Unit 5 Antarctica 课文讲解

and the Antarctic
▪ Part 3 （Paras 4-end）: The reasons why Antarctica
is uninhabitable.
Part I: General Introduction to Antarctica
Seen from space, the astronauts tell us, the most distinctive feature of our planet is the ice sheet of Antarctica which “radiates light like a great white lantern across the bottom of the world”. This ice sheet covers 5,500,000 square miles (an area greater than the United States and Central America combined); it averages more 7,000 feet in thickness; it contains more than 90 per cent of the world’s ice and snow, and if suddenly it melted the oceans would rise to such a height that every other person on earth would be drowned. Antarctica is in fact our planet’s largest and most spectacular natural phenomenon
authority to his explanation. f) He also uses parallel structures as an effective way of
describing what life in the Antarctic.
In this sort of cold if you try to burn a candle the flame becomes obscured by a hood of wax, if you drop a steel bar it is likely to shatter like glass, tin disintegrates into loose granules, mercury freezes into a solid metal, and if you haul up a fish through a hole in the ice within five seconds it is frozen so solid that it has to be cut with a saw.
Thickness & Snow and ice
▪ it averages more 7,000 feet in thickness
▪ it contains more than 90 per cent of the world’s
ice and snow, and if suddenly it melted the oceans would rise to such a height that every other person on earth would be drowned
Writing techniques
1. What type of writing is this text? an Expository writing
2. What writing skills does the writer use to make “Antarctica” sense to the reader? a) The writer states the central theme at the beginning of the
text to arouse the reader’s interest. b) He shows to the reader many vivid pictures of Antarctica by
using description and narration. c) He supports his views with many concrete data, statistics and
tommorrow?
▪ How to protect this place?
▪ WHAT is the writer concerned about ?
Textual cture
▪ Part 1 （para 1）: General introduction to Antarctica
▪ Part 2 (paras2-3): Comparison between the Arctic
Yet climate by itself was not the main drawback to the unveiling of Antarctica; an even greater drawback, at least in the early stages, was the nature of the sea—the Southern Ocean—which surrounds it. (the last para )
facts to make his writing more convincing. d) He uses comparison to highlight how uninhabitable the
Antarctic is. e) He directly quotes the words of scientists to give more
Mind map of Para 3: Comparison
Arctica
Antarctica
1. Surrounded by the landmass of Europe,
America and Asia
2. cold
3. thousands of families, plants and animals
1. Isolated by oceans
2. Much colder 3. No habitation and very
few living creatures
Creatures In the Arctic
Creatures In the Antarctic
Part 3 The reason why Antarctica is uninhabitable
Part 2: Comparison between the Arctic and the Antarctic
①People used to regard the Arctic and the Antarctic as much alike. ②In fact their differences outweigh their similarities./ ③ The Arctic is closely hemmed in by the populated landmasses of Europe, America and Asia; the Antarctic in contrast is in splendid isolation, divided from the nearest land by vast reaches of the most tempestuous seas on earth. /④Another big difference is the climate. ⑤We are so inclined to think of both the Arctic and Antarctic as cold, that we tend to forget how much colder the latter is. /⑥North of the Arctic Circle tens of thousands of families live in comfort all the year round; hundreds of children are born every year. ⑦South of the Antarctic Circle，in contrast, there is no habitation that a man can describe as home; the only plants are a handful of mosses and lichens; the only landlife simple one-celled creatures and wingless flies; no human child has ever been born there.
第6次课的教学内容及目标
▪11. 对南极洲有个基本认知。 ▪2. 以问答和画思维导图的形式理解课文内容。 ▪3. 学习写作手法。
homework
▪ 复习作业： ▪ 1. 听并阅读全文。
▪ 2. 熟读第一段。
▪ 预习单词 ▪ 摘抄
▪ （以上作业上课前交）
It is not hard to see why. The basic essentials to life are rainfall, warmth and a degree of stillness. The Arctic, at times, provides all three; the Antarctic seldom provides any——witness the descriptions of those who have been there. (para 4) …
Why is Antarctica uninhabitable?