STUDY AND WRITING SKILLS
25
2.5
7
take part in exercise to become stronger and faster
(para 4)
8
stop doing something (para 5)
9
Time linkers
Look at the text and underline five
different time linkers, e.g.
after
.
10
Match these sentence halves and join them in an
appropriate way using the time linkers.
1
Heyerdahl received a number of awards
2
Heyerdahl went to the Galapagos Islands
3
Heyerdahl became curious about how the islands
were inhabited
4
He set out to prove his theories
a
leading an expedition to Easter Island.
b
his lifetime.
c
he was staying in Polynesia.
d
giving up his study of Geography.
11
Write a biographical profile of Thor Heyerdahl.
Use the notes you made in the Study Skills lesson. Use
the text about Amal Al-Saffar and the time linkers from
Exercise 9 to help you.
WRITING SKILLS
A BIOGRAPHICAL PROFILE
7
Read the biography of Amal Al-Saffar. Match each
paragraph with one of these topics.
a
Amal Al-Saffar
b
her early life
c
environmental activism
d
her adventures
e
personal challenges
8
Find verbs in the text that mean the following.
1
be distant or very different from something (para 1)
2
indicate that you are unwilling to do something
(para 1)
3
prevent progress or advancement (para 1)
4
make determined efforts to deal with (a problem)
(para 2)
5
to do something after completing something else
(para 3)
6
go to (school or course) (para 4)
1
Amal Al-Saffar comes from Bahrain, a part of the
world that is not known for its mountaineers or cold-
weather explorers. This largely flat, hot country could
not be further removed from the vast frozen expanses
of the Poles or the dizzying heights of Kilimanjaro.
However, this young adventurer refused to let that
hold her back and by the time she was 20 years old
in 2013, she had become the first Bahraini woman to
visit the Antarctic, joining the 2041 Antarctic Youth
Ambassador Program.
2
Amal learned a lot about the fragile Antarctic
environment and the challenges it faces during that trip.
After her return, she dedicated a lot of time to raising
awareness of these issues through talks and interviews.
Climate change may seem too huge as an issue for
individuals to tackle, but Amal believes that everyone
can make a difference. Simple, daily actions like using
less water and electricity, or refusing to use plastic bags,
can have a genuinely major effect when done by many
people.
3
Inspired by this adventure, Amal went on to climb
Kilimanjaro in 2014, then crossed the Arctic Circle in
2015. She had to fundraise for months before both
trips, but the experiences were worth it. Kilimanjaro is
the highest mountain in Africa (5,895m), and on her
Arctic expedition her group saw walruses, polar bears,
and even a blue whale. Her adventures have proved
that with sufficient determination, young Bahrainis,
and Bahraini women, can achieve impressive things.
4
Amal undertook these expeditions while attending
university and studying for a Bachelor in International
Logistics Management, balancing study and outside
interests. She also needed to train hard before
expeditions, running 10 kilometres a day at one
point in preparation for Kilimanjaro, and the lack of
mountains in Bahrain to practise on was also an issue.
However, the difficulties Amal faced were not all so
tangible. On her return from Antarctica, she said that
the main problem she had had was not the cold: it
was the mental challenge of fear of the unknown.
Furthermore, adventurous exploration has historically
been a male field, and a young woman doing it can
still seem unusual to some people.
5
Amal is always looking for the next big challenge, and
has never given up in the face of minor obstacles. Her
achievements have earned the admiration of a wide
audience in Bahrain, and she hopes that they will
inspire people to go on adventures themselves, or at
least to lead a greener, more sustainable life.
Amal Al-Saffar: Intrepid Adventurer
