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Module 1Deep South
Antarctica: the Last Continent
Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth. It’s also the driest. With annual rainfall close to zero, Antarctica is technically a desert. Covering about 14 million square kilometers around the South Pole, it is the fifth largest continent in the world. A high mountain range, the Trans-Antarctic range, runs from east to west, cutting the continent in two. There are volcanoes too, but they are not very active. Antarctica holds 90% of the world’s ice, and most of its fresh water (70%) is in a frozen state, of course. 98% of the surface is covered permanently in the ice cap. On average it is two kilometers thick, but in some places it reaches a depth of five kilometers. Strong winds driven by gravity blow from the pole to the coastline, while other winds blow round the coast. It is difficult to imagine a more inhospitable place.
Yet Antarctica is full wildlife, which has adapt ed to its extreme conditions. There are different types of penguins, flying birds, seals, and whales. But the long Antarctic winter night, which lasts for 182 days (the longest period of continuous darkness on earth), as well
as the extreme cold and lack of rainfall, means that few types of plants can survive there. Only two types of flowering plants are found, while there are no trees on the large continent. The rest of the plants are made up of mosses, algae and lichen. Some forms of algae have adapted to grow on ice.
Most of the ice has been there for thousands of years. As a result, it has become a window on the past, and can give researchers lots of useful information. Gases and minerals, in the form of volcanic dust trapped in the ice, can tell us a lot about what the world’s climate was like in past ages. Antarctic rocks are also very important for research. Most of them are meteorites from outer space. One rock, known as the “Alien” rock, may contain evidence of extra-terrestrial life.
Since most Antarctic rocks are dark in colour, they stand out against the white background and are easy to identify and collect.
Antarctica was the last continent to be discovered. But more than two thousand years ago Greek geographers believed that there was a large land mass in the south which balance d the land in the north. They called it Anti-Arktikos, or Antarcica: the opposite of Arcitc. When Europeans discovered the continent of America in 15th century, the great age of exploration began. However, progress to the South ole was slow. Not until the late 18th century did the
British explorer James Cook cross the Antarctic Circle, but he never saw land. Then in 1895, a Norwegian called Carstens Borchgrevink became the first man to set foot on the Antarctic mainland. The race to the pole had begun. It was finally reached on 11th December, 1911 by the Norwegian Roald Amundsen.
Today scientists from many countries travel to Antarctica to study its resources. A spirit of international friendship has replaced the rivalry that existed between many of the earlier explorers. In 1961, a treaty signed by 12 countries, including Britain, France, and the USA made Antarctica the world’s biggest nature reserve. The aim of the treaty is to prevent the commercial and military use of the continent. In particular, it aims to keep Antarctica free from nuclear tests and radioactive waste; to promote international scientific projects; and to end arguments about who owns the land. Today countries representing 80% of the world’s population have signed the treaty. Antarctica has become perhaps the most successful symbol of man’s efforts to work together for progress and peace.
How Failure Became Success
On 8th August, 1914, 27 men who had replied to an advertisement in The Times boarded a ship leaving for the Antarctic. The name of
the ship was the Endurance and the captain was an Irishman called Ernest Shackleton.
The aim of the journey was to cross the frozen continent via the South Pole –journey of 1,800 miles. Shackleton thought the journey would last six months.
But when land came into sight, the Endurance became trapped in the ice and began to break up. Shackleton and his men watched the Endurance sink into the icy sea. They then head ed north, pulling three lifeboats behind them.
After six days, bad weather force d them to give up and the men set up camp on a sheet of ice which began slowly moving across the Antarctic Circle.
They survived on the ice for five months. Then, on 16th April, 1915, Shackleton saw land. It was Elephant Island – large rock with nothing growing on it, but much better than a floating piece of ice. When they reached the island, Shackleton came up with an idea –it was a risk but he would have to take it. He and five men would take one of the lifeboats, and sail 800 miles to South Georgia, where there was a permanent camp. They could then return to rescue the rest of the men.
It took Shackleton 17 days to rach South Georgia. Unfortunately he landed on the wrong side of the island, and had to
walk 36 hours over mountains to reach the camp. The whale hunters all the camp couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw the six men walking down from the mountains.
Shackleton kept his promise. More than three months later, he returned to Elephant Island to rescue the crew he had been forced to abandon. He had failed to reach the pole –but he had saved the lives of all his men.
Welcome to the South Poles!
South Poles? How many are there?
In fact, there are three South Poles: a ceremonial Pole, which is on the moving glacier, a geographical or true Pole, and a magnetic Pole which changes its position according to the movement of the Earth.
Is it safe?
