Lost and Alone Stage 5 Comp - Comprehension Pack.pdf

STAGE 5 Unit focus: Adventure and Survival Text focus: Narrative Lost and Alone The crash had been devastating, but you’d been le alone long before that. When the rest of your e...

STAGE 5 Unit focus: Adventure and Survival Text focus: Narrative Lost and Alone The crash had been devastating, but you’d been le alone long before that. When the rest of your expedition dri ed out of sight during the snowstorm, you hadn’t realised that it would be the last time you’d see another human for weeks. You didn’t want to think about them being le alone, with all of the food packs on your shoulders –you couldn’t imagine what they were going through. Finding the snowmobile at the back of the abandoned research facility had been a stroke of luck. Losing control on the icy slopes and watching it careen into the canyon hadn’t been. You could only be thankful that you’d thrown yourself clear in time. Since then, you’d been forced to trek through the seemingly endless white wasteland. The food from the expedition hadn’t lasted longer than a week or so. The occasional rabbit had kept you going since then, hunted from afar with a snare. You’d learned to identify safe plants on hikes with your dad when you were a child. You knew what to look out for: dandelions, nettles, blackberries and mulberries. “Steer clear of mushrooms if you can help it,” your dad had repeated like a mantra. “They’re all too similar to know what’s what.” Last night, your problems worsened. When you stumbled upon a small river, warmed by some underground spring and the only water for miles around that wasn’t frozen over, you realised you had a difficult decision to make. Should you leave the water behind and rely on melted snow as you moved forward into the unknown wilderness, or stay close to the fresh water and hope help came to you. The rest of your expedition had taken the flares with them, and nobody knew where you were. Trees towered over you, evergreen and blocking any chance of being spotted by a passing plane. If you were heading in the right direction, you knew that there was a pass a few miles ahead. There was a ranger station at the top of the southern peak, unmanned but offering shelter and the chance of a working phone line. Of course, if you’d been thrown off-course at any point in the last few days, there was no chance of finding it now. Underneath the canopy, all directions blurred into one. The sounds of the forest bounced around so many trees that even the smallest whisper of a mouse under the snow seemed to come at you from every direction. all resources ©2021 Literacy Shed http://www.literacyshedplus.com You had no choice. Without salvation, the fresh water would soon become pointless. You needed to get to the pass. The sun broke through the firs briefly, giving you a sense of which way was south. There’d been a fresh layer of snow overnight, covering your tracks from the previous day. If you hadn’t been sensible enough to carve marks into the trees as you passed them, you would never have known where you’d been. Instead, you looked forward, through the tunnel of snow-laden branches and onward towards the chance of rescue. VOCABULARY FOCUS 1. Which word in the first paragraph tells you that the crash was very bad? 2. How do you know that there was nobody in the research facility? 3. Write a definition for the word “trek” 4. Find and copy a word that tells you there is nobody waiting at the ranger station. 5. What is “salvation”? VIPERS QUESTIONS I Why did the author’s dad say to avoid mushrooms? R What kind of things could the author eat in the wild? S Why might the author had stayed where they were? R What had the author found and crashed? I How can you tell that the character had been prepared for being lost? all resources ©2021 Literacy Shed http://www.literacyshedplus.com