PART C. READING (30 POINTS) Read the following passage and choose the best answer to each of the following question. Blown Off Course For the residents of the sleepy seaside town of Lowestoft, 3 September, 1965 was a day to remember. It all started in the early afternoon, when the wind began to blow, the sky darkened and a(n) (51)…………cloud appeared. As it approached, people were (52)…………to see objects dropping onto the ground. These giant ‘raindrops’ were, in fact, migrating birds blown off ...

PART C. READING (30 POINTS)

Read the following passage and choose the best answer to each of the following question.

Blown Off Course

For the residents of the sleepy seaside town of Lowestoft, 3 September, 1965 was a day to remember. It all started in the early afternoon, when the wind began to blow, the sky darkened and a(n) (51)…………cloud appeared. As it approached, people were (52)…………to see objects dropping onto the ground. These giant ‘raindrops’ were, in fact, migrating birds blown off course by an unexpected storm. As townspeople ran for (53)…………from the rain, some even had birds landing on their heads. This (54)…………was not confined to Lowestoft. All along the coast thousands of exhausted birds were (55)…………out of the skies. This was the biggest migration of birds ever (56)…………in Britain. The next day when the wind dropped, one birdwatcher recorded a staggering total of more than 30,000 birds.

Each autumn, millions of migrating birds leave Scandinavia. On this occasion, crossing the North Sea, they ran into thick clouds and heavy rain. The birds were (57)…………by the bad weather. Many became exhausted and fell into the sea, but others pressed on. These lucky survivors landed on the British coast (58)…………local birdwatchers. Fortunately, weather conditions rapidly (59)…………and, after resting and feeding, the birds departed south.

To observe such migrants, you need to watch out for high pressure over Scandinavia, combined with unsettled weather over the eastern part of the British Isles and an onshore wind. If these conditions are in place during the evening head towards the east coast soon after dawn and, with luck, you will be rewarded with an (60)…………experience.