What do these words and phrases mean in this article? (A dictionary and thesaurus will help!)

• sledge
• wintering expeditioners
• theodolite
• composition
• ice-sheet
• inclusion on the
• the symbolic heart of Antarctica
• the Pole of Inaccessibility
• competing territorial claims
• wordage
• crevices
• the right emotional buttons
• the cerebral haematoma was aspirated
• remote sensing
• protocol
• microbiology

1. How does Antarctica affect the rest of the planet?

2. Draw a map of Antarctica and mark on it the three Australian bases mentioned in the article, the South Pole and the "Pole of Inaccessibility".

3. Name four professions mentioned in the article, and explain what each one does.

4. How can Antarctica be a "dry" desert, when it has all that frozen water?

5. Hypothesise why the distance-measuring wheel would never work for more than a few days.

6. What is the difference between the South Pole and the "Pole of Inaccessibility"?

7. What is the Ionosphere? Where is it? How is it associated with the Aurorae? Is it over Australia as well?

8. How is the movement of the ice monitored these days?

9. What is "krill"?

10. What is one of the "key issues facing the Antarctic Treaty nations today", according to the article?

11.Name three benefits (to humans) that have already been found in Antarctic bacteria, phytoplankton and fish.

Here are some extracts from the article. Complete the sentences by filling in the spaces.

It is only in the last half of the Twentieth ___________ that we have begun to understand how ___________ Antarctica is to the rest of the planet.

Those who took ___________ in this early work were very conscious of their ___________ in history. Many of these early scientific explorers had ___________, glaciers and bays named after them.

Communication with ANARE stations ___________ Antarctica in the early years was precarious and ___________ so right up until the early 1980s. Messages were ___________ by Morse Code, with signals bounced ___________ the ionosphere.

Twenty people have died in the ANARE service over the ___________ fifty years. As the Antarctic Division's long-serving ___________ of polar medicine Des Lugg puts it: "___________ the darkness of the Antarctic winter comes down, the Australian ___________ remain as isolated as were the classic expeditions of Scott, Shackleton and Mawson, ___________ the Antarctic remains an extremely dangerous place ___________ live and work".

This article has a number of sections. Each section has a main point. Work out the main point of these sections and write them here.

We have begun to understand how important Antarctica is the rest of the planet

The early days of exploration

Antarctica in the International Geophysical Year

Communication difficulties before the 1980s

The vital ways Antarctica interacts with the rest of the planet.

Think of all the arguments for and against these statements. (To help you, use this article and others that you can find.)

"We should have another International Geophysical Year, like in 1957."

"Antarctica should be mined for its minerals."

"Antarctica is no place for humans."

Use this article, the Internet and libraries to find information on one of these topics:

a) Antarctica - geography and landforms (including mountains, glaciers, exposed rock).

b) Antarctica - how it affects the world's climate.

c) Early exploration and discovery of Antarctica.

d) How to use a theodolite.

e) Mawson, Davis and Casey - Who they were and what they achieved.

f) The main organisms in the sea around Antarctica, and how they fit together in a food web.

g) The International Geophysical Year, 1957 - what it was, and what was discovered about the earth.

h) A modern Antarctic base - buildings, layout, people, and purpose.

i) The Antarctic Treaty - what it is for, who has signed it, what it has achieved.

j) What is "Morse Code"? Translate a simple message into Morse Code.

Use the library or the Internet to collect information about the topic. Find at least four different articles or chapters.

Write down about three ideas from each article you find.

You now have about a dozen ideas on this topic. Choose which idea is the most important, which is second-most important, and so on.

Write them in order, from most important to least important.

Write a paragraph to explain each idea.

Write down where you found the information you used. This is your "bibliography".

Be prepared to deliver your report on the date it is due!

• Meanings
• Questions
• Cloze Activity
• Summary
• Debate
• Research
• Instructions to Students
• Teachers' Guide