新西兰英语 551 Journey to the South Pole

 　　One hundred years ago today, January 17th 1912, Captain Robert Falcon¹ Scott and four other men, reached the South Pole. They had hoped to be the first to reach the South Pole but were very disappointed² to find the Norwegian flag flying there. The explorer³, Roald Amundsen from Norway, with three other men, reached the South Pole on December 14th 1911. The story of how Scott and his party died on the way back to their camp is a story well-known by New Zealand school children. They became heroes for New Zealanders. Christchurch has a statue of Captain Scott, made by his wife in Britain. It was damaged in the February earthquake last year but will be repaired one day. Click⁴ here to see a photo of Scott’s statue.

　　Scott in fact was British but his party spent time in Christchurch, preparing for his journey. In November 1911, they left for Antarctica⁵ on the ship, the Terra Nova (which means⁶ new land). The Terra Nova returned to Christchurch in 1913 with the news that the five men had died.

　　Although Scott did not win the race to the South Pole, his party began the scientific interest in Antarctica which continues today. His party collected fossils⁷ of green plants, similar to those in warmer countries. This showed that Antarctica had once been part of Gondwanaland before it broke up 180 million years ago. Scott’s men studied rocks, the weather, the sea ice, glaciers⁸, the sea currents⁹ and penguins¹⁰.

　　Vocabulary

　　disappointed – sad because they wanted to be first

　　flag

　　party – group of people

　　heroes – famous because they were brave; New Zealanders admire them (like them very much).

　　fossils – part of a plant or animal that lived long ago, found in a rock

　　Gondwanaland – continents joined together

　　glaciers – ice rivers

　　currents – movement of the water

　　Grammar

　　Past perfect tense – “had hoped to be the first”. This was before another event in the past i.e. when they arrived at the South Pole.

　　“news that the five men had died”. They died in 1912. The news was in 1913. Past perfect shows that their deaths happened before the news.

1 falcon   

n.隼，猎鹰

参考例句：

• The falcon was twice his size with pouted feathers.鹰张开羽毛比两只鹰还大。
• The boys went hunting with their falcon.男孩子们带着猎鹰出去打猎了。

2 disappointed   

adj.失望的，不满意的，不如意的

参考例句：

• He seemed disappointed when the man refused his request.当那个人拒绝了他的要求时他看起来很失望。
• He was disappointed so often that he became hopeless.他屡次失望，以致变为了绝望。

3 explorer   

n.探险家，探测者

参考例句：

• His father is an Arctic explorer.他父亲是一位北极探险者。
• The explorer organized an expedition to the North Pole.那位考察者组织了一个去北极的探险队。

4 click   

n.点击，滴答声，拍答声；v.点击，作滴答声，使...作拍答声

参考例句：

• Click the Allow button on the yellow bar.点击黄色栏中的允许按钮。
• Click on the links for each city for a detailed map.点击连接看城市地区详细地图。

5 Antarctica   

n.南极洲

参考例句：

• Antarctica is the earth's coldest landmass.南极洲是地球上最冷的大陆。
• This penguin is from Antarctica.这只企鹅来自南极洲。

6 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

7 fossils   

n.化石( fossil的名词复数 )；老顽固；食古不化的人；老古董（老人）

参考例句：

• fossils over two million years old 两百多万年的化石
• The geologist found many uncovered fossils in the valley. 在那山谷里，地质学家发现了许多裸露的化石。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

9 currents   

电流( current的名词复数 )； 水流； 流速

参考例句：

• The motorboat cut across swift currents and skirted dangerous reefs. 汽艇穿过激流，绕过险滩。
• She was swept away by the treacherous currents. 她给凶险的激流卷走了。

10 penguins   

n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹，企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》