Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, highest, driest, and emptiest continent. It is sometimes as cold as -87C and is like the United States and Australia combined in size. While no countries own Antarctica, many have research stations there, where the only year-round residents are scientists. Life at the stations is difficult due to the extreme conditions and isolation, as was demonstrated when an American doctor developed cancer and had to treat herself until an air dropped plane delivered medicine months later.

1. ANTARCTICA

2. Antarctica is like no other place in the world.
It is unique. It is very big. It is like the United
States and Australia together. Antarctica is
the coldest place in the world. The tempera-
ture is sometimes – 87C. August and
September are the coldest months because
there is no sun.

3. ►Antarctica is very cold.
►The temperature is sometimes __________.
►Antarctica is like the ______________ and
_________________ together.

5. Antarctica is at the southern tip of the world.
It is the highest continent. It is 10 000 feet
high (3048 metres).
Antarctica also has very strong winds.
The wind sometimes blows two hundred miles
an hour. It is also the driest place in the world.
Antarctica is drier than the Sahara Desert!!

6. ► True or False?
The Sahara Desert is not as dry as Antarctica.

7. Antarctica is also empty. There are huge
glaciers and ice everywhere. A glacier is an
area of ice that moves slowly. The ice and
glaciers are beautiful. But most plants and
land animals cannot live on the ice. It is too
cold. There are no trees, no rivers, and no
cities in Antarctica. There are no land animals.
Only penguins and other sea birds live there.

8. A glacier

9. Antarctica does not belong to any one country.
In fact, every country owns Antarctica. More
than twenty countries have stations in
Antarctica. A station is a place where
scientists do experiments. There are separate
stations for different countries. The scientists
are the only people who live in Antarctica.
In all, over four thousand people live at the
stations in the summer. Over one thousand
people live there in the winter.

10. Stations in Antarctica

11. Life on an Antarctica station is hard. It is like
on a space station. The sun shines for six
months, and then it is night for six months.
People usually have problems with sleeping
and eating. They eat more because they are
not busy. In an emergency, it is hard to get
help. In 1999, an American doctor named
Jerri Nielsen realized she was sick. She had
cancer.

12. It was winter, and airplanes could not land in
Antarctica. She was the only doctor there.
Dr Nielsen had no choice. She had to
stay. An airplane dropped medicine to her,
and she took care of herself. Several months
later, Dr Nielsen returned to the U.S.A to get
special medical help.

13. ►The medicine fell from the plane. It
___________ from the plane.
The glaciers are very very big. They are
________.
Scientists go to Antarctica to do special
tests. They do ______________.

14. Dr Jerri Nielsen

15. Today, more and more people visit Antarctica.
Ships go to Antarctica during the summer
months from November to February. People
want to visit this unusual place, but they don’t
want to live there!