2

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3 2014
When I got to Iceland, I was immediately struck by the unique natural beauty and
absence of pollution. These things make the island st!" #$t from other places, as it is truly
untouched by those evils that have spoilt much of the rest of the world. One of the reasons
that Iceland is such an amazing place is that about half of the island is made up of volcanoes
and a mountainous lava desert. Who would imagine that a place with a name like Iceland!
would feature landscape like that" Of course, Iceland also has several glaciers, or frozen
rivers!, and many f#ords. $lus, it has more land covered by glaciers than anywhere else in
%urope. &o, when you think of it, the name Iceland does make sense after all'
When I was told that my trip to Iceland had been scheduled for the first week in
(anuary, what I e)pected was e)treme cold. *owever, I was in for a surprise. The climate of
Iceland is milder in winter than most people think. In +eyk#avik, the average temperature in
(anuary is ,
o
- and although wind and gales are common in winter, thunderstorms are
e)tremely rare. .s it turned out, the weather was no obstacle to my e)peditions to some
fascinating places.
I have been travelling around the world for more than a quarter of a century, and I
have been to several breathtaking natural wonders. /ery few of them can be compared to the
0reat 0eyser in &outh Iceland. This geyser, or hot spouting spring, spouts hot water to the
height of 12 metres, which is a truly remarkable and incredible sight' .nother e)traordinary
sight I visited was the famous volcano of *ekla, one of the 322 active volcanoes in the
country. 4uring the 5iddle .ges it was believed to be the home of the damned. Its first
recorded eruption was in .4 6627 and since then there has been a series of eruptions, some
of which were gentle while others caused significant damage to the nearby countryside.
6.. +ead the passage and decide if the following sentences are True 8T9 or :alse 8:9.
6. When the writer went to Iceland, the weather was warmer than he had e)pected.
3. There are often thunderstorms in Iceland during winter.
;. The 0reat 0eyser is one of the most remarkable sights the writer has visited.
7. What is remarkable about the great 0eyser is the temperature of the water.
,. .ll of *ekla<s eruptions have caused great damage to the island.
6=. 5atch the following words with their definitions.
6. stand out a. an ob#ect or a situation that makes
it difficult for sb to achieve sth
3. 0eyser b. special and worth mentioning
;. obstacle c. so be very noticeable
7. gale d. a natural spring that shoots up hot
water from deep inside the earth
,. remarkable e. strong wind
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