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    Comprehension - Hunting Under Ice

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    Jessica Joan Graham
    The Inuit people of Arctic Canada traditionally hunt for mussels under the sea ice during extreme low tides. This opens cracks in the ice that expose the seabed, allowing hunters to gather mussels for about an hour before the tide returns. As the hunters work quickly, the unsupported ice groans and shifts unpredictably, threatening to trap them before the lookouts can warn of the incoming water. However, climate change is causing the ice to freeze later and melt earlier, making these dangerous hunts increasingly difficult to carry out safely.

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    Comprehension - Hunting Under Ice

    Uploaded by

    Jessica Joan Graham
    30 views3 pages
    The Inuit people of Arctic Canada traditionally hunt for mussels under the sea ice during extreme low tides. This opens cracks in the ice that expose the seabed, allowing hunters to gather mussels for about an hour before the tide returns. As the hunters work quickly, the unsupported ice groans and shifts unpredictably, threatening to trap them before the lookouts can warn of the incoming water. However, climate change is causing the ice to freeze later and melt earlier, making these dangerous hunts increasingly difficult to carry out safely.

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    The Inuit people of Arctic Canada traditionally hunt for mussels under the sea ice during extreme low tides. This opens cracks in the ice that expose the seabed, allowing hunters to gather mussels for about an hour before the tide returns. As the hunters work quickly, the unsupported ice groans and shifts unpredictably, threatening to trap them before the lookouts can warn of the incoming water. However, climate change is causing the ice to freeze later and melt earlier, making these dangerous hunts increasingly difficult to carry out safely.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    30 views3 pages

    Comprehension - Hunting Under Ice

    Uploaded by

    Jessica Joan Graham
    The Inuit people of Arctic Canada traditionally hunt for mussels under the sea ice during extreme low tides. This opens cracks in the ice that expose the seabed, allowing hunters to gather mussels for about an hour before the tide returns. As the hunters work quickly, the unsupported ice groans and shifts unpredictably, threatening to trap them before the lookouts can warn of the incoming water. However, climate change is causing the ice to freeze later and melt earlier, making these dangerous hunts increasingly difficult to carry out safely.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 3

    Hunting under the ice

    Hunting under the ice


    The Inuit people live in the icy lands of Arctic Canada. Their diet consists mostly of
    seal meat. The brave Inuit hunters of Kangiqsujuag, near Hudson Bay, and
    Wakeham Bay, risk their lives to provide some variety to their diet. They climb
    below the sea ice at low tide to hunt for mussels.

    The mussel hunters can only climb below the sea ice during extreme low tides,
    when the water drops by up to 12 metres. This opens cracks in the ice that expose
    the vast seabed. For an hour hunters can climb through the cracks to gather the
    prized molluscs before the sea rushes back in to fill the space.

    As the mussel hunters race to collect their harvest, the ice, which is no longer
    supported by the ocean, groans and moves. Each movement could shift the ice
    and close off their escape route. Lookouts keep watch and shout warnings of
    returning tides. If their calls are too loud they risk vibrations that can cause the ice
    to cave in on the hunters.

    This local tradition has continued for generations. Some mussel hunters warn that it
    is becoming harder to find safe places to venture below the ice, which freezes later
    and melts earlier than it ever used to.

    1 #0000-
    Hunting under the ice

    Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

    1 The title is used to show the activity is


    b violent.
    b unusual.
    b unplanned.
    b dangerous.

    2 To the Inuit people mussels are


    b a rare treat.
    b a tasty fish.
    b a common food.
    b an essential food.

    3 Extreme low tides are essential for mussel hunting because they
    b wash away the ice.
    b wash up the mussels.
    b create space under the ice.
    b break mussels off the sea bed.

    4 Mussel hunters must work quickly to ensure they


    b protect the seabed.
    b collect enough mussels.
    b can get out before the tide rises.
    b can get down to collect mussels.

    5 What is said to groan?


    b ice
    b ocean
    b hunter
    b lookouts

    #0000-

    2
    Hunting under the ice
    6 For the Inuit people to be able to hunt for mussels, which of the following is essential?
    The ice must freeze
    b above the high tide level
    b below the high tide level
    b above the low tide level
    b below the low tide level

    7 Select and explain one safety issue that is likely if the ice freezes later and melts earlier.

    8 The final paragraph is related to the problems caused by


    b pollution.
    b overfishing.
    b loss of habitat.
    b climate change.

    #0000-

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