高中外研版英语教材选修8课文.docx

1、高中外研版英语教材选修8课文Module 1Antarctica:the last continent1 Antarctica i s the co I dest p I ace on Earth. It s a I so the driest. With annua I ra i nfaI I cIose to zero, Antarctica i s technicaI Iy a desert. Cover i ng about 14 million square kiIometres around the South PoIe, it is the fifth Iargest conti

2、nent in the world. A high mountain range, the TransAntarctic range, runs from east to west, cutt i ng the cont i nent i n two. There are voI canoes too, but they are not very act i ve. Antarctica ho I ds 90% of the worId s ice, and most of its fresh water (70%) is in a frozen state, of course. 98% o

3、f the surface i s covered permanent I y i n the ice cap. On average it is two ki Iometres thick, but in some p I aces it reaches a depth of five kilo winds dr i ven by gravity bIow from the poI e to the coast I ine, while other winds blow round the coast. It is difficult to imagine a more inhospitab

4、le pI ace.2 Yet Antarctica is fulI of wildlife, which has adapted to its extreme are different types of penguins, flying birds, seals, and whaIes. But the Iong Antarctic winter night, which Iasts for 182 days (the Iongest per iod of cont inuous darkness on earth), as we I I as the extreme cold and I

5、 ack of ra i nfaI I, means that few types of pI ants can survive there. On I y two types of fIower i ng plants are found, while there are no trees on the large cont i nent. The rest of the pI ants are made up of mosses, a I gae and I i chen. Some forms of a I gae have adapted to grow on ice.3 Most o

6、f the ice has been there for thousands of years. As a result, it has become a window on the past, and can give researchers Iots of usefuI information. Gases and mineraIs, in the form of volcanic dust trapped in the ice, can tel I us a lot about what the wor I ds c I imate was I i ke i n past ages. A

7、ntarctic rocks are a I so very important for research. Most of them are meteor i tes from outer space. One rock, known us the “Alien” rock, may contain evidence of extra- terrestr iaI I ife. Since most Antarct ic rocks arc dark in co I our, they stand out aga i nst the while background and are easy

8、to identify and collect.4 Antarctica was the Iast continent to be discovered. But more than two thousand years ago Greek geographers be Ii eved that there was a Iarge I and mass in the south which ba I anced the I and i n the north. They cal led it Anti- ArktikoSy or Antarctica: the oppos i te of Ar

9、ctic. When Europeans d i scovered the cont i nent of Amer ica i n the 15th century, the great age of exp Iorat i on began. However, progress to the South Po I e was s I ow. Not unt i I the I ate 18th century did the British exp Iorer James Cook cross the Antarctic Circle, but he never saw I and. The

10、n i n 1895, a Norwegian cal led Carstens Borchgrevink became the fi rst man to set foot on the Antarctic mainland. The race to the pole had begun. It was final Iy reached on 11th December, 1911 by the Norwegian Roa Id Amundsen.5 Today scient i sts from many countr ies traveI to Antarctica to study i

11、ts resources. A spirit of i nternat i onaI fr iendship has replaced the rivalry that existed between many of the ear Iier exp Iorers. In 1961, a treaty s igned by 12 countries, including Britain, France, and the USA, made Antarctica the worlds biggest nature reserve. The aim of the treaty is to prev

12、ent the commercial and mi Iitary use of the continent. In particular, it aims to keep Antarctica free from nucI ear tests and radioact i ve waste; to promote i nternat ionaI scientific projects; and to end arguments about who owns the land. Today countries representing 80% of the world s population

13、have s i gned the treaty. Antarct ica has become perhaps the most successfuI symboI of man s efforts to work together for progress and peace.How Fai lure Became SuccessOn 8th August, 1914,27 men who had rep I i ed to an advert i sement in The Times boarded a sh ip I eav i ng for the Antarctic. The n

14、ame of the ship was the Endurance and the capta i n was an Ir i shman cal led Ernest Shack I eton.The aim of the journey was to cross the frozen continent via the South PoIe - a journey of 1,800 mi les.Shack I eton thought the journey wouId last si x months.But when I and came i nto sight, the Endur

15、ance became trapped i n the ice and began to break up. Shack I eton and h i s men watched the Endurance s i nk i nto the i cy sea. They then headed north, pulling three I i feboats beh i nd them.After six days, bad weather forced them to give up and the men set up camp on a sheet of ice which began

16、slowly moving across the Antarctic Circle.They survived on the ice for five months. Then, on 16th Apr i1, 1915,Shack I eton saw land. 11 was Elephant IsI and - a Iarge rock with nothing growing on it, but much better than a f I oat i ng p i ece of ice. When they reached the i s I and, Shack I eton c

17、ame up with an idea - it was a r i sk but he wouId have to take it. He and five men wouId take one of the lifeboats, and sa i I 800 miles to South Georgia, where there was a permanent camp. They cou I d then return to rescue the rest of the men.It took Shack I eton 17 days to reach South Georgia.Unf

