Lesson 4A Reading — Inspirational stories of resilience

• I can identify events in a narrative news story.

Aldi lost at sea: what happened?

In pairs, look at the photo in the news story. What do you think happened?

Now read what really happened to Aldi.

Put paragraphs B–H in order

Paragraphs B–H are in the wrong order. Number the paragraphs in the correct order (2–8) to make a coherent text. Listen and check.

Following events in a narrative

When reading a narrative, look out for the typical structure of this kind of text:

• a summary of what happened
• background to the events
• main events – notice linkers such as at first, after, then, finally or in the end
• conclusion
• coda, where the writer makes a comment or brings the story up to date.

Now see how the ideas are linked.

• You can also follow a narrative by looking for ways in which the ideas are connected.
• Words and phrases may be repeated:
• Aldi had a week’s supply of food … But after a week his supplies ran out.
• The first time something is mentioned, the writer may use an indefinite article, and then the definite article:
• … but is attached to the sea bed with a rope … the rope attaching him to the bottom of the sea broke …
• Reference words, such as pronouns, can also show connections between different parts of the text:
• He filtered the sea water through his clothes to reduce the amount of salt. This must have done the trick.

Three questions on the news story

Read the news story and choose the correct answers.

1 Why is the word heartbreakingly used in Paragraph G?

a To explain how Aldi must have felt when he saw the ship.

b To justify why Aldi felt that his troubles were now over.

c To express the writer’s own feelings about the captain’s actions.

2 What is suggested about Aldi’s job in Paragraph D?

a The job was well-paid and relatively easy work.

b He risked his life by taking the job because he was poor.

c His parents were relieved when he gave up the job.

3 How can we describe Aldi’s personality?

a He is resourceful and determined.

b He is always optimistic about the future.

c He has a tendency towards depression.

Eleven collocations from the story

Match the highlighted collocations from the text with their definitions below.

1 Believed something without even thinking about it.

2 Communicate effectively.

3 Was forced to do something.

4 Experienced less harm than might be expected.

5 Had the necessary result he wanted.

6 Caused harm or suffering.

7 Be able to guess something.

8 Stop him from worrying about something.

9 Had a very difficult or painful experience.

10 Thought carefully about what to do.

11 Helped him to continue, despite the difficult situation.

• Indonesian teenager, Aldi Adilang, is only 19, but he has already gone through the ordeal of being lost at sea an incredible three times!
• The first two times he got off relatively lightly; he was drifting for a week, and the second time for two days.
• Those experiences sound terrifying enough, but on the third occasion he was alone in the ocean for 49 long days.

The story in order: from the rompong to rescue

From when he was 16 years old, Aldi had spent weeks at a time working on a fishing trap, known as a rompong, a kind of hut which floats in the middle of the sea, but is attached to the seabed with a rope.

• Every night he would light lamps to attract the fish to his nets.
• It was a lonely kind of life.

Then one ordinary day, the rope broke.

• This day had started just like any other, until the rope attaching his rompong to the bottom of the sea broke and, already far from the coast, he started to drift even further away.
• At first, he wasn’t too worried.
• He took it for granted that sooner or later his boss would come and rescue him, as he had done before.
• Aldi had a week’s supply of food.
• He was sure it would all be fine.

• But after a week his supplies ran out.
• He caught fish and used parts of his wooden hut to make a fire and cook the fish.
• Not having any more fresh drinking water, he had no choice but to drink sea water.
• However, he filtered the sea water through his clothes to reduce the amount of salt.
• This must have done the trick because he survived for four days until it rained and he was able to collect some rainwater.

• His survival skills were keeping him alive, but he was starting to wonder if he would ever be rescued.
• He saw more than ten ships sail past him, but none of them seemed to have a clue that he was there.
• After a few weeks, he thought he had at last got his lucky break when he managed to talk to the captain of an Indonesian ship by walkie-talkie.
• The captain promised he would pick him up once they had finished work for the day.
• Heartbreakingly, Aldi never saw the ship again.

• After this setback, he really started to worry.
• To try and take his mind off his situation, he sang and read.
• However, the isolation took its toll on him.
• He admitted that he almost gave up hope, but the thought of seeing his parents again kept him going.

• In the end, after 49 days, he saw a ship, The Arpeggio.
• Desperate to make himself understood, he used the few words of English he knew over the radio: ‘Help! Help!’
• The ship turned around to pick him up.
• The boat was heading for Japan, so they took him with them.
• Finally, the Indonesian embassy collected him and flew him home, almost two months after his ordeal had begun.

• Safely back home with his family, Aldi considered his options.
• His family lived in some hardship and his job was, from his perspective, relatively lucrative at $134 a month.
• However, having found himself drifting three times since he started the job aged 16, he and his family decided it simply wasn’t worth the risk.
• From now on, he’ll be staying firmly on dry land.

Your turn: how would you cope?