[lines 1-4]Want to be an explorer? Of course you do. Who wouldn't want to trek through dense jungles, splash through hidden rivers, or climb towering mountains, discovering places few humans have ever seen? But exploration can be tough. Have you got what it takes to explore the unknown?
[lines 5-12]It sounds a ridiculously easy question. An explorer is someone who discovers new places, right? Well, yes – but it's pretty difficult to define what counts as "unexplored" these days. If you journey to a remote location, chances are someone has been there before you. But there are still places on Earth where human footprints are rare. Some have been visited but not thoroughly documented. Others remain completely untouched by human eyes. So, scientists and geographers have created categories – from "partially explored" to "virgin territory" – that define what real exploration means today. Reach a place in that last category and you can truly call yourself an explorer.
[lines 13-15]But getting to unexplored places is a problem. Not many people have access to the remote regions where true exploration happens, as they're the most difficult destinations to reach on Earth. Luxury holidays in five-star resorts? Weekend city breaks? They're dirt cheap compared to mounting a real expedition into unknown territory.
[lines 16-17]To become a true explorer of mysterious places, you'll have to do one of these things:
[lines 1-4]Hiram Bingham III was an American explorer and academic who rediscovered the ancient Inca city of Machu Picchu. In the early 1900s, he became a lecturer in South American history. Then, in 1911, he was one of the first Western explorers to document his journey into the remote Peruvian Andes in search of lost Inca cities.
[lines 5-10]On July 24, 1911, Hiram Bingham was led to Machu Picchu by a local farmer named Melchor Arteaga. There was just enough information to guide them through the dense vegetation to the site. On this expedition, Bingham did not fully document the ruins. He climbed 610 meters up from the Urubamba River and found stone structures nearly hidden by jungle growth. The discovery was immediately recognized as significant, and it was a great success!
[lines 11-17]Bingham was the leader on his second expedition to Machu Picchu, which was the Yale Peruvian Expedition. The other explorers on this mission to the Andes included botanists, archaeologists, and cartographers. On April 15, 1912, Bingham and his team began systematic exploration of the site, while photographers documented everything they found. Bingham and his team cleared vegetation, mapped the ruins, and collected over 40,000 artifacts from the site. Bingham also surprised everyone by suddenly discovering the site's incredible astronomical alignments—demonstrating how precisely the Incas positioned buildings to track celestial events. So, in a way, that was another level of exploration entirely!
[lines 18-20]After Hiram Bingham led three expeditions to Machu Picchu, he then worked as a professor and author, publishing his findings. He left academic life in 1924, but continued to be involved in exploration by advocating for the preservation of archaeological sites around the world.
Inca: an ancient civilization that ruled a large empire in South America before the arrival of Europeans
1. Find an example of onomatopoeia in the first paragraph (lines 1-4).
2. Give a short quotation from the first paragraph to show that an explorer's job is not easy.
3. Look at this sentence: 'If you journey to a remote location, chances are someone has been there before you.' (Line 7)
What is the sentence above an example of? Tick (✓) one box.
4. Look at these two phrases:
'...there are still places on Earth where human footprints are rare. Some have been visited but not thoroughly documented.' (Lines 8-9)
'...scientists and geographers have created categories – from "partially explored" to "virgin territory" – that define what real exploration means today.' (Lines 11-12)
(a) Why have dashes been used in the second phrase?
(b) What effect does the writer achieve by using dashes instead of brackets?
5. What is the main reason most people cannot explore mysterious places?
6. Give a phrase from Text A that means the same as 'very easy'.
7. What is the most common way to become an explorer?
8. Find a phrase from Text A that means the same as 'it's unlikely to happen soon'.
9. Look at the lines below from Text A.
Which one of them is an example of an opinion? Tick (✓) one box.
10. (a) Text A is written in an informal style.
Complete this table of the features of informal writing with examples from Text A.
| Feature | Example from the text |
|---|---|
| Shortened clauses | 'Reach a place in that last category...' |
| Use of the second person | (i) |
| Contractions | (ii) who's, wouldn't, don't |
| Use of questions | (iii) |
(b) Why has the writer chosen to write in an informal style?
11. What kind of book would you find Text A in?
Tick (✓) one box.
12. Where is Hiram Bingham III from?
13. Which one of the sentences below about Hiram Bingham's discovery is true? Tick (✓) one box.
14. What are the names of the two expeditions Hiram Bingham led?
15. Which of the members of Bingham's team in Text B was responsible for creating images of the site?
16. Look at lines 13-15.
What do we learn about Hiram's character?
17. How did Bingham support exploration after leaving academic life?
18. What genre is Text B?
Tick (✓) one box.
19. Explain why Hiram Bingham has the reputation of being an exceptional explorer. Give two reasons.
20. Choose the best heading for the last paragraph of Text B.
Tick (✓) one box.