Ben Southall, from Britain, got the world’s best job, as an island caretaker on Hamilton Island, Queensland, Australia. Towards the end of his six-month contract, he had an incident. Please read his blog issued on Dec. 29, 2009 to find out more about the incident.
Now I’ve spent nearly six months here in Queensland and so far I thought I’d done particularly well at avoiding any contact with any of the dangerous critters that consider this part of the world their home. I’ve avoided being boxed by a kangaroo, nibbled by a shark and bitten by a spider or a snake—but then in my final few days on Hamilton Island I seemed to be punished by a little creature known as an Irukandji.
Irukandji jellyfish are tiny and extremely poisonous jellyfish that are in the tropical waters of the Queensland coast between early October and May, and which cause symptoms collectively known as Irukandji syndrome(综合症). Its size is roughly no larger than a fingernail of an adult’s little finger.
I was enjoying a post Christmas jetski session with some friends at a quiet beach on Hamilton Island. As I climbed off the back of the ski and onto the beach I felt a small bee-like sting on my forearm. I didn’t think too much of it at the time at it disappeared very quickly and left the beach to head to a sports massage appointment I had. As I arrived I noticed that my feet and hands were tingling(刺痛) slightly. The member of staff immediately suggested that I get the symptoms checked out and within minutes had the security there to escort(陪同) me to the doctor’s room, only a few hundred metres away.
I was feeling pretty hot and sweaty, had a headache and felt pretty sick too, together with pain in my lower back and a tightness in the chest and really high blood pressure all classic symptoms of Irukandji syndrome! This was not what I’d wanted at all and had caught me a little off guard to say the least--I’m supposed to be relaxing in my last few days on Hamilton Island.
The doctor knew instantly what it was and straight away started the course of treatment to get me on the mend. I had a couple of injections which immediately took away the uncomfortable pain I was feeling and I slipped into a comfortable sleep after an hour or so, waking to say hello to a couple of friends who came to see if I was OK! Bre was there the entire time tending to me like a little Florence Nightingale!
Once I’d recovered sufficiently I was discharged that evening and allowed to go home to sleep the effects off and only really knew what had happened when Bre told the full story the next morning--I had been very lucky.
I’d had a minor brush with what can be a very serious jellyfish and has led to people being hospitalized for a number of days, my slight knock was enough to tell me that it’s not something to be messed around with and I really should have been wearing a full stinger suit, as it recommended at all beaches here at this time of year.., even if you’re in the water for just a couple of seconds as I was!
66. We now know that people who suffer from Irukandji syndrome usually ___________.
A. have headache, backache, chest pain, sweat heavily and feel sick
B. have headache, backache, chest pain, breathe quickly and cough a lot
C. is not very painful in the beginning, but can be very painful the next day
D. play with these beautiful jellyfish while swimming in the sea
67. What have we learnt from Ben’s blog EXCEPT that _______________?
A. Ben Southall knows how to take care of himself
B. Ben Southall doesn’t look after himself well enough
C. Ben Southall has been in hospital for some days
D. Ben Southall’s friend, Bre tends to him well
68. What lesson can we learn from Ben’s incident?
A. All rules must be strictly obeyed all the time.
B. All recommendations should be seriously taken into consideration.
C. Always have yourselves covered when you are in the sea.
D. Never play with creatures in the sea.
69. Which of the following is the correct order of the events?
a. Keep an appointment b. See a doctor c. Go jetskiing d. Get home
A. a,c,d,b B. c,a,b,d C. c,b,a,d D. d,b,a,c
70. How do islanders deal with Ben Southall’s incident?
A. Politely, certainly and successfully. B. Nicely, slowly and carefully.
C. Hopefully, carefully and skillfully. D. Kindly, quickly and efficiently.
