Text 1 03.11 A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson We hiked till five and camped beside a spring in a small, grassy clearing in the trees just off the trail. Because it was our first day back on the trail, we had plenty of food, including cheese and bread that had to be eaten before s they went off or were shaken to bits in our backpacks, so we rather gorged ourselves, then sat around chatting lazily until numerous little flying insects drove us into our tents. It was perfect sleeping weather, cool enough to need a sleeping bag but warm enough that you could 10 sleep in your underwear, and I was looking forward to a long night's sleep - indeed was enjoying a long night's sleep when, at some dark hour, there was a sound nearby that woke me up suddenly. Normally, I slept through everything through thunderstorms, through 15 Katz's snoring - so something big enough to wake me was unusual. There was a sound of breaking branches, something heavy pushing through the trees, and then a kind of loud breathing noise. I sat straight up. Every neuron in my brain was awake. 201 reached for my knife, then realized I had left it in my backpack, just outside the tent. After many quiet nights, I was no longer worried about having to defend myself in the night. There was another noise, quite near. 'Stephen, you awake?' I whispered. 25 'Yup, he replied in a tired but normal voice. 'What was that?' 'How should I know! 'It sounded big 'Everything sounds big in the woods! 30 This was true. Once a skunk had come through our camp and it had sounded like a stegosaurus. There was another noise and then the sound of drinking at the spring. It was having a drink, whatever it was. I moved on my knees to the foot of the tent, carefully 35 opened the entrance and looked out, but it was pitch black. As quietly as I could, I brought in my backpack and with the light of a small flashlight searched through it for my knife. When I found it and opened it I was shocked at how small it looked. It was perfectly suitable for, say, 40 putting butter on pancakes, but useless for defending oneself against 400 pounds of hungry bear. Carefully, very carefully, I climbed | Focus 3. Second Edition. Student's Book | 6/64