Reading

Read the text and match the interview question A-E with paragraphs 1-4. There is one extra question.

A. What is the most dangerous part of being a firefighter?

B. How physically fit do you have to be? 

C. How did you become a firefighter?

D. Why did you decide to become a firefighter? 

E. What other skills do you need?

(1) _____ I'm Jack Gomez, a firefighter in California. I remember watching an interview with a firefighter pilot when I was a child. He'd been fighting a fire for about five days. He was exhausted then. However, he was so optimistic and committed that I thought that I wanted to do the same thing. And I never changed my mind.

(2) _____ I did a training camp to get my wildfire qualification card - you can't fight fires in the US without one. I learned how to light controlled fires, how to put them out again, and how to use all the equipment. The camp was really hard, but I passed first time! After that I was lucky enough to get a job.

(3) _____ One of the things you have to do in the early days is the pack test. This consists of a five - kilometre walk while carrying a twenty-kilogram backpack. You have to complete it in forty-five minutes or less without jogging or running. This shows how strong you are. 

(4) _____ You can be out alone in vast forests and national parks, and sometimes the smoke is so thick that you can hardly see. So, it is important to be able to read map, and to use a compass. Also, you must know how to put up a tent, cook outdoors, drive a truck, and have other basic survival skills.