Content provided by British Council
Read the following text, and answer questions 1-9 below:
[1] White-throated kingfishers, fire-worms and lion’s mane jellyfish are creatures that might seem exotic to Hong Kong city dwellers. Yet all three, and many more wondrous animals and plants, can be found in the city’s backyard, on Lantau Island – called by some the “green jewel” of Hong Kong.
[2] For Charmian Woodhouse and Cathy Cole, two Lantau residents, the island and its biodiversity have always been a source of adventure and curiosity. So, the friends who were already experienced open-water swimmers and trail runners challenged themselves in 2021 to circumnavigate Lantau Island, travelling along its shoreline.
[3] “We were curious about exploring parts of Lantau that were very remote and inaccessible by trail,” said Woodhouse, a private music teacher who is originally from South Africa. “Hong Kong is just an incredible place for adventure sports. It’s an incredible archipelago. When we started seeing how beautiful it was ... we just felt, ‘Oh, let’s just slow down and really try and enjoy, and explore and document what we saw along the way.” Since completing the challenge, she has penned a book called Lantau Coast (2022) which details the duo’s sightings and observations.
[4] Because they were “coasteering” – the name given to a sport which involves scrambling, climbing and swimming along coastlines – it took the pair around an hour to travel 1km, and they would be out for eight to 10 hours at a time for each section. Along the way, they came across a wide variety of wildlife and titbits of Lantau history and geology that may not be commonly known to Hong Kong residents.
[5] Mong Tung Wan, in the south of Lantau, was home to a number of creatures. On nearby boulders, the duo spotted the decomposing carcass of a baby finless porpoise. It is said that there are only 200 of these creatures left in Hong Kong waters. During their journey, the pair discovered that Lantau is home to an abundant array of butterflies. Of some 260 species in Hong Kong, 80 per cent have been found on the island.
[6] Another little-known historical fact about Lantau Island is its volcanic history. “Hong Kong has actually had four main volcanic episodes, and on Lantau, there was a volcano millions of years ago,” Woodhouse said – more precisely, 146-148 million years ago, according to the Hong Kong Civil Engineering and Development Department. As a result, the rocks on Lantau are incredibly diverse. There is grey granite, purplish-pink rhyolite, pink coarse-grained sandstone outlined with red limonite, and weathered sedimentary rock that features red and orange cracks because of oxidised iron that has seeped in. “You can see the history of the geology in Hong Kong so clearly on the coast,” Woodhouse said.
[7] “The biodiversity of Hong Kong is phenomenal for such a small area. Some people will have [a specific] experience of Lantau, or even Hong Kong, and they might go to the same areas or experience it the same way. But there’s actually so much more to discover,” she added.
Source: South China Morning Post, September 1
Questions
1. Paragraph 1 mentions three animals to ...
A. showcase animals that are native to Hong Kong.
B. illustrate the city’s diverse wildlife.
C. bring awareness to the plight of endangered animals.
D. all of the above
2. In paragraph 1, what does the “green jewel” of Hong Kong refer to?
3. Find a word in paragraph 3 that refers to a group of islands and the sea surrounding them.
4. In paragraph 3, what is Lantau Coast (2022) based on?
5. Why did coasteering around Lantau Island take the duo significantly longer than other methods of exploration, according to paragraph 4?
6. Which word or phrase can replace “titbits” in paragraph 4?
A. historical documentation
B. alarming information
C. little-known facts
D. interesting details
7. Based on your understanding of paragraph 5, it highlights ...
A. the unique butterfly species that are endemic to Lantau Island.
B. the lack of variety in wildlife on Lantau Island.
C. the importance of protecting Lantau Island’s unique ecosystem.
D. none of the above
8. Why does Woodhouse say “the biodiversity of Hong Kong is phenomenal for such a small area” in paragraph 7?
9. Which group of people might this article appeal to?
A. adventurers who want to seek out hidden gems in Hong Kong’s natural landscape
B. expats keen to live on Lantau Island
C. individuals interested in picking up coasteering
D. students majoring in Hong Kong architectural history
Answers
1. B
2. Lantau Island
3. archipelago
4. It is based on Charmian Woodhouse and Cathy Cole’s sightings and observations when they were coasteering around Lantau Island.
5. because they were climbing and swimming along coastlines and it took the pair around an hour to travel one kilometre (accept other similar answers)
6. D
7. C
8. It is because even though Hong Kong is a small territory, it has a wide variety of plants and animals, and Lantau Island alone is home to many species as well as incredibly diverse geology due to its volcanic history. (accept other reasonable answers)
9. A
