Unit 183 Part A

 1 The subject this week is Cindy Talbot, a final year college student, ...
 2 who was on the third day of her five-day solo-hiking trip through a forested wilderness …
 3 when she was struck by lightning.
 4 Lightning kills nearly a hundred Americans each year, more than hurricanes or tornadoes, ...
 5 and to survive a direct hit is almost a miracle.
 6 Well, I'd noticed the thunderclouds gathering and …
 7 I was resting on a rocky peak people call Eagle Peak, ...
 8 when I heard the thunder rumbling in the distance, and I was rather unnerved.
 9 Fortunately for me, Rod and Mark, the two guys who came to my rescue …
10 just happened to be driving back home in their pickup ...
11 they'd been cruising around in the forest checking their trap, I think.
12 I must admit I thought the thunder sounded kinda ominous.

 13 I remember when the downpour started and it must have lasted for about an hour, at least an hour.
14 I knew it wasn't going to stop just like that, so I sheltered under some trees.
15 Everything happened so quickly and there didn't seem to be anywhere else around …
16 where I might find shelter.
17 I realised that by some miracle I was still alive and had to get help.
18 But I couldn't move my legs, so I had to crawl.
19 I don't think they thought there was a grain of truth in my story at first!
20 Rod told me later that he thought what I'd told him was a bit far-fetched, to say the least!
21 They managed to get me to the nearest hospital in record time, and, …
22 in a few days, I was on my feet again.
23 But you've just got to know what you're doing, haven't you!
24 I think it's made me realise that I'm a lot more resilient than I thought.