| Captain Scott left London to begin his Antarctic expedition on 1st June, 1910. When he was on his way, Ronald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer, sent him a telegram: "I'm going South." So the race to the South Pole had begun!
Food depots had been organised in advanced by both teams in preparation for their expeditions the following year. After the total darkness of the polar winter, spring, for which Scott and Amundsen had been waiting impatiently, came and they got ready for the departure.
Amundsen set off first, on 15th October, 1911. All of his men were on skis and he had prepared teams of dogs to pull the sledges. He made rapid progress as a result. Scott let on 1st November and he soon encountered problems. He had two motor sledges which broke down, and his team of ponies began to meet serious difficulties with the snow and the cold. Finally, Scott and his men were forced to push the sledges themselves after a short while.
On the fourteenth of December, Amudsen reached the Pole, put a Norwegian flag there and prepared his team for the journey back.
On the seventeenth of January, Scott and four companions finally got to the Pole. When they saw the Norwegian flag there, they felt deeply depressed. Scott wrote bitterly in his diary: "Well, we have now lost the goal of our ambition and must face 800 miles of hard pushing - and goodbye to most of our dreams."
The journey back was one of the worst in the history of exploration. They were soon exhausted and quickly run out of food. The weather conditions were awful and Scott began to realise that they were in a really difficult and dangerous situation. He wrote:
"Amongst ourselves we are very cheerful, but what each man feels in his heart I can only guess. Putting on our shoes in the morning is getting slower and slower."
In spite of all this, they still found time to look for rocks and fossils on their way back. They brought back with them about 20 kilos of rocks. These rocks proved that at one time in the distant past Antarctica had been covered by plants.
Nonetheless, they were soon struck by disaster. Edgar Evans had terrible frostbite and died after a bad fall. Captain Oates, who was having great difficulty walking, was the next to die. Scott recorded his death:
"He said, "I am just going outside and I may be some time." We know that poor Oates was walking to his death, but though we tried to stop him, we knew that it was the act of a brave man and an English gentleman. We all hope to meet the end with a similar spirit, and certainly the end is not far."
Scott and two companions kept on and got as near as eleven miles of one of their food depots. But a terrible storm started suddenly and they couldn't leave their tent. Some of Scott's last hours were spent writing. He wrote a very sad letter to his wife Kathleen:
"To my widow, I could tell you lots and lots about this journey. What stories you would have for the boy ... But what a price to pay."
The story of their end was reflected on Scott's final diary entry:
"The depot is only 11 miles away, but I do not think we can hope for any better things now. We are getting weaker and weaker and the end can't be far. It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more."
The world was shocked by the news of Scott's death. He had failed to win the race to the Pole, but Captain Scott and his men were made then into heroes for the remarkable courage they had shown.
 5.(C) Write the missing words & Read aloud
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Captain Scott left London to begin his Antarctic ............ on 1st June, 1910. When he was on his way, Ronald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer, sent him a telegram: 'I'm going South.' So the ............ to the South Pole had begun!
Food depots had been organised in ............ by both teams in preparation for their expeditions the following ............ . After the total darkness of the polar ............, spring, for which Scott and Amundsen had been waiting impatiently, came and they got ready for the departure.
Amundsen set ............ first, on 15th October, 1911. All of his men were on skis and he had prepared teams of dogs to pull the ............ . He made rapid progress as a result. Scott let on 1st November and he soon encountered ............ . He had two motor sledges which broke ............, and his team of ponies began to meet serious ............ with the snow and the cold.
Finally, Scott and his men were forced to push the sledges ............ after a short while.
On the fourteenth of December, Amudsen ............ the Pole, put a Norwegian flag there and prepared his team for the journey ............ .
On the seventeenth of January, Scott and four companions finally got to the Pole. When they saw the Norwegian ............ there, they felt deeply depressed. Scott wrote bitterly in his diary: 'Well, we have now lost the goal of our ............ and must face 800 miles of hard pushing - and goodbye to most of our ............ .'
The journey back was one of the worst in the history of exploration. They were soon exhausted and quickly run out of ............ .
The weather conditions were ............ and Scott began to realise that they were in a really difficult and dangerous situation. He wrote:
'Amongst ourselves we are very ............, but what each man feels in his heart I can only guess. Putting on our shoes in the morning is getting slower ............ slower.'
In spite ............ all this, they still found time to look for rocks and fossils on their way back. They brought back with them about 20 kilos of rocks. These rocks proved that at one time in the distant past Antarctica had been ............ by plants.
Nonetheless, they were soon struck by ............ . Edgar Evans had terrible frostbite and died after a bad fall. Captain Oates, who was having great difficulty walking, was the next to ............ . Scott recorded his death:
'He said, 'I am just going outside and I may be some time.' We know that poor Oates was walking to his death, but though we tried to stop him, we knew that it was the act of a brave man and an English ............ . We all hope to meet the end with a similar spirit, and certainly the end is not ............ .'
Scott and two companions kept on and got as near as eleven miles of one of their food depots. But a terrible ............ started suddenly and they couldn't leave their ............ . Some of Scott's last hours were spent writing. He wrote a very sad ............ to his wife Kathleen:
'To my widow, I could tell you lots and lots about this journey. What stories you would have for the boy ... But what a price to ............ .'
The story of their end was reflected on Scott's final ............ entry:
'The depot is only 11 miles away, but I do not think we can hope for any better things now. We are getting weaker and ............ and the end can't be far. It seems a pity, but I do not think I can ............ more.'
The world was shocked by the news of Scott's ............ . He had failed to win the ............ to the Pole, but Captain Scott and his men were made then into ............ for the remarkable ............ they had shown. |
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 5.(D) Answer the questions & Read aloud
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| What did Captain Scott leave London for? | ...................................... |
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| When did Amundsen set off? | ...................................... |
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| When did Scott arrive in the South Pole? | ...................................... |
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| What did Scott and his men see when they arrived there? | ...................................... |
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| What was the journey back like? | ...................................... |
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| What were the weather conditions like? | ...................................... |
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| What did they quickly run out of? | ...................................... |
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| Who was the first to die? | ...................................... |
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| What were they able to bring with them? | ...................................... |
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| How did Scott spend his last hours? | ............. |
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