Vocabulary:

1 niche – надлежащее место (область, сфера деятельности)

2 to overlap – частично совпадать

3 rush – прилив, приток

4 rugged – пересеченный, заваленный, труднопроходимый

5 terrain – местность, место, территория, район

6 flyover – эстакада

7 trekking – путешествие (особенно длительное, сопряженное с трудностями)

8 knotting – связывание, завязывание в узел

9 pond – пруд; маленькое озеро

10 rowing – гребля

11 steep – крутой

12 cliff – обрыв, клиф

13 exhaustion – изнеможение, истощение

14 viable – жизнеспособный

15 torch – осветительный прибор (факел, фонарь)

Extreme tourism or shock tourism is a type of niche tourism involving travel to dangerous places (mountains, jungles, deserts, caves, etc.) or participation in dangerous events. Extreme tourism overlaps with extreme sport. The two share the main attraction, "adrenaline rush" caused by an element of risk, and differing mostly in the degree of engagement and professionalism.

Extreme tourism is a growing business in the countries of the former Soviet Union (Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, etc.) and in South American countries like Peru, Chile and Argentina. The mountainous and rugged terrain of Northern Pakistan has also developed into a popular extreme tourism location.

While traditional tourism requires significant investments in hotels, roads, etc., extreme tourism requires much less to jump-start a business. In addition to traditional travel-based tourism destinations, various exotic attractions are suggested, such as flyovers in MiGs at Mach 2.5, ice diving in the White Sea, or travelling across the Chernobyl zone.

River trekking or river tracing is a form of hiking or outdoor adventure activity, particularly popular in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and, in some ways, similar to canyoning or canyoneering. River trekking is a combination of trekking and climbing and sometimes swimming along the river. It involves particular techniques like rock climbing, climbing on wet surfaces, understanding the geographical features of river and valleys, knotting, dealing with sudden bad weather and find out possible exits from the river.

River trekking is especially popular in Hong Kong because it is totally a surprise that in this highly developed region are preserved a number of excellent geographical features in its rivers in the countryside. Through river trekking, it is possible to access numerous waterfalls, large ponds, pot holes, other special geographical features as well as special species of animals and plants. Also, it is a very cheap activity in comparison with other challenging outdoor activities like rock climbing, rowing and wind-surfing. No training courses are needed because there is no one in Hong Kong who would provide training for river trekking. However, river trekking has long been one of the most popular outdoor activities in Hong Kong, even though most of the river trekking routes or sites are indicated as "danger" or "no entry" by the government. There is a trend that more and more foreigners and even tourists are taking part in this activity.

River trekking has certain level of risk. There are occasional accidents in river trekking, including falls from steep cliffs or waterfalls, drownings, exhaustion, or getting lost. Risks that should be prepared for include the following:

First, sudden changes in weather, like rainstorms, can cause rapid rises in water levels and speed in the river. Also, the number of viable paths and climbing areas inside the river valley would be reduced suddenly in a very short period. Besides this, bad or misty weather would also cause low visibility. Low visibility may come in to quickly for trekkers to adapt to. Therefore, a torch (flashlight), preferably a head-mounted one, is a must for river trekking.

Second, steep cliffs inside river valleys require a certain level of rock climbing skills. However, because of the humid environment inside the river valley, some rock surfaces can be very wet and some rocks can be very loose despite appearing solid. To deal with such wet climbing conditions, a pair of professional river-trekking boots are strongly advised.

Text work

1. Give English equivalents for the following Russian words and word-combinations

1 путешествие в опасные места

2 частично совпадает с экстремальным спортом

3 степень профессионализма

4 труднопроходимая местность

5 добраться до многочисленных водопадов

6 подготовительные курсы не нужны

7 определенная степень риска

8 падение с крутых обрывов

9 неожиданные изменения погоды

10 настоятельно рекомендуется

2. Find synonyms to the following words from the text

1 perilous

2 to resemble

3 uneven, stony

4 rising

5 falls

6 sinking

7 way

8 degree

9 moist

10 unbound

3. Match the given words with definitions

1 risk a) moving a boat through the water by using oars

2 professionalism b) the sport of going under water or of swimming and

exploring under water

3 terrain c) making a fastening by tying a piece or pieces of string,

rope, etc.

