Geography. Козлова Е.П. - 73 стр.

14.7 Answer the following questions

Where is Antarctica situated?
What pronounced irregularities has Antarctica?
What is the largest area of persistent, water-born ice? Give its dimensions.
Are there any rivers, lakes, marshes, or swamps in Antarctica?
What kinds of plant life are found in Antarctica?
What can you say about Antarctica’s fauna?
What factors determine Antarctica’s climate?
Why do geographers regard Antarctica as a desert?
What signs of former tropical climate has Antarctica?

14.8 Text for written translation

     The Antarctic region was first penetrated by European explorers in the 18 th
century. Cook’s circumnavigation in 1772–1775, and the resulting awareness of the
large population of whales and seals there, ushered in the first era of marine mammal
exploitation in the Antarctic waters. Fur seals were massively ever exploited, and
eliminated from some islands by 1820s. Sealers and whalers become major explorers
of Antarctica and Sub-Antarctica in the 19 th century while searching for new
hunting grounds. National expeditions began to be sent to Antarctica in the middle of
the 19 th century. The first deliberate overwintering was in 1898 and the South Pole
was reached by Roald Amundsen in 1911, although the mapping of Antarctica was
only completed in the late 1940s. Permanent human presence in Antarctica dates
mainly from the establishment of year-round research station in the 1940s – although
the Argentina station «Orcadas» has been continuously operated since 1904.
     In 1959, twelve countries, including the United States and the Soviet Union,
agreed to allow freedom of scientific investigation on Antarctica. They also agreed
not to use the continent for military purposes. This meant that they would not test
nuclear weapons there. Later four other nations signed the agreement, called the
Antarctic Treaty. Subsequent agreements in what has been termed the Antarctic
Treaty System (ATS) include the 1972 Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic
Seals (CCAS), the 1980 Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living
Resources (CCAMLR), and the 1991 Protocol of Environment Protection.

14.9 Make up all possible types of questions to the text 14.8

14.10 Speak on:

1. geographical position of Antarctica;
2. flora, fauna, climate;
3. exploration of Antarctica;
4. the Antarctic Treaty
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