Practice English Listening B1 Exercises – The parachute jump

1

a F   b T   c F   d T   e F   f T   g F

2

a Kevin and Beverly   b Sue   c Jim

d Beverly (and probably Kevin )

c Peter   f Kevin and Beverly

g Dennis   h Beverly   i Kevin

j Beverly

PETER:   … they will just have to start talking if they want the peace process to continue. And now back to you, Jim, in the studio in London.

JIM:   Well, that was Peter Janus reporting from the United Nations. Now for our next piece we’re going over to Sue Ballot in Vaness, north-west France with an incredible story of survival.

SUE:   Yes Jim, and it is all incredible story. Yesterday, a married couple, Kevin McIlwee and his wife Beverly, both of them from the island of Jersey, had a miraculous escape after plunging 10,000 feet when their parachutes failed to open properly. They broke a number of bones, but amazingly they’re still alive.

I should explain that Kevin (he’s 47) and Beverly (just three years younger) were on their honeymoon. Mr McIlwee is a parachute instructor, and persuaded his new wife to do a tandem jump – that’s when an instructor jumps with someone (in this case Beverly) strapped to him.

The accident happened when the first parachute didn’t open properly. Mr McIlwee tried to solve the problem, but when he couldn’t, he tried to get rid of that chute and use the second, emergency parachute that skydivers always carry with them.

A few hours ago I spoke to Beverly’s father, Dennis Murtaugh, who explained what happened next. His words were spoken by an actor because the line was not good when we talked.

DENNIS:   Unfortunately, Kevin wasn’t able to jettison the first parachute properly so the emergency chute wouldn’t open and they just fell faster and faster. Kevin told me that they thought that was it, they were going to die.

SUE:   So how did they survive?

DENNIS:   It was pure luck, I suppose. I mean they only had half a parachute to slow them down. They hit the ground at an absolutely fantastic speed. It could have killed them.

SUE:   How does your daughter feel about parachuting now?

DENNIS:   She’s never going to do another jump!

SUE:   I’m not surprised.

DENNIS:   She’s only just starting to realise how lucky she is. When I spoke to her she said she was looking out of the window from her hospital bed enjoying seeing the daylight and the birds.

SUE:   Beverly McIlwee needs a number of operations and will be in a wheelchair for weeks. She has broken bones in her leg, ankle and both of her feet. Her husband has a broken leg. Jim?

JIM:   Thanks very much for that report Sue. Wen, that’s a honeymoon those two people will never forget! And now it’s time for sport, so over to Simon …