5. _______________ In 1968 Sir Ranulph Fiennes started an expedition into the biggest desert in
the world, the Empty Quarter in Arabia. He and his team went in search of the buried city of
Ubar, which dated back to the time of the Queen of Sheba. It was on the Ptolemy’s first map of
the world and was mentioned in the Bible and Koran. Over the next 26 years they tried
everything and found nothing. Then, one day, he overheard his two guides say, “These people
call themselves archaeologist but they are not digging.” Sir Fiennes knew they were spying on
them and said, “We’ve got to dig at once!” They started digging in some nearby rubble and
within two days they were finding 3000-year-old Persian chess pieces eight inches below the
surface. A month later they discovered the walls of a city. It was Ubar. That indeed was luck,
total luck.
(A) Many archaeologists had tried to follow the Ptolemy’s map to find the city of Ubar but in vain.
(B) Sir Ranulph had been leading expeditions for over 42 years to find the city of Ubar.
(C) Sir Ranulph Fiennes realized that luck can suddenly turn an impossible situation into a success.
(D) Sir Ranulph Fiennes’ discovery of the city of Ubar is a story of persistence and perseverance.
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