Practice English Reading Exercises for B2 – Extreme Expeditions & World Records 3

Exercises:   123456

Reading 1

You are going to read an article about four deep-sea divers reflecting on the absolute darkness, crushing pressure, and mesmerizing alien-like creatures they encountered at the bottom of an ocean trench.

For questions 1-10, choose from the people/sections (A-D). The people/sections may be chosen more than once.

Which person/section

1   mentions a brief feeling of panic that was soon replaced by wonder?

2   highlights their intense physical awareness of the ocean’s immense weight?

3   admits that their rigorous preparation felt inadequate for the actual experience?

4   expresses a desire to educate the general public about this hidden environment?

5   was mesmerised by the graceful mobility of an unusual marine predator?

6   comments on how the absence of natural light caused visual illusions?

7   notes the contrast between the barren appearance of the seabed and its actual inhabitants?

8   explains how the use of artificial light revealed creatures that produce their own glow?

9   felt a profound sense of being entirely cut off from the rest of humanity?

10   acknowledges feeling exposed and defenseless despite relying on highly advanced gear?

Into the Abyss: Discovering the Secrets of the Ocean Trench

A Leo

Descending into the Marianas Trench is a journey into an alien world. As the sunlight gradually faded into absolute blackness, I became acutely conscious of the thousands of tonnes of water pressing down on our submersible. It’s one thing to understand the physics of crushing pressure, but physically feeling that immense weight surrounding you is profoundly humbling. Once we hit the bottom, we switched on our exterior floodlights. Instantly, the void was transformed. We were greeted by a dazzling display of bioluminescent jellyfish, pulsing with neon blues and greens like living fireworks. Watching them produce their own light in such a hostile environment was nothing short of miraculous. My heart was pounding, not from fear, but from the sheer thrill of witnessing something so rare. I’ve undertaken dozens of deep-sea missions, yet the otherworldly atmosphere of the trench never fails to take my breath away. It truly feels like stepping onto another planet.

B Marina

You spend months in simulators getting to grips with the controls, but honestly, no amount of demanding training can truly equip you for the reality of the abyss. When you are staring out of a tiny acrylic window into the pitch-black depths, the psychological impact hits you hard. Even though I was entirely encased in a state-of-the-art titanium sphere designed to withstand extreme forces, I had never felt so utterly defenseless against the elements. The silence was deafening until a massive, translucent squid drifted into my field of vision. Given its terrifying, jagged tentacles, I had expected it to be aggressive and erratic. Instead, it glided through the freezing water with astonishing elegance, moving like a ballet dancer in slow motion. I sat there spellbound, watching this bizarre hunter weave through the shadows. It was a stark reminder of how magnificent these untouched ecosystems truly are.

C Victor

Reaching the seabed was a surreal experience. The absolute absence of sunlight plays strange tricks on your mind down there; my eyes kept straining to find shapes in the pitch-black waters, conjuring up phantom creatures just beyond the reach of our headlights. It is remarkably easy to feel completely disoriented when the darkness is that absolute. At one point, our primary thruster made an unexpected, loud grinding noise. My heart leapt into my mouth, and for a split second, sheer terror gripped me. Fortunately, the system quickly reset itself, and my anxiety instantly evaporated, replaced by pure awe as a glowing, transparent fish darted past the glass. It’s a harsh, unforgiving realm, yet it holds a fragile beauty that simply defies logic. I was left staring out into the void, desperately wishing we had a few more hours to spend exploring this remarkable, hidden frontier.

D Sylvia

The first thing that strikes you when you finally touch down on the ocean floor is the deceptive landscape. At a passing glance, the trench looked completely desolate, resembling a barren, cratered moonscape. However, upon closer inspection, I realised the seemingly empty sediment was absolutely teeming with microscopic, alien-like worms and bizarre crustaceans hidden in the deep mud. As we hovered quietly over this bustling micro-world, a profound wave of loneliness washed over me. Looking at our radar, the sheer distance between our tiny vessel and the surface made me realise how entirely isolated from the rest of the human race we were. It is a very sobering thought. Nevertheless, despite the undeniable risks involved in these extreme expeditions, I feel a deep responsibility to capture this footage and share it. Inspiring the public to protect these untouched, mysterious ecosystems is undoubtedly the most crucial part of my job.

