to one's surprise, turn down, set off, dream of, abandon oneself to,
keep up, hold on, fill ... with ...
After (read) the advertisement posted by Shackleton, Perce resolved to join the expedition. At first, he was so young that he (turn) down by Shackleton. He managed to go aboard ship. The journey was not so easy. The ship became (stick) in the ice. Before they abandoned the ship, Shackleton (calm) called them together and told them to rescue their most essential (supply), such as the small boats, their food, the cook stove, candles, etc. (keep) their spirits up, they kept Hussey's banjo. When they reached Elephant Island, things were going from bad to . Shackleton left them to find help. They had to catch seals or penguins to eat. When Perce (feel) low, Frank Wild encouraged him to hold on. Wild and Shackleton's perseverance, and their resolve filled Perce hope.
The third theme of geography is movement. As people travel around the world, exchanging goods, ideas and interests, the global community is transformed. Take surfing, for example. The sport originated in Hawaii centuries ago. Today, the cry "Surf up!" can be heard along coastlines everywhere.
Europeans were the first Westerners to observe the sport. In 1779, Captain Cook, a British explorer, and his crew sailed around the Sandwich Islands (Now Hawaii). Near the rocky coast of the Big Island, they witnessed a man riding a wave while standing on a board.
Cook was stricken by what he saw. Hawaiians would anticipate good waves and hold ceremonies when building surfboards. Their boards were built according to rank: Chiefs used long boards (16 to 18 feet long), while commoners used shorter ones (6 to 8 feet long).
After the arrival of Europeans, Hawaiian surf culture declined. Many Hawaiians died of European-borne diseases. Also, the belief that surfing was "ignorant fun" was widely spread.
These conditions changed after Hawaii became a United States territory in 1900. (It became a state in 1959.) Travellers to the islands brought back stories of wave riding. Tales of the thrilling sport spread across the US, then to the rest of the world.
Today, surfing is the king of board sports. The world has nearly 8,000 "surf spots" in 136 countries on 6 continents. The Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) holds an annual world tour in which top riders compete for millions of enthusiasts of the waves.
Top 5 countries with surf spots
Country | No. of Spots |
United States | 1,375 |
Australia | 1,160 |
South Africa | 575 |
France | 352 |
New Zealand | 338 |
My doctor took me for a walk around the farm where she lives. I was physically and mentally exhausted and discouraged.
The farm was full of life. There were insects, horses, rabbits, and cats. She told me to focus on my body in the environment. When I was ill, I intended to escape from the reality. So I expected nothing when meeting the horse named Fira.
As I got closer to Fira, she nuzzled(用鼻子爱抚) my chest, putting a gentle pressure over my heart. Something happened inside me: I felt as if I had reached a wellspring(源泉) of my fears, hurts and failures. I began to melt emotionally in an uncommon way. I patted Fira's nose and breathed in her smell. Fira helped me feel loved and safe. After that, I began working with Fira often, learning basic communication and leading methods to work together with her. She connected with me by responding to my emotional state and reflecting it back to me in an open, friendly way.
In my meetings with Fira, I learned to live in the present, to focus on what was happening this day, at this moment, in this place. I learned to forget the past, with all its hurt. I learned to forget the future, which hadn't happened yet. I found deep peace in leading her along the path, by using my own power to judge whether to start, stop, turn left or turn right. I found inner quiet and even joy. My work with this horse was part of a journey out of a very dark night in my soul.
Antarctica is the continent which is the most southern area of land on Earth and is mostly 1 with ice. This is one of the driest and 2 places in the world. But people from all over the world come to 3 there. Near the South Pole, three thousand people live together in a place 4 Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
The station has libraries, cinemas, shops, sports rooms, canteens and laboratories. There is electricity, and they have 5 —the system that they use to have a conversation with someone in another place. And they have 6 —electronic machines that store information and use programmes to help them find, organise, or change the information.
But the people here don't travel by car, train, or bus, because there aren't any roads or railways near the station. They travel by ship, helicopter, plane, or snow tractor, or with dogs.
There aren't 7 trees or flowers there, but there are hundreds of different birds and other 8 .
Most of the people here are 9 . They study plants and animals and how ice 10 . The ice can 11 us about changes in climate. Ray Kingman is an 12 at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, telling us on the phone, "This is my second year here. It's a very interesting and beautiful place, but life is very 13 in winter. In summer we can go 14 in hot pools of water. We welcome newcomers here for further 15 of the continent!"
