Antarctic research
Read Antarctic research and check the IELTS Reading answers. New Zealand’s contribution to International Polar Year was a 52-day voyage by the ship *Tangaroa* in order to conduct research in Antarctica’s Ross Sea. Lead scientist Mary Livingston emphasises just what a multi-faceted expedition this w…
Passage preview
New Zealand’s contribution to International Polar Year was a 52-day voyage by the ship *Tangaroa* in order to conduct research in Antarctica’s Ross Sea. Lead scientist Mary Livingston emphasises just what a multi-faceted expedition this was, bringing together zoologists, oceanographers, meteorologists and other scientists from the Ministry of Fisheries, the National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research, the National Museum and various universities, to study life beneath the seas of Antarctica. Competition for berths – the ship can carry 44 people, including 13 crew – was fierce. Voyage leader Stu Hanchet says, ‘We could have filled the science positions four times over … we had so many people requesting a berth … We ended up with a really strong team.’
Vocabulary from this passage
9 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- appendage noun
A part that is attached to the body of an animal, such as a tail or limb.
In the passage:
Q23 gap: "something like a length of string attached to its"; paragraph D says "an appendage like a piece of cord hanging from its chin".
Synonyms: limb, extension
- berth noun
A place on a ship or expedition for one person, or a bed on a boat.
In the passage:
Q25 says "More applications to join the group"; paragraph A says "people requesting a berth". Not only a bed.
Synonyms: place, position
- brave the elements verb phrase
To go outside and cope with bad weather or harsh natural conditions.
In the passage:
Livingston says science can "mean braving the elements on deck": research is not only laboratory work (Q24).
Synonyms: face the weather, endure harsh conditions
- controversially adverb
In a way that causes strong public disagreement or disapproval.
In the passage:
"Perhaps most controversially" introduces the cameraman whose place was "not welcomed at first" (Q17: "potentially unpopular").
Synonyms: unpopularly, contentiously
- fashioned from verb phrase
Made or shaped out of a particular material.
In the passage:
Q21 says "seem to be made of"; paragraph D says "appear to be fashioned from glass".
Synonyms: made of, shaped from
- hard to overstate adjective phrase
Too important or serious for any description to exaggerate it.
In the passage:
"It would be hard to overstate how hostile the Antarctic environment is": the writer stresses the danger (paragraph B, Q15).
Synonyms: impossible to exaggerate
- intrepid adjective
Fearless and willing to face danger or hardship.
In the passage:
Q24: Livingston says science "is intrepid, more so than people realise", which matches "may surprise some people".
Synonyms: fearless, adventurous
Opposites: timid
- ravine noun
A deep, narrow valley with steep sides, often made by flowing water or ice.
In the passage:
Q20 summary says "canyons in the seabed"; paragraph C says icebergs "have scoured out deep scars and ravines".
Synonyms: canyon, gorge
- shed verb
To lose something naturally, such as skin, leaves or teeth, so that it falls off.
In the passage:
Q22 says "loss of its"; paragraph D says the fish is "capable of shedding their teeth". Not "pour out".
Synonyms: lose, drop
Opposites: grow
Answers with explanations
- 14. D
The question asks for **details of some equipment**, so look for a paragraph that lists tools. Paragraph D names **trawl nets, high-definition cameras and water samplers**. Paragraph B also mentions **high-tech equipment**, but only in general terms and to say it cannot show the ice thickness.
- 15. B
**Sailing conditions** means the dangers of travelling by sea. Paragraph B gives them: **rough seas** from the winds, **floating ice** that is hard to judge, and the dark, which is why the captain **prefers sailing in summer**. No other paragraph describes the voyage itself like this.
- 16. A
**Composition of the scientific group** means the kinds of people in the team. Paragraph A lists them: **zoologists, oceanographers, meteorologists** and scientists from several **institutes and universities**. Paragraph F also names a cameraman, but only one person, not the make-up of the group.
- 17. F
Look for a person whose place on the ship caused trouble. **Potentially unpopular** matches **wasn't welcomed at first**, and the writer introduces **Max Quinn** with **most controversially**. He is the cameraman, and the scientists were reluctant to be filmed.
- 18. starfish
**Unusual width** points to a size measured **across**. The text says the **starfish** measured **more than half a metre across** and that this is **most abnormal**. The huge worms and crustaceans have no width figure, so they are not the answer.
- 19. predators
The summary lists causes of the huge size: highly oxygenated water, the temperature, and a **small number of** something. The passage lists extreme cold, **few predators** and high oxygen. So **few** becomes **small number of**, and the missing cause is predators.
- 20. icebergs
**Canyons** is paraphrased by **deep scars and ravines**, and **passing** by **as they go by**. The text says what scoured these shapes into the sea floor: **icebergs**. The gap needs the thing that passes by, not the sea floor.
- 21. glass
Find **tunicates** in paragraph D. **Seem to be made of** matches **appear to be fashioned from**, and the material that follows is **glass**. The text calls them slender structures, so the gap needs a material, not a shape.
- 22. teeth
**Frightening-looking** matches **fearsome-looking**, and **spawns only once** matches **die after the first spawning**. The same sentence gives the other feature: the fish is capable of **shedding** its teeth. The loss of its teeth is what the gap needs.
- 23. chin
Look for the second fish, the **stareater**. **Something like a length of string** is paraphrased by **an appendage like a piece of cord**, and the text says it hangs **from its chin**. The glowing end attracts prey, which is the **hunting** in the question.
- 24. F
Livingston's views appear in several paragraphs, so match the **idea**: that the work may **surprise some people**. She says science is **intrepid, more so than people realise**. The summer comment belongs to the captain, and the food comment to the general manager.
- 25. G
Look for **Stu Hanchet** in paragraph A. He says they could have **filled the science positions four times over** because so many people were **requesting a berth**. That matches **more applications than places**. Nobody else in the passage talks about the numbers who wanted to join.
- 26. B
Look for **Max Quinn**, the cameraman. He says the trick is to film the scientists **at work** and not **eating their breakfast**, and the writer adds that he **knows when not to intrude**. That is the idea of **respecting your subjects' privacy** to get good results.