Read the passage about why people take risks. Are the statements true (T) or false (F)? In October 2012, the skydiver Felix Baumgartner set a new world record. After sitting inside a tiny capsule at the edge of space, he jumped out when he was 39 kilometers above the Earth. Failing to the ground, he reached a speed of 1,357 kph and broke the sound barrier. This ten-minute jump was extremely well-prepared. Nevertheless, it was a very risky thing to do, and raises the question: Why are some people attracted to dangerous activities? One reason may be to get attention – Felix Baumgartner’s jump was watched by around 8 million people on YouTube. Some people feel a need to show that they are the fastest or the best at something, and taking public risks is one way to do this. For some competitive individuals (especially in the worlds of sport and business), the financial rewards of taking a risk and achieving what you want can be enormous. Furthermore, if you have taken a risk and won through, then your achievements may be remembered for a very long time. The more thrilling the risk, the bigger the win. Everybody knows who the first person to walk on the Moon or the first team to climb Mount Everest was – but few people know the fifth or ninth people to do so. However, there are many occasions when people take risks without an audience, for example, in high-risk sports, such as cave diving or mountain climbing. It is clear, then, that there must be other rewards for not playing it safe. One might be the ‘adrenaline rush’ that people get when they do something dangerous. In frightening situations, the chemical adrenaline is released into our bodies. This makes our hearts beat faster, and helps our bodies if we have to fight or run away. It is possible that this level of excitement might be a reason some people continuously try out exhilarating activities. In summary, it seems that many people take risks because they dream of success. Of course, there is always the possibility of terrible failure too. At the same time, if everything goes well in a risky activity, then the rewards can be great. 1. It’s possible to get a lot of money if you take a risk and succeed.