номер 3, страница 134 - гдз по английскому языку 9 класс (spotlight) учебник Ваулина, Дули

Going Green, Eight.

Exercise three, page one hundred thirty-four.

The challenge of Antarctica.

The Earth's last great wilderness.

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 causing world temperatures to rise.

But over the past fifty years, Antarctica's temperatures have increased by about three degrees Celsius.

Around ten 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 eventually melts, not only will the world heat up generally, but global sea levels could rise by about six meters, flooding many coastal areas.

This is extremely worrying, as almost every city with over ten million people is on the coast.

Another problem is that melting ice forms clouds, which leads 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 two degrees Celsius 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 whole food chain is affected.

It won't be long therefore, before larger birds and animals such as whales, seals and sea lions are endangered, if sea temperatures continue to rise.

Human impact.

Antarctica isn't called the Earth's last great wilderness for no reason.

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 carry out research.

Therefore, Antarctica has become the world's largest laboratory.

Many countries have set up scientific bases there, which means that the population now ranges from about one thousand in winter, to about four thousand in summer.

Also, thirty thousand 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, CO two emissions from burning fuel, and pollution from boats.

If we are not careful, both scientists and tourists may destroy the very qualities that draw them to Antarctica.