(PUC-RS - 2014)
Eight rules for walks in the country
Posted by Tom Cox
“It’s quite an up and down kind of walk,” said my friend Emma. “Oh,” added Emma, “and it gets a bit blowy up there, so I’d leave your credit card back here if I were you.” I gave her a searching look, wondering how a credit card might relate to a strong wind. “I took mine up there the other week and it blew out of my hand into the sea,” she clarified. “I had to order a new one.”
I fell in love with walking because it lifted my spirit and took me to parts of my local area that I would never have _________ otherwise, but also because there was something brilliantly ridiculous about the idea of _________ yourself, 1on a whim, alone, in a bit of countryside you’d never _________ before, with no real goal apart from putting one foot in front of the other.
I’ve never really dressed in any walking-specific clothing or taken any special supplies out with me, but I do think there are a few things I’ve learned about “how to walk” in gentle terrain that might help others. I have compiled some of the main ones: always be assertive in saying “Hello!” to fellow walkers, unless in a built-up area; learn to fold your map properly; show strange dogs and cows who is boss; don’t be afraid of dictaphones*; try not to have a beard, but if you do have a beard, have a dog as well; try to avoid headwear, unless strictly necessary; choose an apt soundtrack for your walk; watch out for fookwits and loonies!
This last one doesn’t apply specifically to country walks. It’s just something that my dad tells me every time I see him, and it’s worked fairly well as a general rule for life over the years, so it probably works for walking as well.
*voice recorders
Adapted from http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/sep/11/eight-rules-country-walks.
To solve question, read paragraph 3 and select the correct words to complete the gaps.
_________ you _________ in a built-up area, you _________ greet the fellow walkers.
According to the idea in the text, the correct words to fill in the gaps are, respectively,