Because the South Pole is a high altitude site, the glare of the sunlight here is very intense. It’s also reflected by the snow, so if you go outside, remember to wear sunglasses and use suncream. If you don’t there’s severe risk that you’ll damage your eyesight or get badly sunburnt.
Is it cold?
Yes! Be very careful out in the open air! The temperature is
between minus 21°C in the summer and minus 78°C in the winter, and you can become numb with cold without realizing. There’s heavy frost even on the warmest summer days, and if it’s quiet you can hear your breath freeze. So if you leave the station, dress warmly and carry dry clothing and a portable radio.
Is there anything good about the weather?
The air is very pure, and it doesn’t snow very much – only about four millimeters a year. There’s very little wind and the sky is usually clear. It’s possibly the calmest place on Earth.
What’s it like to live here?
Life is quite abnormal. Sunrise and sunset come once every six months, and in the winter the total absence of daylight can be tiresome, and for some, depressing. We’re totally isolated except for radio and electronic communications, as no aircraft can fly here for about eight months.
Where do we live?
The South Pole scientific station is situated on a platform of ice, 3,000-4,000 metres high, but under only a few millimetres of snow. We have a minimum of 28 people living here in the winter and a maximum of 125 in the summer. The living quarters are modest, with few luxuries, but cosy. There’s a comfortable dormitory for sleeping, the canteen serve great food, and there’s a well-stocked
library of DVDs and videos. But showers and laundry are limited, because water is very valuable. We discourage you from smoking except in specific areas. Medical assistance is available in case of an emergency.
Any other advice?
Remember that conventional equipment doesn’t always work as it should do. If you use an electric drill, the power cord will snap. Photography is tricky too, as film is fragile and the camera battery doesn’t work in the cold.
Don’t leave any rubbish, and don’t forget that the ecology of Antarctica is very delicate, so don’t take any souvenirs home with you, and be careful to leave nothing but footprints.
Finally, remember that we’re all visitors to the South Pole. It’s a privilege, not a right to come to this extraordinary place.
The Travels of Marco Polo
The year is 1271 AD. Imagine a 17-year-old boy from Venice Italy, well-educated and trained for life as a rich trader. He sets off with his father and uncle on a 25-year journey to mysterious, distant lands that most people in Europe have never heard of. While on their journey buying and selling spices, silks and jewels,they befriend one of the most powerful men on Earth, Kubla Khan.
The boy’s name was Marco Polo and many years later a book about his travels was published which made him famous. Marco Polo told his fantastic stories to a writer named Rustichello who wrote them down for him. This man was well-known for his stories and romantic tales of the legendary English King Arthur, but so many people doubted the reliability of his book the Travels of Marco Polo. However, Chinese historians have found obscure names and facts in the book that could only have been known to someone intimate with the country.
Many of Marco’s stories were about China and its people. He told stories about the towns, cities and populations in great detail. He described the amazing things he saw in China such as paper money and black stone that burned (coal). With very little contact between China and the West, it is not surprising that people in a rich powerful place like Venice could not believe his stories, nor in the idea of huge, rich city states inhabited by millions of people. There could surely be no comparison with Venice?
A general myth has grown up around Marco Polo that he introduced such things as spaghetti and ice cream from China to the West. There is no truth to any of these claims and actually they are not mentioned in Marco Polo’s book.
However, Marco Polo’s book is still a unique insight for its age.
Most importantly it was a great influence for many future travelers. Christopher Columbus left behind a well-worn copy that he read as inspiration on his own voyages to America.
Module 2 The Renaissance
The Renaissance
For many people, the Renaissance means 14th to 16th century Italy, and the developments in art and architecture, music and literature which took place there all that time. But there is one work which, perhaps more than any other, expresses the spirit of the Renaissance: the Mona Lisa. It is believed to be the best example of a new lifelike style of painting that amazed people when it was first used. Painted by Leonardo da Vinci in the years 1503-1506, the Mona Lisa is a mysterious masterpiece. People want to know who Mona Lisa is, and why she is smiling. Even if people do not know much about the Renaissance, they have heard of this painting.
But the Renaissance is, of course, more than just Mona Lisa. Renaissance is a French word which means “rebirth”and it first appeared in English in the 19th century. The word was used to describe a period in European history which began with the arrival
of the first Europeans in America, and age of exploration, and the beginning of the modern world. It was as if Europe was waking up after the long sleep of the Middle Ages. From Italy, the ideas of the Renaissance rapidly spread northwards to France, Germany, England, and the rest of Europe.