4 diving d) the possibility of meeting danger or of suffering harm or

loss

5 trekking/tracing e) the skill or qualities required or expected of a person

6 knotting f) a stretch of land, with regard to its natural features

7 rowing g) a long hard walk lasting several days or weeks, especially

in mountains

4. Read and translate the following groups of words derived from a common root

1 To differ – different – differentiate – difference – differenciation

2 To exhaust – exhaustion – exhausted

3 To visualize – visual – visible – visibility

5. Answer the questions

1 What is extreme tourism?

2 In what countries is it greatly popular?

3 What types of extreme tourism do you know from the text? Which seems to be the most/the least attractive for you? Why?

4 Are there any training courses preparing for this type of tourism?

5 What are the main risks?

Text 2. Canyoning

Scan the text and find the passage devoted to the risks of canyoning. Retell it to your partner. Think of ways of avoiding such dangerous events.

Canyoning (known as canyoneering in the U.S.) is traveling in canyons using a variety of techniques that may include walking, scrambling, climbing, jumping, abseiling, and/or swimming.

Canyoning is frequently done in remote and rugged settings and often requires navigational, route-finding and other wilderness travel skills.

Canyons that are ideal for canyoning are often cut into the bedrock stone, forming narrow gorges with numerous drops, beautifully sculpted walls, and sometimes spectacular waterfalls. Most canyons are cut into limestone, sandstone, granite or basalt, though other rock types are found. Canyons can be very easy or extremely difficult, though emphasis in the sport is usually on aesthetics and fun rather than pure difficulty. A wide variety of canyoning routes are found throughout the world, and canyoning is enjoyed by people of all ages and skill levels.

Canyoning gear includes climbing hardware, static ropes, helmets, wetsuits, and specially designed shoes, packs, and rope bags. While canyoners have used and adapted climbing, hiking, and river running gear for years, more and more specialized gear is invented and manufactured as canyoning popularity increases.

In most parts of the world canyoning is done in mountain canyons with flowing water. Countries with established canyoning include: Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Reunion Island, Greece, Jordan, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Ecuador, Japan, Croatia, Turkey, Israel, Mauritius and the United States.

Canyoning can be dangerous. Escape out the sides of a canyon is often impossible, and completion of the descent is the only possibility. Due to the remoteness and inaccessibility of many canyons, rescue can be impossible for several hours or several days.

A potential danger of many canyoning trips is a flash flood. A canyon “flashes” when a large amount of precipitation falls in the drainage, and water levels in the canyon rise quickly as the runoff rushes down the canyon. In canyons that drain large areas, the rainfall could be many kilometers away from the canyoners, completely unbeknown to them. A calm or even dry canyon can quickly become a violent torrent due to a severe thunderstorm in the vicinity. Fatalities have occurred as a result of flash floods; in one widely-publicized 1999 incident, 21 tourists on a commercial canyoning adventure trip drowned in Saxetenbach Gorge, Switzerland.

Temperature related illnesses are also canyoning hazards. In arid desert canyons, heat exhaustion can occur if proper hydration levels are not maintained and adequate steps are not taken to avoid the intense rays of the sun. Hypothermia can be a serious danger in any canyon that contains water, during anytime of the year. Wetsuits and drysuits can mitigate this danger to a large degree, but when people miscalculate the amount of water protection they will need, dangerous and sometimes fatal situations can occur. Hypothermia due to inadequate cold water protection is cited as a cause of a 2005 incident in which two college students drowned in a remote Utah canyon.

Narrow sandstone slot canyons tend to have abrasive walls which act as sandpaper as a canyoner moves or slides along them. This abrasion tends to rip clothing and gear, and can cause painful skin abrasion.