Reading - Mega goal 1 - أول ثانوي

5 Did You Hurt Yourself? 9 Reading Before Reading Read the events. For each event, write one sentence that describes the happy or unhappy ending that the people had. رابط الدرس الرقمي www.ien.edu.sa Unusual Accidents and Deaths a Many people are interested in stories of unusual accidents—some of these stories have happy endings, but some, unfortunately, have unhappy ones. UNHAPPY ENDINGS According to the legend, the ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus was killed when an eagle dropped a tortoise on his head. The bird was trying to break the tortoise's shell on a rock in order to eat it. Aeschylus was bald, and the eagle thought the unfortunate man's head was a good rock on which it could break the shell. An eight-foot tall ostrich was seen weaving through heavy traffic on a Saudi Arabian highway, near Abha. One of the drivers filmed the scene and uploaded it on the internet. No one tried to stop and catch the 180-kg bird that was taller than humans and ran at almost 70 km per hour. It had probably escaped from a farm and ran into heavy traffic instead of the wild. Some people worry about being hit from things falling from outer space. There is only one person in all recorded history who has been killed by a meteorite-Manfredo Settala. The tragedy happened in 1680. Ahmad Ali lost his eight-year-old son in a drowning accident at a friend's house. His son had been invited to join other children at a friend's house to play and swim in the pool. According to the invitation a lifeguard was going to be present. The young boy was really excited and begged his father to let him go. So, Ahmad Ali picked him up from school and drove him to his friend's house before 1:00 p.m. That was the last time he saw him alive. HAPPY ENDINGS A German soldier was riding in the back seat of a World War I plane when the engine stalled as a result of an unusual gust of wind. He fell out of his seat while the plane was high above the ground. As he was falling, the plane's engine started again, and he landed back in his own seat. The pilot was then able to land the plane safely. Bob Hail jumped out of an airplane in November 1972, but his main parachute failed to open. His backup parachute also failed. Bob dropped about 3,000 feet (900 meters) at 80 miles (128 km) per hour and hit the ground face first. After a moment, he got up and walked away with only minor injuries. It was an amazing escape. In September 2007, Phil Lamattina escaped death when he was driving at over 300 miles (500 km) per hour in a drag race in Brisbane, Australia. Phil was racing down the track when his car became airborne, split in two, and burst into a fireball. He was knocked out, but he survived. Although he was in the midst of the ball of fire, Phil was burned only on the tip of his finger. When his brothers later showed him the video of the accident, Phil couldn't believe he was watching himself—and that he had such a lucky escape. Railroad worker Phineas P. Gage was working with some dynamite when it exploded unexpectedly. A bar that was 3 feet (1 meter) long and that weighed 13 pounds (6 kg) went clear through his head. He remained conscious, but was unable to see out of his left eye. After a while, his sight returned, and he fully recovered. وزار 78عليم Ministry of Education 2024-1446 MG_01_COMBO_TEXT_2024.indb 78 30/4/24 2:02 AM

Unusual Accidents and Deaths

وزارة التعليم Ministry of Education 2024-1446 MG_01_COMBO_TEXT_2024.indb 79 After Reading A. Match the words with the meanings. a. to explode b. to throw with great force 1. bald 2. to challenge 3. to weave through c. to get better 4. to hurl to burst 6. to recover 2 3 4 5 6 d. having no hair on the head e. to contest or fight against f. to move through something by turning and avoiding B. Complete the sentences about the reading. 1. The eagle dropped the tortoise on Aeschylus's head, and so 2. The ostrich in the traffic had probably escaped 3. Ahmad Ali agreed to take his son to his friend's house because 4. Although Bob Hail had a backup parachute, 5. When Phil saw the pictures of himself on the video, he Discussion In groups, ask and answer the questions below. Agree or disagree with your group. 1. Which incident in the article do you think is the strangest or the most interesting? Why? 2. Where do ostriches normally live? Why do you think this ostrich escaped? How did people react to the scene? 3. Do you know anyone who avoided a bad accident? What happened? 4. Why do you think people are so interested in stories about other people's disasters? 5. Why do you think people risk their lives in dangerous sports like drag racing, Formula One racing, skydiving, and so on? n องค์ 79 30/4/24 2:02 AM

Match the words with the meanings 1. bald

in groups, ask and answer the questions below Agree or disagree with your group. 1. Which incident in the article do you think is the strongest or the most interesting? Why?