Antarctica (南极洲) is the fifth largest continent on Earth. It is also the coldest, windiest, driest and highest. It is an ice-covered place where no large plants grow, and no land animals live there. Antarctica covers an area of more than 13.6 million square kilometres. It is nearly twice the size of Australia, or one-and-a-half times the size of the United States of America.

Antarctica does not belong to one country, and it has no government. People visit Antarctica – usually as tourists, or to do scientific research – but no one lives there all the time.

Antarctica was the last place to be discovered. It is not certain who first saw Antarctica, but sailors began to map Antarctica’s coast from their ships in the 1800s. The first proved landing was in the mid-1890s.

Over the next few years, several men tried but failed to reach the South Pole, which is the Earth’s southernmost point.

Finally, a team led by Norwegian Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole in 1911. By then, countries around the world were becoming more and more interested in the frozen place, and soon Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom had laid claim(声称)to parts of Antarctica.

As so many nations had made a claim to govern in Antarctica, it was clear that fighting might break out. Diplomats(外交官) from different countries wanted to stop a war from starting, so they began talking about a treaty for Antarctica. A treaty is a written agreement signed by two or more nations.

Several countries had already set up research stations in Antarctica where scientists could live and work. Most scientists worked during the summer months when it was not as cold as in winter. Scientists hoped a treaty would allow them to continue their work and to exchange information with scientists from other countries.

Answer the following questions. (No more than six words)

1.What’s the area of Antarctica?

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2.When did sailors begin to map Antarctica’s coast from their ships?

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3.What do we call the Earth’s northernmost point?

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4.How many nations had laid claim to parts of Antarctica?

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5.Why did diplomats from different countries begin talking about a treaty for Antarctica?

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I've never thought that a money raiser could have had such a huge influence on my life. Back in 5th grade, our school announced a money raiser and each class would get a box to fill it up with small _______. To make my class to come to the first place in the money raiser, I took two fifty-dollar bills _______ to school and put them into the box.

Two weeks later, my parents asked me about the money. They said they had discovered the truth and weren’t _______, but I must do something to make up for it.

My dad had the perfect idea in mind. The day _______ Christmas, he took me to St. John's Hospice in north Philadelphia, and explained to me that we were going to be working in the kitchen for several hours, making meals with potatoes and chicken for the 300-400 _______ men that came in each day.

As the lunch began. I thought I could wait for this by playing with my new toys. But as the mealtime went on. I found these men were overjoyed at the _______ food they were receiving, which I couldn't believe. I considered it a fairly common winter meal. The men's faces lit up with the food they were given. I realized how poor some people in this world actually are.

I had always heard about giving to the poor; but I never fully _______ it until that day. It was enlightening to see how thankful they were for something I thought was _______. I learned that I didn't really need all the good and expensive things I hoped for. On the drive home, my dad _______ McDonald's for lunch and I answered no at once. I knew that I didn't need it.

That day I came to know how good the feeling is to help people who are really in need. I now return to St John’s Hospice every year, trying to make a ________. This is why I am becoming a doctor, thinking that in the future I will change people's lives in a way just like my father did on that December 26th.

1.A.change B.cards C.cloth D.books

2.A.proudly B.secretly C.seriously D.carefully

3.A.angry B.happy C.worried D.calm

4.A.from B.after C.before D.over

5.A.elderly B.hungry C.disabled D.homeless

6.A.fast B.healthy C.tasty D.simple

7.A.supported B.accepted C.understood D.imagined

8.A.cheap B.funny C.useless D.silly

9.A.cooked B.insisted C.suggested D.required

10.A.plan B.record C.decision D.difference

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