Reading Test "Lost at Sea"

Lost at Sea

 American sailor Louis Jordan went missing in the sea for more than two months in 2015. He was found alive and well by a German ship, which took him from his small boat to safety.

Jordan, 37, left Conway, South Carolina, on 23 January, telling his family he was going on a fishing trip for a few days to ‘catch some really big fish’. His father called the police to report him missing on 29 January, when he didn’t hear from his son. The Coast Guard (an organisation that helps people who are in trouble at sea) looked for Louis until 18 February, but then thought that he must be dead. The ship found him on 2 April.

The sailor said his boat turned upside down in the night during bad weather. The boat began filling with water, but it turned over again so it didn’t sink and no more water got in.

His father, Frank, didn’t think he would ever see his son again.

But 66 days later, the passing German ship found him 320 km from the coast of North Carolina.

Mr Jordan survived because he had quite a lot of food on his boat. It was also his home, so he had lots of clothes, tools and other equipment on board too. When there was no more food and water, he caught fish and collected as much rainwater as he could, but he didn’t have enough. Jordan only drank about half a litre of water a day, which is just above the daily minimum needed to stay alive (300 ml–500 ml).

Mr Jordan says that when he first saw the German ship, he waved his hands slowly to show them that he needed help.

During his time alone, he was more worried about his family and friends, who would think he was dead, than he was about himself. As soon as he could, Mr Jordan had a very long and emotional phone call with his father.

Task 1   Read the text “Lost at Sea” carefully. Then choose the correct answer (a, b, or c).

1 Where did Louis Jordan come from? a) North Carolina b) South Carolina c) Germany

2 What did Louis tell his family before leaving? a) He was going to visit a friend.
b) He was going on a short fishing trip. c)He wanted to sail around the world.

3 When did his father report him missing? a) On 23 January b) On 2 April  c) On 29 January

4 Why did the Coast Guard stop searching for him? a) They thought he was dead.
b) They found his empty boat. c) they didn’t have enough people to search.

5 What happened to his boat during the storm? a) It sank completely.
b) It turned upside down but didn’t sink. c)It hit another ship.

6 How far from the coast was he found? a) 120 km b) 220 km c) 320 km

7 What did Louis do when he ran out of food and water? a) Ate canned food and drank seawater.
b) Caught fish and collected rainwater. c) drank from the ocean and ate seaweed

8 How much water did he drink per day at the end? a) About half a litre.
b) About two litres. c) Less than 100 ml.

9 What was Louis most worried about while he was lost? a) His boat being damaged.
b) Sharks in the water. c) His family and friends thinking he is dead.

Score -       /4,5 points

 Task 2    Read the text “Lost at Sea” carefully. Then decide if the following statements are:

■ True  ■ False  ■ Doesn’t Say

1 Louis Jordan was missing at sea for more than two months.

2 He went on a fishing trip with two friends.

3 His father called the police when he didn’t hear from him.

4 The Coast Guard searched for him for almost a month.

5 Louis’s boat completely sank during the storm.

6 He survived by catching fish and collecting rainwater.

7 He had only one bottle of water on his boat when he left.

8 Louis was rescued close to the coast of North Carolina.

9 After being rescued, Louis immediately called his father.

 Score -       /4,5 points

Task 3 Answer. Write no less than 2 sentences to each question:

1. What would you do to survive if you were in Louis Jordan situation?

2. Do you think his trip was responsible or careless? Why?

3. What lesson can people learn from his story?

 Score -       /3 points

Total score –       / 12 points