Reading 2

You are going to read an article about four endurance cyclists describing the hallucinations and extreme sleep deprivation they battled while cycling non-stop across an entire continent.

For questions 1-10, choose from the people/sections (A-D). The people/sections may be chosen more than once.

Which person/section

1   initially misjudged how they would cope with the lack of rest?

2   adopted a technique of sleeping for extremely short intervals to survive?

3   believed they were dodging obstacles that did not actually exist?

4   lost all sense of how much time had elapsed since the start?

5   experienced a sudden, overwhelming burst of emotions on the journey?

6   avoided a severe accident thanks to the intervention of another person?

7   mentions that their mind tried to trick them into giving up the race?

8   developed a strange delusion regarding the nature of the terrain?

9   found that the psychological effects lasted long after they had crossed the finish line?

10   remembers hearing specific things that were entirely imaginary?

Pushing the Limits: When the Mind Gives Up Before the Body

A Mark

Before tackling the monumental Trans-Continental route, I honestly thought I’d take the sleep deprivation in my stride. I had successfully completed 24-hour non-stop rides before without too much trouble, so I foolishly figured I could just push through the fatigue. I quickly had to come to terms with the fact that true endurance is a different beast entirely. By the third night, my brain was desperately trying to convince me to stop cycling. I distinctly remember it projecting a vivid image of a cozy, fully made bed sitting right in the middle of a muddy ditch, practically begging me to lie down in the dirt. It took every ounce of willpower to ignore it. Later, the visual hallucinations became genuinely terrifying; I found myself violently swerving to avoid wild dogs and fallen branches that simply vanished as soon as my headlight hit them. My support crew kept insisting the road was clear, but in my exhausted state, it felt like an endless, deadly obstacle course.

B Sarah

To manage the sheer distance of the continent, my strategy involved taking strictly timed twenty-minute micro-naps whenever I felt my eyelids drooping. In theory, this prevents deep sleep while briefly refreshing the brain, but after a week of this brutal routine, the cracks began to show. Other riders had warned me about the dangers of extreme exhaustion, but experiencing it firsthand is another story entirely. Instead of seeing things, my hallucinations were entirely auditory. I spent one entire night riding through a completely silent desert, yet I could clearly hear a radio playing old pop songs, occasionally interrupted by a newsreader whose words I couldn’t quite catch. It was absolutely maddening. Eventually, the sheer mental strain took its toll. I pulled over by the side of the highway and burst into uncontrollable tears for no logical reason. I wasn’t in physical pain, but my mind had simply reached its breaking point before I managed to bounce back.

C David

When you are cycling up to twenty hours a day across barren landscapes, the boundaries between day and night completely blur. By the time I reached the halfway checkpoint, I had lost all comprehension of what day of the week it was, or even how long I had actually been on the road. The constant, repetitive pedalling puts you into a bizarre hypnotic trance. My perception of reality had become completely distorted, and I remember feeling as though I was trapped in a recurring dream, merely floating a few inches above the tarmac. That detached, floating sensation almost cost me dearly. I started drifting off to sleep while descending a steep mountain pass at fifty kilometres per hour. Had my riding partner not screamed my name, snapping me awake just as I drifted dangerously towards the edge of a sheer drop, I certainly wouldn’t be here today. It was a harsh wake-up call that forced me to finally take a proper rest.

D Elena

The physical recovery from the race took a few weeks, but the psychological impact of such profound exhaustion lingered for months after I had finally returned home. I’d wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, absolutely convinced I had missed a crucial checkpoint. During the actual race, my sleep-deprived brain came up with the most absurd rationalisations to make sense of the endless riding. I became absolutely convinced that I wasn’t actually moving forward at all. Instead, I genuinely believed the road was a gigantic treadmill, and some invisible machine was just pulling the scenery past me on a giant scroll. I even found myself shouting angrily at the trees for repeating the exact same patterns! My friends find the story highly amusing now, but at the time, that delusion felt entirely real. It’s truly astounding how your reality warps when you deprive your body of its most basic need for days on end.

Exercises:   123456