You will hear a man called Paul Hart talking about his trip to Africa with a team of scientists.
For each question, put a tick in the correct box. You now have 45 seconds to look at the questions for Part 2.
Now we are ready to start. Listen carefully. You will hear the recording twice.
Woman: With us today, to tell us about his trip across Africa, is the biologist Paul Hart.
Man: We started on the east coast and travelled on foot across Africa to Gabon in the west, collecting plants and flowers along the way. It wasn’t easy, but my route crossed a region rich in plants and I chose it because it won’t stay that way for long when more roads are built. It was my only chance to get important information about the natural life of the area.
I had a team of eleven scientists. We walked from six in the morning, but the forest was so thick it took hours to cut our way through it, and some days we only walked one kilometre before dark. Fortunately, we carried special equipment that was very light and we took as little food as possible. But we were always tired when we put the tents up at night.
Sometimes we saw elephants or lions. They were amazing to watch and never attacked us. Every day, I collected plants and added to my notes. There was so much new information to write down. There were, of course, some low points, especially when I got anxious about the team. It was my job to make sure everyone got home safely.
Towards the end of the trip, I suddenly discovered one day that the food had nearly all gone. It was strange because we’d brought enough dried food with us to last the trip - food that wouldn’t ever go bad - and we’d stopped at villages for fresh food too. But then I found that some of the team had eaten much more than they were supposed to.
I was angry with them because it was a silly thing to do.
Then we started walking again. There were no maps for the area, but we had a local guide. Then one of the team got sick and we couldn’t go any further. We let him rest, but he got much worse. Thankfully his life was saved by a fisherman who came along the river in a boat and took him to a doctor in the nearest village.
Finally, I returned home, and I’m back with my family and friends. I really missed them while I was away. But I learnt so much on the trip and I’m really glad I went. I was asked to go on another trip - this time to Australia – but I said that I couldn’t because I’m busy here in London. And I think I’ve done enough travelling.