人教全日制普通高中英语（必修）高三UNIT2-3

THE  UNKNOWN  SOUTHERN  LAND

      The "unknown southern land" was an imaginary¹ continent, appearing on European maps from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century. It was first put there by a Greek map maker² in the first century AD. He believed that south of the Indian Ocean a continent existed with a mild climate, where the people were very wealthy. However, he warned that it could not be reached because it was surrounded by a ring of fire.
 
      In the Middle Ages Western people rejected that theory because they believed that the world was flat, so there could not be a continent on the other side of the world. If you were to sail across the ocean, you would fall off the earth. Besides, they argued that there could not be people beyond the ring of fire if all people came from Adam and Eve.
 
      Later European map makers³ copied this continent onto their maps again although nobody had ever seen it. Scientists argued for its existence saying that there should be a continent in the south to balance the known continents in the north. Usually the land was shown as a continent around the South Pole, but much larger than Antarctica, as we know it now.
 
     Tasman sailed past Australia without seeing the continent, but discovered Tasmania and the west coast of New Zealand, which he thought was part of the southern continent. Around this time, the other European nations lost their interest in the search for "the unknown southern land" and concentrated on the Asian continent instead. For some time there were no voyages o/f discovery to the region⁴.
 
     The French were very active in the eighteenth century. One of the French sea captains reported that he had seen very short people. What he needed was a new pair of glasses, because what he had seen were not people but penguins⁵. Another Frenchman reported that he had discovered paradise⁶, but he was hanged for telling lies when he came back home. As late as 1767 an English scientist published a survey of all discoveries in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean up till then. He was positive about the existence of a large unknown continent, and believed its northern coast to be lying somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Based on this report the English government decided⁷ to ask Captain Cook to go and look for this continent.
 
     James Cook travelled around the world making maps between 1768 and 1771 on his ship, the Endeavour. The English government also gave him secret instructions to search for the mysterious continent. After visiting.Tahiti, Cook set sail to the south, where he expected to find land. Unable to find it, he decided to set sail for New Zealand, which had already been discovered by the Dutch. Passing between the North and the South Island Cook discovered the east coast of Australia more or less by accident. When Cook arrived back in England in 1771, he still could not answer the question whether there was an unknown southern continent or not.
 
     So, in 1772 the British government sent him on a second expedition to solve the problem of the southern continent once and for all. Cook sailed as far south as possible. On 10 December, 1772 he saw the first iceberg⁸. For the next two summers, Cook sailed between icebergs⁹ searching for land, which he found at last. Naturally, he thought it was the southern continent, but he was very disappointed when it turned out to be just a small island covered with snow. James Cook did not discover Antarctica, but when he came home in 1775 he was sure that there was no great southern continent with a mild climate, as scientists had believed for hundreds of years.

1 imaginary   

adj.想象中的，假想的，虚构的，幻想的；虚数的

参考例句：

• All the characters in this book are imaginary.此书中的所有人物都是虚构的。
• The boy's fears were only imaginary.这小孩的恐惧只是一种想象。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。

5 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》

6 paradise   

n.伊甸乐园，天堂

参考例句：

• My house had a small backyard,the paradise of children.我那幢房子有一个小后院，那是孩子们玩耍的乐园。
• On a hot day a dip in the sea is sheer paradise.热天洗个海水澡是十分令人惬意的事。

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 iceberg   

n.冰山，流冰，冷冰冰的人

参考例句：

• The ship hit an iceberg and went under.船撞上一座冰山而沉没了。
• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。

9 icebergs   

n.冰山，流冰( iceberg的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The drift of the icebergs in the sea endangers the ships. 海上冰山的漂流危及船只的安全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The icebergs towered above them. 冰山高耸于他们上方。 来自辞典例句