Explorers, or boys messing about?

Question 1

Language features

Answer 1

1. Emotive language
   - ‘threatened to send in military planes’
   - ‘nothing short of a miracle’
   - forced to call a halt’
   - ‘almost lead to tragedy’
2. Factual language, statistics
   - ‘16,000 miles in three months’
   - ‘tens of thousands of pounds’
   - ‘came to aid 180 miles away’

Question 2

Tone of the article

Answer 2

1.Satirical: Not the first time they ‘ hit the headlines for the wrong reasons’

2. Biased:
   - Mrs Vestey (Brookes’ wife) ‘boys messing about’, ‘bottoms kicked’ (is a reference to their maturity, comparing them to school boys)
   - Endres, editor of Janes Helicopter Markets and systems: ‘I wouldn’t use a helicopter like that to go so far over the sea. It sounds as if they were pushing it to the maximum’
   - ‘Experts questioned the wisdom of taking such a small helicopter’

Question 3

Explorers presented as childish

Answer 3

1. Mr Smith has a nickname, which suggests a juvenile nature
2. They call home when they get into trouble, like boys calling their mothers
3. Mr Vestey dismisses them as ‘boys’ and describes their antics as ‘messing’

Question 4

Structure

Answer 4

• newspaper articles, expressive of author’s opinion

- Intro starts with ‘farce’ instead of usual background facts

Question 5

Use of irony

Answer 5

1. Mr Smith’s nickname, Q is character from James Bond who is good with devices
2. ‘Trusty helicopter’
3. ‘Emergency watch’
4. ‘Claims to have been flying since 5’
5. ‘The drama began’ - undermines seriousness
6. ‘both men are experienced’

Question 6

The two explorers are not really as expert as they claimed

Answer 6

1. ‘Despite their experience, it’s not the first time…’ - makes them sound foolish and attention seeking
2. ‘Their last expedition ended in farce’ - didn’t learn from experience
3. ‘Experts question…’
4. ‘Claim’ to be experts
5. ‘A property developer’ - just a hobby
6. ‘confusion on what they were trying to achieve

Question 7

Writer uses experts to criticise the two men

Answer 7

1. Mr Brooks (more experienced explorer)said ‘nothing short of a miracle they survived’
2. Experts question the wisdom of taking such a small helicopter…
3. Endres -‘I wouldn’t use a helicopter like that…’