Spark Study Buddy (Explorer): How Hong Kong’s Choi Hung MTR station spawned rumours of deaths and gates of hell
This page has an easy read with questions to test your understanding and work on your English skills.
Rumours have long swirled about Choi Hung station in Kowloon. Photo: ShutterstockContent provided by British Council
[1] For years, there were rumours online that several MTR workers had died on the middle rail track at Choi Hung station. The stop is on the Kwun Tong line in Hong Kong’s busy Kowloon area. Stories said that anyone brave enough to enter one of the dimly lit tunnels would soon find themselves before the gates of hell.
[2] The fact that the station had three tracks rather than the standard two helped people believe those claims. The truth is actually much less scary. The third track takes trains to the nearby depot for repairs and maintenance.
[3] “There have been rumours about Choi Hung station since the Kwun Tong line started operating in 1979,” said Lai Yee-Ngok. He is a retired supervisor of the depot and a former train captain on the rail line. “The station has a strategic position in the repair and maintenance of trains.”
[4] Choi Hung is a key stop on the Kwun Tong line, serving Kowloon East between Tiu Keng Leng and Whampoa. The station takes its name from the nearby Choi Hung Estate. The estate is home to about 43,000 residents and has rainbow-coloured tower blocks. It has become a selfie hotspot for mainland Chinese tourists.
[5] Aaron Kei Chun-on is a rail fan who founded the social media page Train Not Arriving. It is one of the biggest groups for rail fans in Hong Kong. He said there have been rumours about the station for decades. Explaining those rumours, Kei said some people believed many staff members had died mysteriously. It is also said that the middle track led to the gates of hell. As a result of those claims, the MTR stopped using it.
[6] “These are unconfirmed rumours since the 1980s. Thanks to the internet, they are still being spread around. Perhaps because it is uncommon to have three tracks at an MTR station, it triggered people’s imagination. Normally, there are two tracks at a station.” The stories became so widespread that the MTR Corporation even issued a statement denying them in 2016.
Source: South China Morning Post, November 3
Questions
1. According to rumours, where does one of the tunnels mentioned in paragraph 1 lead?
___________________________________________________
2. What is the third track actually used for, according to paragraph 2?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. In paragraph 3, when did Choi Hung station first start operating?
A. 1709
B. 1979
C. 1997
D. information not given
4. According to paragraph 6, what is the normal number of tracks at an MTR station?
5. … have been many strange rumours about Choi Hung station’s middle rail track.
A. This
B. That
C. There
D. Those
6. Match the following words with their opposites. (3 marks)
(i) uncommon
(ii) dim
(iii) nearby
Answers
1. the gates of hell
2. It is used to take trains to the nearby depot for repairs and maintenance.
3. D
4. two tracks
5. C
6. (i) usual; (ii) bright; (iii) far