played traditional music from the area – music I was familiar with, but that was given a new and moving significance for me by actually being in the landscape where it originated. Our final stop before entering the Sahara was at an oasis, common in those parts. It’s a place where the extreme climate releases its grip and provides water, trees, and even a place for people to settle and thrive. The local population has managed to set up comfortable homes, and make a living from tourism and cultivating dates – all on the edge of a very hostile environment. In fact, while at a shop selling headscarves, we were forced to take shelter, as a sudden sandstorm swept in and blew the sand very violently in the wind. It was a timely and rather alarming reminder of the sheer unpredictability of the desert we were heading for, and that we’d underestimate at our peril. Then, before leaving the oasis, it was time to meet our camels and master, a man who would prove himself totally at ease in the extreme surroundings. As we set off into the Sahara on our camels, and the animals padded across the soft sand, the landscape eventually slowed down to nothing. I looked around and, compared to the sheer size of the Sahara, its infinite sea of sand was mesmerising: dunes rolled into the distance, constantly transforming and combining with each other, as the wind blew across them. The camels’ shadows lengthened in the setting sun, matching the yellow sand gradually passing through its daily mutations. Finally we reached our camp for the evening, a welcoming group of tents. After dinner and music in the cosy atmosphere of a campfire, I fell asleep under the stars in the silence of the desert thinking of the noisy, busy streets in the city I call home, a place which now seemed further than just a few thousand miles away.

claims it’s a challenge that he enjoys taking on.

suggests it may always lie beyond his capabilities.

is confident he can convey the uniqueness of certain visual aspects.

finds it difficult to separate his emotions about them from his descriptions.

When talking about describing deserts in his work, the writer

His feelings were often in contrast with what he was witnessing.

He realised that the scenery was not exactly how he’d imagined it.

His reaction to it took him completely by surprise.

He wondered to what extent his life would be changed by it.

What does he say about his first trip to the Sahara Desert?

regretting his own lack of intuitive knowledge of the desert environment.

being swept along by the guide’s infectious enthusiasm.

enjoying the guide for the sheer beauty of the landscape he lived in.

wishing he had more extensive background information about local culture.

After meeting the group’s guide, the writer found himself

the respite it provided from harsh conditions.

the welcoming nature of the people who live there.

the ready availability of essential supplies.

the contrast between everyday life and the nearby desert.

At the oasis, the writer was especially impressed by

reveals his fascination with the ever-changing nature of the landscape.

identifies with a moment that made the unique appeal of the Sahara apparent.

begins to feel a connection between the urban and desert habitats.

admits a reluctance to move on from the comfort of the camp.

In the fifth paragraph the writer

initial hesitancy towards people he meets.

varying attitude to conditions in the desert.

sense of awe when faced with evidence of the desert’s power.

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