Trade with other parts of the world meant that Europe was getting richer, too. This meant that people had money to spend on the arts; and it became easier for artists to find people who could afford to buy their works or employ them. Leonardo worked for important people such as the Duke of Milan, and, towards the end of his life, the King of France.
Renaissance artists found new ideas for their work in classical Greece and Rome. But they looked forward, too, by opening new frontiers in the arts. Painters discovered how to use perspective and the effects of light; composers put different voices together and created polyphony “many voices”; architects preferred designing buildings with more light which contrasted with the heaviness of the Gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages.
The sense of exploration which motiveated the artists went had in hand with a new type of philosophy. After centuries of accepting a medieval world view in which human life was considered of little value compared with the greatness of God,
philosophers began asking questions like “What is a person?”or “Why am I here?”For the first time, they put people, not religion, at the centre of the universe.
The Renaissance was a time of scientific invention, too. Leonardo, as well as being one of the greatest painters the world has ever known, was also a skilled inventor. Wherever he went, he carried a notebook around with him, in which he wrote down his ideas. They included detailed drawings of the human body, plans for engineers to build canals and bridges, and astonishing drawings of machines which were not to be built until hundreds of years later, such as aeroplanes, parachutes, submarines and tanks. Towards the end of his life he was employed by the King of France to do scientific research, and he did not have a lot of time for painting.
In short, Leonardo was an extraordinary genius, an example of what has been described as “Renaissance man”: someone interested in everything and with many different talents. But even if his only contribution to history had been the Mona Lisa, it would have been genius enough for all time.
Thursday
We arrived on the overnight ferry to the Hook of Holland and took a train to Amsterdam Central Station. It was only a short ride. It’s not
easy to find your way around the town. A lot of the roads follow the canals which aren’t straight but are shaped like horseshoes. So you can walk along a street for half an hour of so and end up five minutes from where you started. However, most people don’t walk –there are three million bikes in town and a good bus and tram system. There are boats, too. About half of them are for tourists, the others are houseboats with people living on them. We spent the whole day walking. Tomorrow we’re going to rent bikes.
Friday
We spent today looking at houses. The architecture is astonishing, quite different from other European countries we’ve been to. The houses are tall and thin, and many of them have a fantastically ornate Renaissance appearance. In the Middle Ages the houses were made of wood. Then, at the end of the 15th century there was a huge fire and about three quarters of the town was destroyed. After that, houses were made of brick. Unlike other places in Europe, where house owners were taxed on the size of their windows, here the taxes depended on the width of the house – so they kept them narrow, but built them tall. Well, that’s what Claire says, and she read it in the guidebook.
Saturday
We visited the Van Gogh Museum, instead of the more famous
Rijksmuseum. It was astonishing. I hadn’t really looked at any of Van Gogh’s paintings before. He seems to have re-invented the art. It doesn’t matter whether he is doing a portrait of a landscape –he’s a genius. In the last 70 days of his life before he short himself he produced 70 paintings, and I reckon they’re almost all masterpieces. Yet in all his life Van Gogh only ever sold one painting! We must have spent three hours in that museum. When we came out I told Claire I thought Van Gogh was the greatest painter in history. She reminded me that we were leaving for Paris tomorrow, where we were going to see the most famous painting in the world …
The puzzle of the Mona Lisa
The Mona Lisa is the subject of many stories, but there is one anecdote which remains a puzzle. Is the painting in the Louvre the authentic work by Leonardo da Vinci … or just a copy?
The story began one day in 1911 when someone noticed the Mona Lisa was missing. A spokesman said, “The burglar left the antique frame and the glass behind. He must have gone through the basement to the main courtyard. A passerby saw a man with a moustache, carrying a parcel under his arm, dash over the street crossing, along to the crossroads. He then fled down a sideroad.
We’re appealing to anyone who saw the suspect to contact us.”
So we stole the Mona Lisa? And why? News about the loss of the Mona Lisa was circulated in all the French newspapers, and there was a widespread search for the burglar all over the country. He police said, “we don’t think the burglar was working alone. We’re seeking a gang of criminals.”
Two years later, a man with a moustache went to an art dealer in Florence in Italy and made a tentative attempt to sell the Mona Lisa. The art dealer checked it, agreed it was authentic …and then called the police.
Why did the burglar, Vincenzo Perugia, wait so long? Perugia had stolen the Mona Lisa on behalf of the chief organizer of the crime, Eduardo de Valifierno. But Perugia made a fundamental mistake. He trusted da Valfierno to pay him for tha painting. The drawback for Perugia was that de Valfierno didn’t in fact need the painting, only the news of the theft. De Valfierno made six superb copies and sold them, claiming that each one was the authentic stolen painting. Of course, the fact that there were six substitutes was confidential. The six buyers didn’t know about the other paintings. What’s more, de Valfierno didn’t need to pay his debt to Perugia.
