1,Do you know what place the pictures show ?

2, Do you know something about Antarctica?

The Antarctica is actually a desert. It is the only continent on the earth without a river or a lake.

　　 The Antarctica is all ice all year round. The warmest temperature ever recorded there is zero at the South Pole. Explorers used to think that a place so cold would have a heavy snow fall. But less than ten inches of snow falls each year. That is less than half an inch of water. Ten times that much moisture( 潮湿 ) falls in parts of the Sahara.

　　 The little snow that falls in Antarctica never melts.It continues to pile up deeper and deeper year after year and century after century. When the snow gets to be about eight feet deep it is turned to ice by the weight of the snow above it.

pole animals Countries

North Pole

South Pole

polar bear ,wolf, snow fox, seal, walrus( 海象） whale

penguin, seal, walrus, whales

Norway , Sweden ,Russia , Finland , USA ,Canada , Greenland(part of Denmark)

Chile ,Argentina , South Africa, Australia, New Zealand

Sth about North & South PoleSth about North & South Pole

4,Can you imagine going traveling to the South Pole?

3,What are the dangers and risks?

The weather conditions in Antarctica are extreme.

5,Can you imagine if your grandmother goes to travel there?

Helen Thayer

First Woman to Solo Any of the World's Poles

Helen Thayer, who was the first woman to travel alone to the North Pole at her 50, had an almost 400-mile journey alone to the opposite end of the world, Antarctica, even without a dog team to pull her sled, from Nov 1st, 1997, to celebrate her 60th birthday, which came on the 12th day of that month.

In 1997, Helen Thayer spends her 60th birthday trekking ( 长途跋涉 )alone in Antarctica.

In 1988 New Zealand born Helen Thayer became the first woman to walk and ski to any of the world’s poles when she trekked ( 长途跋涉 )solo to the Magnetic North Pole without dog sled or snow mobile. She was the first woman and first American to circumnavigate （环航） the Magnetic North Pole. Her best-selling book Polar Dream tells the story of her historic adventure with her beloved companion Charlie, her protector from the ever constant （不断的） threat of polar bear attack. Helen has gone on to explore far corners of the world.

Questions:

2,What’s the clue of the text?

1, When you first read the title Alone in Antarctica,what do you think the text is about?

The time

the North Pole or the South Pole

3, Since the text is written according to the clue of time, please listen to the tape and find out the date, weather and what the writer did.

Time Weather What did she do?/ What happened to her?

Nov.1—2,1997

3rd—11th

Nov 12 th (birthday)

a few days later

Nov 22nd

Nov 23

fine/icy/not strong

Began her almost 200-mile journey

Stormy/stronger/a howling storm

Stay in the tent/travelled 2 hours a day

The storm died down. Thawed a frozen cake.

Fallen into a hole.

Increased her workday to 12 hours.

Had an accident /hurt her leg

From Paragraph 1, can you imagine what kind of woman Helen Thayer is?

Old

like adventurous traveling

ever been to the North Pole alone｝ strong-minded

Question

Explain:

a group of dogs, like 6 or 8 of them put in pairs

a kind of vehicle on skis without an engine that people used in the snow

dog team:

sled :

Explain:

Paragraph 2

Question:

What did Helen Thayer do on the 3 rd day of her her journey?

Struggled through stormy weather.

likely to happen soon

icy: very cold

just around the corner:

Paragraph 3Question

Why did she put up her tents first?

Explain:

a howling storm: a wind/storm that means one that makes a noise like the cry of animals.

Because the winds increased very much and soon it would increase to a howling storm.

Paragraph 4 Question

How did she celebrate her own birthday?

She thawed a frozen cake over the fire,placed a candle on the top,lit it and sang “happy birthday to me”loudly.

Paragraph 5 Why did Helen Thayer say she was thankful for all the training she had had?

Because she had practised self rescue many times in the mountains before and she recused herself this time.

Question Paragraph 6

Why was she so optimistic to increase her workday to 12 hours?

Because she was very healthy and all her equipment was working well.

Paragraph 7 What happened to her on the 22 nd day of her expedition?

The sled knocked her over and badly hurt her leg.

Question Paragraph 8

Explain:A sleeping bag: a bag which is used to sleep in

by people who travel and sleep in tents

Do you think Helen Thayer’s trip was a failure?Why?

No. Though Helen Thayer did not complete her journey to the South Pole,the deed of her going on such difficult and dangerous journey at her age proved that she had a very strong will.she was brave and very active.

A big storm was just around the corner.

Victory was just around the corner.

1,just around the corner 即将来临

2,find oneself… 发现自己……

When he came to,he found himself lying in hospital.

I found myself surrounded by a group of children.

3,when

1) 过早发生某事 “还没 ( 刚刚 )…… 就……”

I had hardly open the door when the dog barked.

2) 突然发生某事 “……正在……忽然”

We were having an English class when it began to rain.4,from:because of;as a result of （因为 ; 由于 )

She suffered from heart disease.( 他因患心脏病而受折磨 .)

She was exhausted from all the sleepless nights.( 他由于这些晚上彻夜未眠而精疲力竭 .)

5,value: vt.

1) 珍视 , 重视 (to think that sth is important to you )

I’ll value the friendship with James.

2) 估价 (to decide how much money sth is worth)

How much do you value the painting at?

n. 价值 (importance,worth)

This work has no value.

Exercise:

Do you admire Helen Thayer?Why?What can we learn from her?Please write a composition after class.