Extra reading activity

Click on the link below and do the activities.
Prepare questions and ideas for a class discussion.
Enjoy!

It's all been done before

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/its-all-been-done

Battling against Nature

Look at the example and then write similar sentences using the words given and the verbs in the correct form to complete the information about the Antarctic.

FUN FACTS   - COLD FACTS

*         Land Mass: Covering a whopping 13,209,000 square km (5,100,000 square miles), [this continent / large / Europe / but / half / size / Africa] this continent is much larger than Europe, but less than half the size of Africa.

*         Population: Zero! Antarctica /cold / nobody / live here full time. Lots / people / visit / though / many scientists / stay here / months.

*         Countries: None! Antarctica / continent unlike / other – no countries. Instead, there / areas  /called /territories, claimed /different countries /other continents, including /UK

*         Largest Lake: Lake Vostok  /continent’s /large /lake. It /find under /ice sheet.

*         Antarctica /southernmost continent /Earth.

*         Antarctica /big /Europe almost double /size /Australia.

*         /it experience /little rain, Antarctica /consider /desert.

*         Cold /recorded temperature /Earth /occur /1983 /Vostok Station, Antarctica, measuring a rather chilly −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F).

*         /Antarctica feature/ harsh living conditions, /number /plants /animals /adapt /survive /call /icy continent home.

*         /name ‘Antarctica’ come /Greek word /mean ‘opposite /north’.

*         Sea levels rise around 60m (200ft) if all /ice /Antarctica /melt.

*         For most /past 100 million years, /south pole /tropical paradise, /transpire.

Following in Shackleton’s Footsteps

Read the following interview.
Match the questions with the answers and arrange them in the correct order. Then click here to listen to the interview and check your answers.

A.       Presenter: Did Worsley feel confident that he would reach the South Pole?

B.       Presenter: So they had some unfinished family business.

C.       Presenter: Amazing. Did the trip take a long time to organise?

D.      Presenter: Today on the travel programme, we’re reviewing a book called Following in Shackleton’s Footsteps by Henry Worsley. It tells the story of Worsley’s recent expedition to the South Pole exactly one hundred years after Shackleton’s famous failed expedition of 1908. It’s been chosen by my guest, Leo Stone, himself the veteran of several polar expeditions. Welcome to the programme, Leo.

E.       Presenter: Which part of the book did you enjoy the most?

F.       Presenter: And did they experience any of the same problems?

G.       Presenter: So was the trip any easier for the 21st century team?

H.      Presenter: First of all, can you tell us about Worsley and his team?

I.         Presenter: Do you think Shackleton deserves his reputation as a great hero?

1.       Leo: Yes, I do. I’ve always really admired Shackleton, and anyone who doesn’t know anything about him should definitely read this book. His decision to turn back to save his men took great courage. That’s why I think he’s such a hero. He never did reach his goal and it was Roald Amundsen who finally made it to the South Pole in 1911. There are so many lessons we…

2.       Leo: Yes. It took them five years to prepare for this trip. They had to find the money, which was no easy task. As you can imagine, the costs involved were enormous. Then there was the physical training. You’d think this would be the hardest part, but Worsley’d been in the army so he was used to this kind of thing. And one of the team members had run a few marathons, so they were all relatively fit. It was actually the mental challenge that Worsley’s team struggled with most; having to get their heads around a nine hundred mile journey.

3.       Leo: They did. For example, Worsley and his team had to spend two days in their tent because high winds made it impossible to continue, which Shackleton also endured. But it was worse for Shackleton because they were also very low on food at that point. And one of Shackleton’s men fell seriously ill, which luckily the 21st century team was spared.

4.       Leo: In some ways, yes. But they still had to walk for ten hours a day with all their equipment. And then they had to
put up their tent and cook a meal in what Worsley describes as a ‘frozen hell’. But Shackleton was travelling into the unknown with only a compass to guide him, while Worsley’s team had a map and modern navigation equipment.

5.       Leo: Exactly. Worsley took the compass Shackleton used and his diary all the way to the South Pole. Apparently this trip had been a lifelong ambition for him. Shackleton’d had to turn back before reaching the South Pole and Worsley wanted to finish the journey.

6.       Leo: Thank you.

7.       Leo: Sure. The really unusual thing about this trip is that Worsley and his team are all related to members of Shackleton’s team. Worsley is a descendant of Shackleton’s captain, Frank Worsley.

8.       Leo: The climax of the book is definitely when Worsley and his team arrived at the place where Shackleton decided to turn back. They arrived there on the 100th anniversary and the excitement and sense of joy is really inspiring and memorable – better even than the part where they get to the Pole itself or the huge sense of relief at arriving back safely. There’re some amazing photos, too.

9.       Leo: Yes, but he faced some very tough moments. Like Shackleton, Worsley’s team went up the Beardmore Glacier, which was incredibly dangerous with huge crevasses everywhere. And just when Worsley thought it couldn’t get any worse, they reached the Antarctic plateau. This proved to be even tougher going than the glacier. It’s the coldest, driest place on earth and both teams experienced symptoms of altitude sickness. It was when he came face to face with the brutality of conditions there that Shackleton began to doubt he’d ever reach the Pole.