英语听力—环球英语 1223 Scott of the Antarctic

 　　Voice 1

 

　　Welcome to Spotlight¹. I’m Ryan Geertsma.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　And I’m Marina Santee. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand - no matter where in the world they live.

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　“Since the twenty-first of March the strong wind has continued to blow. On the twentieth we had enough fuel to make two drinks of tea. We only enough food for two days. Every day we have been ready to go to the big food camp only 18 kilometres away. But outside the door of the tent the snow storm continues. I do not think we can hope for any better things now. We will fight on to the end, but we are getting weaker and the end cannot be far.

 

　　It seems sad, but I do not think I can write more.

 

　　I pray to God that you will look after our people.”

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　These words were found in a little book. It was next to the body of the man who wrote them, Captain Robert Falcon² Scott. He and his two friends had died eight months before, in March 1912. The book told an amazing story of courage. It is the story of how five brave men walked to the South Pole. However, when they arrived, they found that another man had reached there first.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Today’s Spotlight is on Robert Scott and his team. More than one hundred years after they died, people still remember their adventure.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　At the beginning of the twentieth century, Antarctica was the one continent which no one had explored. Robert Falcon Scott was an officer in the British Navy³. He travelled close to Antarctica as a young man. He decided⁴ then that he wanted to explore it. He wanted to become the first man to reach the South Pole.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Scott travelled around the United Kingdom giving talks about Antarctica. Reaching the South Pole was not the only thing Scott wanted to do. He wanted to find out as much as he could about Antarctica. He chose a team of scientists Many people agreed to support him, including the British government.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The team sailed to Antarctica in a ship called the Terra Nova. They stopped several times for supplies, in South Africa, in Australia, and finally New Zealand. In every place, the scientists collected examples of plants and animals. They also collected more money to pay for the trip.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Scott hoped to be the first to reach the South Pole. However, he learned⁵ that he would not be the only person trying to reach it. The Norwegian explorer Raold Amundsen was also travelling to the South Pole.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　When they arrived, Scott and his men set up a base camp. They built a large wood building. This was where they lived and worked. They began their scientific work immediately. One man, Herbert Ponting, was taking pictures of everything he saw. Other team members made careful records of the weather. These records are still helping⁶ scientists today as they research climate change.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　During the winter, the conditions in Antarctica are terrible. It is extremely cold - so cold that it is almost impossible to survive. It is also almost always dark. However this is the time when Emperor penguin⁷ birds lay their eggs. One goal of the expedition was to collect one of these eggs. Scientists wanted to examine the developing babies inside the eggs. This way they could discover how the birds grew. Three men made the trip. They travelled for five terrible months. They almost died from the cold. But they were successful in finding⁸ eggs.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The whole team worked hard preparing for their main goal - the trip to the South Pole. They took large amounts of food and dropped them at different places, so it could be used later. They used machines, horses, and dogs. But the machines did not work well in the cold temperature. The horses also had problems. They became sick. Only the dogs were easy to use. The animals also had one other advantage. In extreme situations, they could be killed and used as food.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Finally Scott chose four men to go with him to the Pole. Dr Edward Wilson, the scientist, was one. Henry Bowers⁹, Edgar Evans and Lawrence Oates were the others. They had no dogs with them. Instead, they pulled their things across the snow on heavy sledges¹⁰. It was hard work. In January 1912 they reached the South Pole. A black flag and a note told them that Amundsen had reached the South Pole a month earlier. The men felt sad as they turned back.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　But the scientific work continued. They collected many fossils¹². These rocks showed the remains¹³ of ancient plants. These plants normally¹⁴ grow in warm places. One fossil¹¹ even showed a large, extinct¹⁵ plant. This plant is not alive now anywhere in the world. These fossils showed something interesting. Because of them, scientists think that Antarctica must have once been in a warmer part of the world. This supports the idea that continents do not stay in one place. Instead they move around in the oceans, very slowly.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Things did not go well for Scott and his men after they reached the North Pole. They had to hurry to reach the base camp before the weather became very bad. They had expected to meet their dogs along the way. But the dogs never came. Evans died after a fall. The extreme cold damaged Oates’s leg. So he did a very brave thing. He knew that he was delaying the others. So one night he walked out of the tent into a snow storm. He was never seen again.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　Scott, Wilson and Bowers struggled on. Then they were trapped in their tent by a storm. And that is where they died. Their bodies remain in Antarctica, where they were found. But when people heard about them, they called Scott and his friends heroes. And Scott’s final prayer was answered. In England, supporters collected money to help the families of the dead men. Supporters also organized a permanent research station in England. It is called the Scott Polar Research Institute. The building where Scott and his men lived is also kept as a memorial to them.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　Scott and his group did not achieve their main goal. Amundsen beat them to the South Pole. Scott wrote:

 

　　Voice 3

 

　　“If we had lived, I would have a story to tell. It would show the courage of my friends. They would have been an example to everyone.”

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　But in this way, Scott was wrong. They died, but people still remember them as heroes.

 

　　Voice 1

 

　　The writer of this programme was Shelagh Godwin. The producer was Luke Haley.  The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can find our programmes on the internet at www.radioenglish.net. This programme is called “Scott of the Antarctic”.

 

　　Voice 2

 

　　We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 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。

3 navy   

n.海军，海军人员，海军军力，藏青色

参考例句：

• My brother is in the navy.我兄弟在海军服役。
• He has transferred from the army to the navy.他从陆军转到海军。

4 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。

5 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 penguin   

n.企鹅

参考例句：

• The penguin is a flightless bird.企鹅是一种不会飞的鸟。
• He walked with an awkward gait like a penguin.他走路的步子难看得就像企鹅。

8 finding   

n.发现，发现物；调查的结果

参考例句：

• The finding makes some sense.该发现具有一定的意义。
• That's an encouraging finding.这是一个鼓舞人心的发现。

9 bowers   

n.（女子的）卧室( bower的名词复数 )；船首锚；阴凉处；鞠躬的人

参考例句：

• If Mr Bowers is right, low government-bond yields could lose their appeal and equities could rebound. 如果鲍尔斯先生的预计是对的，那么低收益的国债将会失去吸引力同时股价将会反弹。 来自互联网

10 sledges   

n.雪橇，雪车( sledge的名词复数 )v.乘雪橇( sledge的第三人称单数 )；用雪橇运载

参考例句：

• Sledges run well over frozen snow. 雪橇在冻硬了的雪上顺利滑行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They used picks and sledges to break the rocks. 他们用[镐和撬]来打碎这些岩石。 来自互联网

11 fossil   

n.化石，食古不化的人，老顽固

参考例句：

• At this distance of time it is difficult to date the fossil.时间隔得这么久了，很难确定这化石的年代。
• The man is a fossil.那人是个老顽固。

12 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》

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

15 extinct   

adj.灭绝的，不再活跃的，熄灭了的，已废弃的

参考例句：

• All hopes were extinct.所有希望都破灭了。
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years.恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。