The frozen man

One September day in 1991 two Germans were climbing the
mountains between Austria and Italy. High up on the mountain pass they found the body of a man lying on the ice. A that height (3200 meters), the ice is usually permanent. But 1991 had been an especially warm year. The mountain ice had melted more than usual so the body had come to the surface.

It was lying face downward. The skeleton was in perfect conditions except for a large wound in the head. There was still skin on the bones and the remains of some clothes. The hands were still holding the wooden handle of an axe. On one feet, there were very simple leather and cloth boots. Nearby was a pair of gloves made of tree barks and a holder for arrows.

Who was this man? How and when had he died? Everybody had a different answer to these questions. The mountain climbers who had found the body said it seemed thousands of years old. But others thought that it might be from this century. Perhaps it was the body of a soldier who died in World War 1. In fact several of World War 1 soldiers had already been found in that area of the mountains. On the other hand, a Swiss woman believed it might be her father. He had died in those mountains twenty years before and his body had never been
found.

When Italian and Austrian scientists heard about the
discovery, they rushed to the mountain top. The body couldn’t possibly be the Swiss woman’s father they said. The boost, the gloves and the axe were clearly further in the past. For the same reason they said it wouldn’t be a World War 1 soldier. It had to least several centuries old, they said may be even five centuries. It could have been one of those soldiers in the army of Frederick, Duke of Austria.

Before they could be sure about this guess, however, the scientists needed more data. They needed to bring the body down the mountain so they could study it in their laboratories. The question was whom did it belong to? It was lying almost exactly in the border between Italy and Austria. Naturally both countries wanted the frozen man for their laboratories and their museums. For two days the body lay there in the mountains while diplomats argued. Finally they decided it lay on Austrian ground. By that time the body was partly unfrozen and somewhat damaged.

When the Austrian scientists examined the body more closely,
they changed their minds. They did not know yet how he had died but they did know when, in about 2700 BC. This was a very important discovery they said. It
will teach them a great deal about this distant period of European history. From the clothes and tools they could learn about how men lived in those times.

Please stop the stopwatch and note down how many minutes you have spent reading the passage.

Answer the following questions (WITHOUT LOOKING BACK AT THE PASSAGE)

Now check your reading speed with the following table. If you read with that speed and have 6 or more correct answers out of 8, it is likely to be your current reading speed.