Winter in Antarctica: Staying sane at the Bottom of World
On Antarctica, the world's coldest continent, the average high temperature is -49 degrees Celsius. In the summer, the sun never sets, and in the winter, it never rises. Keeping sane there is its own special challenge. The McMurdo Station is a research base perched on the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf, the world's largest body of floating ice. The station is administered by the United States and is the largest community in Antarctic.
Capable of supporting more than 1200 residents, the population of the station drops to 150 brave (perhaps foolish) people when winter begins in March. Their task is to maintain the station during the months of total night. The biologists, astronomers, geologists, and climate scientists who were there before, have gone, as any research is impossible in the brutal winter.
Every day the remaining staff of maintenance personnel perform their routine tasks and make repairs when needed. Sometimes they peer through the darkness toward their friends from New Zealand, at Scott Base, about two miles away. Though most of the time they're just voices on the radio, it's nice to have neighbors not too far away. Together, they share a power grid and one coast of a dark forbidding continent.
Though the days are dark and freezing cold in the depths of winter, the moon will rest above the horizon for weeks at a time, Its pale light illuminates the cold, craggy landscape as if acknowledging a companion and reaffirming the bonds of life, So even for those who live in the darkest part of the Earth, there's light.
What is the tone of the piece of writing? It's inspiring.
What is this text about? —It’s about the importance of connections (to each other and the world.)
Which of following statements about Antarctica is false? The highest temperature is minus 49 degrees Celsius.
What does the text share with the reader? It gives some insight into what it feels like to live and work in Antarctica.
What the remaining maintenance staff do during the winter? They perform routine tasks and make repairs.
Something is routine if it is normal and expected.
To be brutal means to be harsh or cruel.
To illuminate something means to shine light on it.
To acknowledge something means to recognize or admit its existence.
How far is Scott base from the McMurdo Station? Sometimes they peer through the darkness toward their friends from New Zealand, at Scott Base, about two miles away.
To keep sane means to… not go insane or crazy.
Most of the researchers leave because it’s impossible to do the research during the winter.
The writer shares what it feels like to live and work in Antarctica.
A power grid provides the electricity.
A power grid is needed to supply electricity.
When does the Antarctica's winter begin?Capable of supporting more than 1200 residents, the population of the station drops to 150 brave (perhaps foolish) people when winter begins in March.
What do the remaining staff from the US share with the neighbors from New Zealand? Together, they share a power grid and one coast of a dark forbidding continent.
What rests above the horizon for weeks at a time?Though the days are dark and freezing cold in the depths of winter, the moon will rest above the horizon for weeks at a time,
Chernobyl: Lessons from Nature
On April 26, 1986, Unit 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor in northern Ukraine, then a part of the Soviet Union, was shut down for an unauthorized safety test. When the nuclear fuel rods hit the cooling water, the fission reaction accelerated out of control due to a sudden power surge. This caused the reactor to overheat and build up pressure until its structure failed and it blew up, releasing large amounts of radiation. It took officials a whole day to comprehend the scale of the disaster and to order an evacuation of the surrounding area. Some 50,000 people had to leave, not knowing that they would never return.
In the following months, massive efforts were made to decontaminate the area while increased radiation levels were detected across much of Europe. Fallout from the disaster continues to this day, decades later, and long-term effects such as cancers are still being investigated. Estimates of the number of deaths that will eventually result from the accident vary enormously.
The forest area near the reactor site is one of the most radioactive places on Earth. Named the Red Forest because its trees turned a reddish-brown color as they died, the forest is trying to make a recovery. Animals such as elk and eagles have been seen in the area. And birch trees grow where the radioactive trees of the forest were bulldozed and buried by the Soviet government.
Some people have returned as well, mostly former residents who returned illegally after the evacuation. The old company town of Pripyat, once home to 50,000 plant workers is still deserted, but is slowly being reclaimed by the forest. It seems that nature can recover and even thrive where humans cannot. Let's hope that humans can learn from this experience. Chernobyl, and more recently, Fukushima in Japan, have lessons to teach us.
What is the purpose of this text ? It's to educate.
What is one of the lessons we should learn from Chernobyl? Never underestimate the danger of nuclear technologies.
What do we know about the old company town of Pripyat? It is still deserted.
A surge in power means to increase in strength.
for place to be deserted means that there's nobody there.
From this article, it's clear that officials were unprepared for such an accident.
The nuclear reactor exploded because too much pressure built up inside.
If something is contaminated, it can't be used because it contains harmful substances.
If something is thriving it is doing well.
Fallout from a nuclear explosion contains radioactive particles carried into the atmosphere.
Something is authorized if it is officially permitted.
To reclaim something means to take it back from where it was lost or stolen.
What is one of the most radioactive places on Earth? The forest area near the reactor site is one of the most radioactive places on Earth.
It's clear that officials were completely unprepared for the accident.
We should never underestimate the danger of nuclear technologies.
What cause the reactor to overheat? When the nuclear fuel rods hit the cooling water, the fission reaction accelerated out of control due to a sudden power surge.
What is one of the most radioactive places on Earth? The forest area near the reactor site is one of the most radioactive places on Earth.
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