How to build an igloo – Ray Mears
Ray Mears is a well-known British author and TV presenter who has become a worldwide authority on the subject of bushcraft – the skill of knowing how to survive and thrive in a natural world and in environments such as forests, wildernesses, deserts and polar regions using ancient skills and knowledge.
See if you can answer the questions below after watching this video on building a perfect igloo!
Exercise 1
A What are the two elements that ‘stick together like superglue’?
B What are the dogs called (this is not in the video!)?
C When would Inuit live in igloos?
D How long ago did the Inuit leave their land and move into towns?
E What can the lamp called the qulliq also be used as, if necessary?
F What is the word used which means dry, flammable material used to light a fire?
G What ensures carbon monoxide does not get trapped inside the igloo?
H What is the temperature outside?
Exercise 2
1 What verb does Ray Mears use meaning the blocks of ice lean against each other and become firmly fixed in place?
2 What should you be able to do when you have finished building an igloo?
3 How long did it take the 3 Inuit hunters to build this igloo?
4 Is the igloo they build large enough for a family to live in?
5 What phrase means ‘this is harder to do than it seems‘?
6 What two skills does the builder need to perfect?
7 What is unique about the arch of an igloo?
8 Which of the Inuit still use their traditional ways of life?
9 What did the Inuit used to use the seal-lamp called the qulliq for?
10 a) What did the qulliq use to be made from in the past and b) what are they made from now?
11 What might you choose to use the qulliq for apart from as a lamp?
12 How do the qulliq work as lamps?
13 What led to some of these lamps being replaced?
14 Why are qulliq still used today?
15 What does Ham rub together to create a spark of fire?
16 What three materials do they use to light the lamp?
17 What does the qulliq provide?
18 What was it traditionally used for?
19 What is the temperature which Ray Mears says ‘may sound chilly‘?
20 Why is the lamp so vital to survival?