A Lucky Accident

    Sixteen-year-old Maria Donne loves skiing and her ambition is to be an Olympic champion. She`s had many accidents over the years, but an accident last year saved her life. 1_______. She was hoping to get into the junior Olympic Ski Team. Ski experts were coming to watch the competition and choose the best skiers. Maria hoped they would choose her.

    Three days before the competition, Maria went skiing with some friends. At first, they practised their jumps, but then they decided to finish. 2________. Maria had to ski into the trees to avoid her and she hit her head on a tree. Maria quickly got up, but then she felt dizzy. Suddenly she fell down unconscious. Immediately, a friend carried Maria to his car and drove her to the hospital.3__________.

    Everyone thought it was concussion, but the doctors did some tests to check. Eventually, they discovered the problem-Maria was suffering from a rare heart condition. 4_________. However, operations on the heart are extremely dangerous and Maria might not survive. Fortunately, one of the doctors, Doctor Foster, was a specialist. He operated on Maria using a new technique. The operation was a complete success and just three weeks later, Maria left the hospital.

    When Maria went back to the hospital six weeks later, Doctor Foster told her she could start skiing again. “She skied really well”, her father said. “We couldn`t believe she`d been so ill!” Soon, Maria was skiing in competitions again. One day, the Olympic team coach offered her a place in the junior team and at a sports school. Now, Maria is like any other student-she worries about getting good grades and winning events. However, she`ll never forget her lucky accident. “5___________ I`m lucky to be alive. I`m going to keep skiing as long as I can!”

1. Match the sentences a-f with the gaps in the text 1-5. There is one extra sentence.

a They were almost off the mountain when a child fell in front of Maria.

b The doctors discovered my heart condition because of my skiing accident.

c Meanwhile, her other friends called Maria`s parents.

d Maria has always liked sports and she wanted to study sport at university.

e It happened two days before an important ski competition Maria was competing in.

f The doctors explained that they would have to operate or Maria could die.

2. Tick( Ѵ ) true or cross ( X ) false. Correct the false sentences.

1) Maria had never had an accident before the accident in the story.

2) After the accident happened, Maria stood up but she didn`t feel dizzy.  

3) The operation that Doctor Foster carried out was successful.

4) Maria didn`t get a place on the Olympic team because of the accident.