18、ortunate Iy he I anded on the wrong side of the i s I and, and had to waIk 36 hours over mounta i ns to reach the camp.The whaIe hunters at the camp couldn t be Ii eve the i r eyes when they saw the s i x men walking down from the mounta i ns.Shack I eton kept hi s promi se. More than three months l

19、ater, he returned to Elephant I s I and to rescue the crew he had been forced to abandon. He had fai led to reach the poIe but he had saved the Iives of a I I h i s men.We Icome to the South Poles!South Poles How many are thereIn fact, there are three South Poles: a ceremoniaI PoIe , which i s on th

20、e moving glacier, a geographica I or true PoIe, and a magnetic changes its position according to the movement of the Earth.Is it safeBecause the South PoIe is a high a It itude site, the glare of the sun Ii ght here i s very i ntense. It s a I so ref Iected by the snow, so i f you go outside, rememb

21、er to wear sunglasses and use you don t, there s a severe r i sk that you I I damage your eyes ight or get bad Iy sunburnt./s 71 coldYes! Be very carefuI out in the open air! The temperature is between minus 21 C in the summer and minus 78 C in the winter, and you can become numb with co Id without

22、reaIi s i ng. There? s heavy frost even on the warmest summer days, and if it s quiet you can hear your breath freeze. So if you I eave the station, dress warmly and carry dry cIoth i ng and a portable radio.Is there anything good about the weatherThe ai r is very pure, and it doesn t snow very much

23、 - only about four mill imetres a year. There s very I itt Ie wind and the sky i s usua I I y c I ear. It s possibly the ca Imest p I ace on Earth.What9 s 71 like to /7ve hereLife i s quite abnorma I. Sunr ise and sunset come once every s ix months, and in the winter the totaI absence of day Iight c

24、an be ti resome, and for some, depressing. We re totaI Iy i so Iated except for radio and electronic commun i cat i ons, as no a i rcraft can fIy here for about e ght months.Where do we /iveThe South PoIe scientific station is situated on a pIatform of ice, 3,000 4,000 metres high, but under on I y

25、a few mi I Iimetres of snow. We have a mini mum of 28 people I ivi ng here in the winter and a maximum of 125 in the summer. The I i ving quarters are modest with few Iuxur ies, but s a comfortabIe dormitory for sIeeping , the canteen serves great food, and theres a we I I-stocked Ii brary of DVDs a

26、nd videos. But showers and Iaundry are I imited, because water i s very vaIuabIe. We d i scourage you from smoki ng except i n specific areas. MedicaI ass i stance i s ava iIabIe i n case of an emergency.Any other adviceRemember that convent i onaI equ i pment doesn t a I ways work as it should do.

27、If you use an electr ic drill, the power cord wi I I snap. Photography i s tr i cky too, as film is fragi Ie and the camera battery doesn t work in the co I d.Don t I eave any rubb i sh, and don t forget that the ecoIogy of Antarctica is very delicate, so don t take any souveni rs home with you, and

28、 be carefu I to I eave noth i ng but footpr i nts.Final I y, remember that we re a I I visitors to the South Po I e. It s a privilege, not a r ight to come to th i s extraord i nary pI ace.The Travels of Marco PoloThe year i s 1271 AD. Imagine a 17- year-old boy fromVenice, Italy, well- educated and

29、 tra i ned for I i fe as a r ich trader. He sets off with his father and unc Ie on a 25-year journey to myster ious, d i stant Iands that most peop I e i n Europe have never heard of. While on thei r journey buying and selling spices, silks and jeweIs, they befr i end one of the most powerfuI men on

30、 Earth, KubI a Khan.The boy s name was Marco PoIo and many years Iater a book about his traveIs was pub Iished which made him famous. Marco Po I o told h i s fantastic stor i es to a wr iter named RustichelIo who wrote them down for him. This man was well- known for hi s stor ies and romantic taIes

31、of the Iegendary Engli sh King Arthur, but so many people doubted the reliability of h i s book The Travels of Marco Polo. However, Ch i nese h i stor i ans have found obscure names and facts i n the book that couId on Iy have been known to someone intimate with the country.Many of Marco s stor ies

32、were about China and its peopIe.He to Id stor i es about the towns, cities and popuI at i ons i n great detai I. He descr ibed the amazing things he saw inCh i na such as paper money and bI ack stone that burned (coaI) With very IittIe contact between China and the West, it i s not surpr i s i ng that peop I e i n a r i ch powerfu I p I ace Ii ke Venice couId not be Ii eve his stor ies, nor i n the i dea of huge, r ich city states inhabited by mi I Iions of peopIe. There couId sure Iy be no compar i son with VeniceA genera I myth has grown up around Marco Po I o th