Passage 1

Matt ：Now it's time for Critic's Choice, with news and reviews about the latest films. Good evening, Jack, seen anything good at the cinema this week?

Jack ：Good evening Matt, yes, I've seen one of the best sports films of recent years.

Matt ：Sports films? That's not usually a type of film which appeals to you.

Jack ：You're right, but this time it's different. I've been to see a film about mountain  climbing, it's not really your typical sports film. It's more man against the mountain.

Matt ：Tell us more.

Jack ：I've been to see Touching the Void, which is the story of a pair of mountain climbers in the Peruvian Andes.

Matt ：Is it a true story?

Jack ：Yes, it is. In 1985, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates set out to climb the 7,000-metre Siula  Grande mountain in the Peruvian Andes. Simpson and Yates were young, fit and confident they would succeed.

Matt ：So what happens?

Jack ：Simpson and Yates' style of climbing involved moving quickly up a mountain with very few supplies and no base camps, which is risky. You can't make any mistakes.

Matt ：I think I can guess what happens next.

Jack ：And sure enough after climbing well for three and a half days, disaster strikes. Simpson  falls and breaks his right leg. With no food or water, the climbers know they have to get off the mountain – fast. Yates is determined to find a way to get his friend home, and he has to lower Simpson down the mountain. Simpson is in agony, but Yates has no choice except to ignore his partner's cries of pain because otherwise he'll die.  Well, for a while, things go well. But suddenly Simpson, at the end of the rope, fails to respond to Yates' signal. Yates is unable to move any further and has no idea why Simpson is not responding. So Yates holds on with all of his strength, all too aware that eventually his strength would give out and both would fall. But what Yates doesn't know is that he has lowered Simpson over the edge of a crevasse. Simpson is hanging in mid-air from the vertical face of the mountain. He's unable to climb backup the rope and he's got frostbitten fingers and can't communicate with Yates above him.

Matt ：So what happens?

Jack ：Well, I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

Matt ：But …

Jack ：But Yates hangs onto the rope for an hour, getting weaker. For any climber, cutting the rope that binds him to his partner is unthinkable.

Matt ：Sounds very exciting. So what about the direction and the filming?

Jack ：The director is Kevin Macdonald, and he tells the story by cutting from interviews to shots of the climb itself. But it's the message of the film which interests me. You see,  in the end, the impression left by the film is astonishment that a human being could do what Joe did, which is to survive.

Matt ：Thanks Jack, this week's Critic's Choice is Touching the Void, on general release in  all cinemas from next week.

Answers

Passage 1

3 Listen to Passage 1 and complete the table.                          

4 Answers  1 (b)      2 (d)          3(d)          4 (d)