After two years, Perugia got tired of waiting to be paid, and
tried to sell the painting. When the real Mona Lisa turned up in Florence, de Valfierno simply told his buyers that it was merely a copy.
The outcome of the story is that Perugia got the blame for the crime and went to prison. De Valfierno remained at liberty for the rest of his life.
But there is still a puzzle. There were a number of precise copies of the Mona Lisa painted by gifted students of Leonardo da Vinci. Part of the painting’s fascination is whether the one in the Louvre was authentic … even before it was stolen. And if Perugia stole a copy … who has the authentic Mona Lisa?
Printing
Printing is the process of making many copies of a single document using movable characters or letters. In China, printing was known as early as in the 7th century, during the Tang Dynasty; in Europe, it was an important part of the Renaissance. Printing answered a need because people were thirsty for knowledge.
Before printing was invented, copies of a manuscript had to be made by hand, usually on animal skins. This was a difficult task that could take many years, and which made books very expensive.
Printing made it possible to produce more copies in a few weeks than could have been produced in a lifetime written out by hand.
It is believed that a German, Johann Gutenberg, made the first printing press in Europe. He adapted it from the machines farmers used to squeeze oil from olives. It used paper, which was more suitable for printing (and cheaper) than animal skins. Paper, like printing, had been invented much earlier in China and it had found its way to Europe, via southeast Asia and then India. By the 10th century AD, paper was being produced in Baghdad. The first paper mill in Europe was built at the end of the 12th century.
The first book that Gutenberg produced was a Bible. But as the ideas of the Renaissance developed, so did the demand for the Greek and Latin classics, which had been largely ignored for up to 2,000 years. People also wanted books in their own languages. The invention of printing meant that this desire could be satisfied.
Soon there were printing presses all over northern Europe. In 1476 William Caxton set up his own press in London, and England became one of the most important centres of the printing industry. This spread of printed books led to a renewed passion for artistic expression. Without the development of the printing press, the Renaissance may never have happened. Without inexpensive printing to make books available to a large section of society, the
son of John Shakespeare, a government official in rural England in the mid-1500s, may never have been inspired to take up writing as a profession. What western civilization gained from Gutenberg’s contribution is impossible to calculate.
Module 3 Foreign Food
Passage 1
Chinese people think a lot about food. In fact, I think that they are sometimes obsessed with it. My first experience of this aspect of Chinese culture came at a banquet during a trip to Beijing in 1998. I had eaten Chinese food often, but I could not have imagined how fabulous a real Chinese banquet could be. The first six or seven dishes seemed to fill the table, with plates dangerously balanced one on top of another. I thought this vast wave of food was the total number of dishes to be served, and I started eating greedily. Everyone else just tasted a bit of each dish and then put their chopsticks down, continuing to chat. “They can’t have very big appetites,” I thought.
To my surprise, more dishes arrived, plus soups, side dishes, and desserts. There was enough to feed a whole army.
No wonder my fellow guests had had only a few bites of each dish; they knew what was still to come. But I was already so full that I could only watch as the banquet continued.
Another aspect of “food culture” is that the Chinese seem to eat almost every part of every animal – much to the horror of many westerners. Stomach, intestines, ears, tongue, tail, hoof, and lungs are all likely to end up on the dinner table in front of you. The first time I saw a three-year-old kid cheerfully chewing a chicken’s head I had bad dream for weeks.
These days I enjoy that sort of food myself. On a recent trip to the United States I suddenly felt like some Chinese delicacies, and asked the guy at the meat counter of a supermarket, “Do you have pigs’ ears?”“No,” he said, pulling at his own ear, “Just these ordinary ones.”He must have thought I was joking.
However, there are other kinds of foods that have taken longer for me to accept. The infamous choudoufu is an example. (the name says it all: “stinky tofu”.) Just when I got used to it, I found another variety on a trip to Hunan: deep-fried choudoufu, a horrible black substance that looked and smelled about as appetizing as a burnt tennis shoe. Maybe I’ll get used to that, too – someday.
Passage 2
The first time I ate British food I was in the canteen of a London publisher. Some people just sat down on the sofa to eat. I was amazed at their easy and graceful manner while I stood there feeling somewhat confused by the food. At the counter there were colourful mixtures in eight or nine big boxes. It was quite hard to make out hat they contained. The waiter put these foods inside bread or potatoes according to people’s requirements. I still remember what I ate: a tuna fish and cheese sandwich. It didn’t actually taste bad, but to me the cold fish, cold cheese, and even the bread from the fridge, was a meal that would make you feel cold inside. Later, I found out that British people like cold food. Their salad, for example, is made from vegetables which are only washed before serving, while Chinese food is prepared more carefully. The Chinese have a fixed phrase “cold leftovers”. Cold food means poverty –you don’t give it to a guest! No wonder westerners like Chinese food.
