Cycle ride - Unit 5

C1 Advanced · Gapped Text · Complete Advanced, Cambridge University Press

You are going to read an article about a cycle ride. Six paragraphs have been removed from the article. Choose from the paragraphs A-G the one which fits each gap (1–6). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

Cycle ride

Beside me at the summit, a group of wind turbines at a small windfarm were spinning endlessly. They seemed to be keeping a silent watch over the deserted, chilly landscape below. I set off again, down what had become a slippery cycle path.

I was beginning to realise that the many changes of scenery I’d been witnessing along the way were all part of the unique character of the area I was in, and could actually see evidence of that from where I was standing – industrial landscapes, vast open countryside and the mountains in the distance.

I was relieved to get out of the wind, and began to prepare to explore further as I knew it went underground for several hundred metres. But the damp atmosphere put me off going too far in case I lost my way. I returned to the exit.

However, the landscape I then entered further on, with grass and trees on either bank, couldn’t have been more of a contrast to the run-down area I’d just passed. I heard a splash up ahead and watched as a swan took off from the surface of the water.

The motivation to overcome that was the thought of the waterfalls and woodland, just waiting to be explored, if only I could steel myself to switch to the other side, and onto the track that would take me to the bottom.

In fact, on my map I’d spotted a few places similar to this that I wanted to visit. The only issue, as with this one, was that I hadn’t properly checked their location in relation to my route, so I ended up making a detour for some distance.

To ease myself back into cycling, I headed for the harbour, then onwards to a deserted sandy cove at the foot of some cliffs. I rested there before joining a cycleway going inland away from the shore, alongside a quiet canal.

Originally built to transport coal (by boat!) from the mines to the docks, it ran past a grey, decaying power station that had once formed part of a thriving industrial centre. As the path was so even, I was able to ride along at some speed – a good re-introduction to cycling.

But once that level, more rural section of the route came to an end, so did the easy riding. My legs began to ache as, leaving the canal behind me, the path suddenly climbed upwards – I stopped briefly at the entrance to the last coal mine in the area, now closed but surrounded by new housing and leisure facilities. My route then took me up a narrow lane overlooking huge fields of crops to the top of a hill. From there I could make out the shapes of two great peaks on the horizon.

Indeed, from my position high on the hilltop, I looked out across what would once have been an expanse of factory buildings, gradually being reclaimed by nature. By now, the temperature had dropped several degrees, and flakes of snow were beginning to drift towards me. However, I merely put on some extra clothes from my backpack, and carried on enjoying the view.

That made the descent quite hazardous, so I was hoping I’d soon reach one landmark I was keen to visit – a deep cave. It was actually some way from the road and I had to get off my bike and push it, sliding around unsteadily down the path. By then there was quite a breeze blowing, and I was beginning to question whether the effort was worth it. However, eventually I spotted a sign confirming I’d arrived at the entrance to the cave.

The fresh air seemed all the sweeter as I emerged to tackle the next leg of the journey – a traffic-free cycleway on a nearby bridge, over a steep valley. It offered a view of the massive drop below it that cyclists would find either totally thrilling or absolutely terrifying, depending on their attitude to heights – and I probably belonged to the latter category.

The bridge was a stunning example of engineering. The cycling itself was nothing in comparison to the descent down the steep valley, following an old, winding railway line, and despite my initial misgivings about it, the bridge turned out to be one of the most memorable parts of my ride, before I finally cycled home.

Despite being an enthusiastic amateur cyclist, I’d been stuck at home for a while due to bad weather. So, once conditions improved slightly, I was keen to get out and explore. Early one morning, I hopped onto a train bound for the coast, with my bike. Once there, I jumped off, ready for an adventure – a visit to the beach, followed by a long cycle ride home again. ___ Originally built to transport coal (by boat!) from the mines to the docks, it ran past a grey, decaying power station that had once formed part of a thriving industrial centre. As the path was so even, I was able to ride along at some speed – a good re-introduction to cycling. ___ But once that level, more rural section of the route came to an end, so did the easy riding. My legs began to ache as, leaving the canal behind me, the path suddenly climbed upwards – I stopped briefly at the entrance to the last coal mine in the area, now closed but surrounded by new housing and leisure facilities. My route then took me up a narrow lane overlooking huge fields of crops to the top of a hill. From there I could make out the shapes of two great peaks on the horizon. ___ Indeed, from my position high on the hilltop, I looked out across what would once have been an expanse of factory buildings, gradually being reclaimed by nature. By now, the temperature had dropped several degrees, and flakes of snow were beginning to drift towards me. However, I merely put on some extra clothes from my backpack, and carried on enjoying the view. ___ That made the descent quite hazardous, so I was hoping I’d soon reach one landmark I was keen to visit – a deep cave. It was actually some way from the road and I had to get off my bike and push it, sliding around unsteadily down the path. By then there was quite a breeze blowing, and I was beginning to question whether the effort was worth it. However, eventually I spotted a sign confirming I’d arrived at the entrance to the cave. ___ The fresh air seemed all the sweeter as I emerged to tackle the next leg of the journey – a traffic-free cycleway on a nearby bridge, over a steep valley. It offered a view of the massive drop below it that cyclists would find either totally thrilling or absolutely terrifying, depending on their attitude to heights – and I probably belonged to the latter category. ___ The bridge was a stunning example of engineering. The cycling itself was nothing in comparison to the descent down the steep valley, following an old, winding railway line, and despite my initial misgivings about it, the bridge turned out to be one of the most memorable parts of my ride, before I finally cycled home.

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