  A Pure Escape — Summer
in the Norwegian Mountains
Fill in the blank spaces with words that fit grammatically and logically.
I am sipping my morning coffee as I gaze (1)__________ a panorama of brilliant colours all around me. A (2)_________ breeze, fresh as the sea, brings the scent of (3)____________ of wild flowers. The green hillside is dewy and (4)________ in the pale early sunshine. White clouds still shroud (5)____ mountains, which form a wild backdrop in the east.
(6)___________ chilled by the wind, feet wet from the dew, (7)_________ coffee warms me up. It is made with icy (8)___________ water, heated on a wood-burning stove. The pew from (9)__________ I start each day’s adoration of my surroundings, is (10)_______ “bench” made simply by cutting a very large tree (11)__________ half. It is placed in front of a flat (12)__________, where a jam jar filled with wild flowers sits. (13)_________ only sound is the breeze and the distant bells (14)________ grazing sheep.
I am high up in the Norwegian mountains, and (15)_____ vista I describe is that of the largest mountain (16)_______ in northern Europe, Hardangervidda. This area offers a unique (17)__________ of over 500 kilometres of forestry tracks and mountain (18)__________, all well marked on local maps. The terrain is (19)__________ to walk, suitable for children also. If your idea (20)_______ an ideal holiday destination is bright lights, crowds and (21)_________ hotels, then you can stop reading now. Here you (22)_________ far from the madding crowds; as a matter of (23)________ you can walk for hours without meeting anyone.
I (24)___________ staying with my husband and two children in a (25)___________ old log cabin – not unlike what you see in (26)___________ about the American frontier. Our cabin is solid, comfortable, (27)_________ and without modern conveniences. There is no running water, (28)________ the natural spring gives us water that tastes like (29)_____________. There is no electricity either, but electric light is (30)_____________. This close to the Arctic Circle, summer night is (31)___________ a few hours of blue dusk.
A holiday here (32)_________ about tranquillity and beauty. There are no gourmet meals (33)__________ the air is so pure you can taste it – (34)___________, clear, crisp. The summers are warm and in the (35)____________ of the tarred old walls of the house, the (36)________ is hot: but always there is a hint of (37)________ breeze, gentle but glacial.
The long winter has made (38)______________ of us all, and very little time is spent (39)___________. Each day we enjoy our surroundings and the fresh (40)___________. We use the local map to find easy paths, (41)___________ most days set ourselves a goal to reach on (42)_____________. There are a huge variety of easy tracks, where (43)___________
walk surrounded by bright yellow buttercups and purple heather.
(44)____________ the fresh air sharpens the appetite, and on the (45)____________ where we do not come across remote mountain (46)_____________, rucksacks filled with picnic lunches are a highlight. Local (47)_____________ and
cheese, followed by sweet strawberries becomes our staple (48)___________. Dinner is eaten outside our cabin while the sun (49)____________ not set. We eat, drink, and talk long into (50)____________ night. No restaurant can compete with our view, (51)____________ regularly includes reindeer in the distance.
This choice of (52)____________ probably reveals my Norwegian roots. Old cabins like ours (53)__________ dotted all around Norway’s vast forests and mountains, scattered
(54)____________ thousands of tiny island along the long coastline. In (55)___________ more remote mountains, hostel-type lodges are open to everyone (56)____________
an honesty-basis. It seems an accepted fact that getting
(57)____________ from cities, and noise, and crowds is good for (58)____________ soul. Norwegians by and large are not great churchgoers, (59)____________ on their days off you find them worshipping nature (60)_____________ skis, in boats or in comfortable, well-worn walking shoes. (61)___________ can do worse than joining them.
Answers from the original text (others are possible):
1. at; 2. slight; 3. thousands; 4. glitters; 5. black; 6. Slightly; 7. the; 8. spring; 9. which; 10. a; 11. in; 12. rock; 13. The;
14. of; 15. the; 16. plateau; 17. network; 18. paths; 19. easy;
20. of; 21. smart; 22. are; 23. fact; 24. am; 25. very; 26. movies; 27. old; 28. but; 29. snowflakes; 30. unnecessary; 31. simply; 32. is; 33. but; 34. cool; 35. shelter; 36. sun; 37. gentle; 38. sun-worshippers; 39. inside; 40. air; 41. and; 42. foot;
43. we; 44. All; 45. days; 46. cafes; 47. salami; 48. diet;
49. does; 50. bright; 51. which; 52. holiday; 53. are; 54. on;
55. the; 56. on; 57. away; 58. your; 59. but; 60. on; 61. You
By Berit Haugen Keyes |