I also learned that the English like to mix food before serving it at the table. I once ordered mushroom soup in a restaurant and was astonished when it was brought to the
table. It seemed to be just a bowl of grey liquid and it was only after I had tasted it that I knew it was actually cooked with mushrooms. The things inside sandwiches and baked potatoes are also various kinds of mashed food, like the fillings of jiaozi in Beijing. The food here goes against the Chinese sense of beauty and style at the dinner table. Chinese dishes can be photographed and have a nice appearance. We would never mash food into an unrecognizable shape.
What’s more, the names of many kinds of English food are hard to remember. In fact, they often use French or Italian words. But one thing I do admire is the polite manner in which British people eat, even if it is just a potato.
An Embarrassing Moment
The perfect host is the one who saves his guest from embarrassment whatever the cost. When Edward VII became King of England in 1901, he was already nearly 60 years old. He liked traveling, meeting people, and eating well. In short, he liked having a good time.
One evening he was entertaining the ruler of a small island in the Pacific. The menu included asparagus, which his guest had never eaten before. Asparagus is by nature tender
and tasty at one end. Usually people leave the part which is difficult to eat on their plates.
As soon as the Polynesian guest tasted the asparagus he remarked how delicious it was. However, when he realised that he could not eat the tough part, he simply threw it over his shoulder onto the floor behind him. The other guests were astonished, but went on eating. The King said nothing. However, when he had finished his asparagus, he too threw the piece that was left over his shoulder.
Before long everybody else at the dinner was following his example, casually throwing the asparagus onto the floor, while the conversation continued in a friendly and relaxed manner. At the end of the meal the carpet was rather dirty. The cleaners weren’t very happy, but in the end most people had to agree that the King had been a perfect host, saving his guest and everybody else from the embarrassment which came from a misunderstanding of table manners.
Food in Australia
Not so long ago, food in Australia meant porridge with milk and sugar, and eggs and bacon for breakfast, then roast lamb or beef for lunch or dinner. During the 1980s each person consumed about
39 kilograms of meat a year, and the butcher in the local High Street was one of the most important people in town. Australia is a country where the cattle and sheep outnumber the people, and it has always been justifiably famous for its lamb (no one would even think of eating mutton, which is the meat from the older animal). The consequence was that many people were overweight. Today there are still many Australians who eat huge amounts of meat. But recently, we have seen a gradual trend towards healthier food.
Modern Australian cooking is often referred to as fusion cuisine, and the recipes include ingredients and cooking styles from the East and the West. Today, Australians enjoy Japanese food with bean curd, seaweed, and raw fish, as well as Greek, Italian and Lebanese food such as pasta, olives, tomatoes, eggplant and lemons. Cantonese and Beijing-style food is always popular, especially dim sum. French cooking can be seen in the Australians’love of the French-style bakery, with its delicious cakes and long loaves of bread. There are few or no artificial ingredients in fusion cooking, only the purest and freshest of produce.
Even in the suburbs there are Oriental grocery stores where customers can buy everything from a Chinese frying pan (a wok) and chilli powder, cocoa from Brazil for drinking or for cakes, American chocolate-chip cookies, Canadian maple syrup or French
honey to pour over your breakfast pancakes, to crisp Indian samosas and Lemon grass for fragrant Thai dishes, dairy products such as yoghurt and cream, as well as abundant homegrown fruit, especially ripe peaches, grapes, melons and oranges.
Most Australian homes will have a stove on which your fry or steam vegetables, and there’s usually a microwave oven as well, for reheating food quickly. But perhaps the most important piece of equipment is not in the kitchen but in the garden –the famous barbecue, where, on a charcoal fire, they grill meat, such as slices of beef steak, chicken breasts or lamb cutlets. There’s usually a buffet of salads and vegetables to accompany it, and pints of Australian beer to drink, because the breweries which make the beer are among the finest in the world. Altogether, with its ample amount of food and drink and its relaxed way of cooking and serving, the barbecue is not just a piece of cooking and serving, the barbecue is not just a piece of cooking equipment but the word the Australians use for a popular way of entertaining friends.
The Willow Pattern Plate
One of the best-known designs on British plates is the “Willow Pattern”. In many homes, the willow pattern plates (named after the willow tree in the centre of the design) are kept for special。