How did people used to travel on this road?

BLOG: SLIPPERY DEVILS

This is a non-fiction text about a young lady’s holiday experiences in Australia. Read the blog and then answer the comprehension questions which follow.

What a wonderful trip! I was covering the whole of Australia, and I wasn’t opting for the usual boring bar jobs. It was the famous outback for me, where all the real work was done.

Sheep farms in Australia are ridiculous. They are massive. No wonder a farmer has to use a helicopter to keep an eye on the animals. Farms are not much to look at, but they sure do cover a lot of space. Four-wheel drives, affectionately known as ‘utes’ are a must.

When working, you have to be vigilant for snakes. Despite the heat making it very uncomfortable, it is essential to wear protective footwear. Also, you had to keep your eyes on the utes in case these belly crawlers decide to seek out some shade.

I’d grown quite a social group in the short time that I was there. We decided to have a fancy dress party in which we all dressed up as surfers. In order to complete the look, we all wore flip flops. It was a great party. We had a ‘barbie’ and danced to classic pop music. I had promised a phone call to my parents though, so I skipped away to the ute I’d left my mobile in. The time difference between Australia and the UK is so different that you literally have to call in the middle of the night! I scrambled into the ute, retrieved my phone and jumped back out of the truck.

Suddenly, there was an agonising pain in my leg. I spun, and beheld the malevolent eyes of a muddy-coloured snake. It was everyone’s worst fear. It reared its head and bared its fangs. I’d trodden on the creature’s tail…

Shocked, and full of venom, I fell over. It seemed like I was screaming for ages before Lawrence, another member of our fruit-picking gang, threw me in the ute and drove me to hospital. Everyone knows that there is no time to waste when snakebites are involved. Afterwards, I was told that it was an Eastern Brown that snagged me, one of the most toxic land snakes in the world. It might have looked as harmless as one of my mum’s worldfamous brownies, but you should never judge a book by its cover.

It only took a few minutes for me to lose feeling in my legs. Lawrence tried to reassure me, but panic is a vicious beast. Despite being in the middle of nowhere, the local hospital held anti-venoms for all known venomous snakes in that location. They weren’t surprised it was an Eastern Brown. The quick onset of symptoms was a giveaway. I was very lucky. It took several doses of anti-venom, and I did almost die. These muddy devils are responsible for more snake bite deaths in Australia than any other snakes. I’ll never forget that experience, and I’m in no rush to get back to the outback!

1. Where does she think ‘all the real work is done’?

2. In the second paragraph, how do farmers cope with vast amounts of land?

3. Can you work out what the word ‘vigilant’ means in paragraph 3?

4. What is she wearing that offers little protection?

5. What word in paragraph 5 shows that the snake was intending to do harm?

6. How does the writer use humour at the end of paragraph 6?

7. What fact in paragraph 7 shows the reader how lucky she was to survive?

CHECK YOUR ANSWERS AT THE BACK