PET Reading Part 4
There are three extra sentences which you do not need to use.
- Antarctica
Antarctica is the coldest, emptiest, and driest place on Earth. Ninety-nine percent of Antarctica is covered by ice about 5 metres thick. The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was minus 89.2 degrees Celsius, registered on July 21, 1983, at Antarctica’s Vostok station. This continent is dry, windy, and very cold. 1) There is an area called Dry Valleys that has not had rain for more than a million years!
The existence of Antarctica was completely unknown until the continent was first discovered in 1820. Antarctica doesn't have a government and belongs to no country. 2) There are 30 various countries that operate 80 research stations located around the continent. In summer, more than 4000 scientists from all over the world work in research stations. Tourists arrive here, too. 3)
Antarctica has no trees or bushes. The only plants that can live in such a cold place are algae, moss, and fungi. 4) They live close together in large colonies and build their nests on the ice. In the ocean around the continent, you can see seals, whales, and orcas, but there are no big or large native land animals on the continent. 5)
- A) More than 56,000 people travelled to Antarctica during the 2018-2019 season.
- B) Also hiding under the Antarctic ice is an entire lake called Lake Vostok.
- C) But there are a lot of penguins.
- D) Winds in some places can reach 320 km/h.
- E) But Antarctica hasn't always been an icy land.
- F) It is just too cold!
- G) Antarctica is the land surrounded by the ocean.
- H) It is the only place in the world that is not ruled by any nation.
