2 Check the collocations in the Word List. How could these things be related to Antarctica? Read the text to find out.
• greenhouse gases • burning fossil fuels • rising world temperatures • melting ice
• adventurous tourists
• C02 emissions • global warming
A hundred years ago. the great explorers Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen were racing to be the first to reach the South Pole. Today, the beautiful frozen continent of Antarctica is facing some very different challenges ...
Global warming
Global warming is nothing new. We all know that burning fossil fuels, greenhouse gases and deforestation are 1 ........world temperatures to rise. But 2 ........the past 50 years, Antarctica's temperatures have increased by about 3 C, around 10 times more than the rest of the world! As a result, glaciers and sea ice are melting and ice shelves are breaking off into the sea, which is very bad news! If Antarctica's thick. polar ice sheet 3 ........melts, not only will the world heat up generally, but global sea levels could rise by about 6 metres, flooding many coastal areas. This is extremely worrying, as almost every city with over 10 million people is 4 ........the coast!
Another problem is that melting ice forms clouds, which 5 ........to more snowfall. This can make life very difficult for some of the wildlife in Antarctica, such as penguins, whose eggs rot in the snow.
Scientists are also worrying about rising sea temperatures. In seas just 2 С warmer, mollusks cannot bury themselves in the seabed, limpets cannot turn over and scallops can't swim. These creatures are then caught more easily by predators and the 6 ........food chain is affected. It won't be long, therefore, before larger birds and animals such as whales, seals and sealions are endangered if sea temperatures continue to rise!
Human Impact
Antarctica isn't called 'the Earth's last great wilderness' for no 7 ........! No country owns it and no native people live there. Therefore, its clean air, water and ice make it the perfect place for scientists to 8 ........out research. Therefore. Antarctica has become the world's largest laboratory! Many countries have 9 ........scientific bases there, which means that the population now ranges from about 1.000 in winter to about 4,000 in summer. Also, 30,000 adventurous tourists now visit Antarctica each year. It might seem like a nice idea to visit a totally unspoilt place full of amazing scenery, wildlife, glaciers and icebergs, but wherever there are humans, there is impact on the environment such as rubbish. C02 emissions from burning fuel and pollution from boats. If we are not careful, both scientists and tourists may 10 ........the very qualities that draw them to Antarctica!
• greenhouse gases • burning fossil fuels • rising world temperatures • melting ice
• adventurous tourists
• C02 emissions • global warming
A hundred years ago. the great explorers Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen were racing to be the first to reach the South Pole. Today, the beautiful frozen continent of Antarctica is facing some very different challenges ...
Global warming
Global warming is nothing new. We all know that burning fossil fuels, greenhouse gases and deforestation are 1 ........world temperatures to rise. But 2 ........the past 50 years, Antarctica's temperatures have increased by about 3 C, around 10 times more than the rest of the world! As a result, glaciers and sea ice are melting and ice shelves are breaking off into the sea, which is very bad news! If Antarctica's thick. polar ice sheet 3 ........melts, not only will the world heat up generally, but global sea levels could rise by about 6 metres, flooding many coastal areas. This is extremely worrying, as almost every city with over 10 million people is 4 ........the coast!
Another problem is that melting ice forms clouds, which 5 ........to more snowfall. This can make life very difficult for some of the wildlife in Antarctica, such as penguins, whose eggs rot in the snow.
Scientists are also worrying about rising sea temperatures. In seas just 2 С warmer, mollusks cannot bury themselves in the seabed, limpets cannot turn over and scallops can't swim. These creatures are then caught more easily by predators and the 6 ........food chain is affected. It won't be long, therefore, before larger birds and animals such as whales, seals and sealions are endangered if sea temperatures continue to rise!
Human Impact
Antarctica isn't called 'the Earth's last great wilderness' for no 7 ........! No country owns it and no native people live there. Therefore, its clean air, water and ice make it the perfect place for scientists to 8 ........out research. Therefore. Antarctica has become the world's largest laboratory! Many countries have 9 ........scientific bases there, which means that the population now ranges from about 1.000 in winter to about 4,000 in summer. Also, 30,000 adventurous tourists now visit Antarctica each year. It might seem like a nice idea to visit a totally unspoilt place full of amazing scenery, wildlife, glaciers and icebergs, but wherever there are humans, there is impact on the environment such as rubbish. C02 emissions from burning fuel and pollution from boats. If we are not careful, both scientists and tourists may 10 ........the very qualities that draw them to Antarctica!
