Question

Q2. Read the passage given below and answer the questions that follow:
7.5
I was the kid who sat on the sidelines and watched others having a good time splashing about
in the sea, wishing I could swim. Eventually, I learned how to, the hard way. My brothers threw
me into the water. As I floundered and nearly drowned, it didn't occur to me then that my
brothers had taught me two important skills: survival and independence. These skills were gifts
that I relied on numerous times over as an adult. As a child, I was game for anything.
Nothing fascinated me more than the chance to try something new. If nothing else, my curiosity
was fuelled by the desire to test my limits. I was sixteen when I climbed my first mountain. It
was Gunung Ledang in Johor, Malaysia, in 1980. It was a horrible experience. I found the heat
and thickness of the jungle overwhelming. The night spent on the summit was cold and lonely.
As I lay in my tent, with my knees curled to my chin, I vowed that I would never climb another
mountain. And yet, ironically, I was one of the two climbers from the first Singapore Mount
Everest Expedition who summitted Mount Everest in May 1998.
1.1 Answer the following Questions:
4.5
1. Why did the writer consider his childhood average?
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2. Why did the writer say that the ability to swim comes almost naturally to any kid growing up
in Port Dickson?
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3. The writer learnt to appreciate the skills his brothers taught him that day at the sea when he
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4. What made the writer vow never to climb again after his Gunung Ledang trip?
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Answer 1

Answer:

1. He considered it to be average because he was always on the sidelines doing nothing. He never really did anything adventurous until he was older.

2. He said this because Port Dickson is near the sea, so many kids grew up near the sea and were used to it.

3. He learned to appreciate it when he was older and he used those skills to climb mount Gunung Ledang in Johor. He wanted to give up and leave and said he would never climb another mountain again. However using those skills he was one of the 2 climbers who summitted Mount Everest in 1998.

4. He had a horrible experience on the mountain because the jungle was thick, and at night it was cold and lonely.

Explanation: