Scott of the Antarctic

Voice 1

Welcome to Spotlight, I’m Ryan Geerstma.

Voice 2

And I’m Marina Santi. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

Click here to follow along with this program on YouTube.

Voice 3

“Since the 21st of March the strong wind has continued to blow. On the 20th we had enough fuel to make two drinks of tea. We own only had enough food for 2 days. Every day we have been ready to go to the big food Camp only 18 kilometers away. But outside the door of the tent the snow storm continues. I do not think we can hope for any better things now. We will fight on to the end, but we are getting weaker and the end cannot be far.

It seems sad, but I do not think I can write more.

I pray to God that you will look after our people.”

Voice 1

These words were found in a little book. It was next to the body of the man who wrote them. Captain Robert Falcon Scott. He and his two friends had died eight months before, in March 1912. The book told an amazing story of courage. It is the story of how five brave men walked to the South Pole. However, when they arrived, they found that another man had reached there first.

Voice 2

Today’s Spotlight is on Robert Scott and his team. More than 100 years after they died, people still remember their adventure.

Voice 1

At the beginning of the 20th century, Antarctica was the one continent which no one had explored. Robert Falcon Scott was an officer in the British Navy. He traveled close to Antarctica as a young man. He decided then that he wanted to explore it. He wanted to become the first man to reach the South Pole.

Voice 2

Scott traveled around the United Kingdom giving talks about Antarctica. Reaching the South Pole was not the only thing Scott wanted to do. He wanted to find out as much as he could about Antarctica. He chose a team of scientists. Many people agreed to support him, including the British government.

Voice 1

The team sailed to Antarctica in a ship called the Terra Nova. They stopped several times for supplies in South Africa, in Australia, and finally New Zealand. In every place, the scientists collected examples of plants and animals. They also collected more money to pay for the trip.

Voice 2

Scott hoped to be the first to reach the South Pole. However, he learned that he would not be the only person trying to reach it. The Norwegian explorer Raold Amundsen was also traveling to the South Pole.

Voice 1

When they arrived, Scott and his men set up a base camp. They built a large wood building. This was where they lived and worked. They began their scientific work immediately. One man, Herbert Ponting, was taking pictures of everything he saw. Other team members made careful records of the weather. These records are still helping scientists today as they research climate change.

 Voice 2

During the winter, the conditions in Antarctica are terrible. It is extremely cold – so cold that it is almost impossible to survive. It is almost always dark. However, this is the time when Emperor penguin birds lay their eggs. One goal of the expedition was to collect one of these eggs. Scientists wanted to examine the developing babies inside the eggs. This way they could discover how the birds grew. Three men made the trip. They traveled for five terrible months. They almost died from the cold. But they were successful in finding eggs.

Voice 1

The whole team worked hard preparing for their main goal – the trip to the South Pole. They took large amounts of food and dropped them at different places so it could be used later. They used machines, horses, and dogs. But the machines did not work well in the cold temperature. The horses also had problems. They became sick. Only the dogs were easy to use. The animals also had one other advantage in extreme situations, they could be killed and used as food.

Voice 2

Finally Scott chose four men to go with him to the Pole. Dr Edward Wilson, the scientist, was one. Henry Bowers, Edgar Evans and Lawrence oats were the others. They did not have any dogs with them. Instead, they pulled their things across the snow on heavy sledges. It was hard work. In January 1912 they reached the South Pole. The black flag and a note told them that Amundson had reached the South Pole a month earlier. The men felt sad as they turned back.

Voice 1

But the scientific work continued. They collected many fossils. These rocks showed the remains of ancient plants. These plants normally grow in warm places. One fossil even showed a large extinct plant. This plant is not alive now anywhere in the world. These fossils showed something interesting. Because of them, scientists think that Antarctica must have once been in a warmer part of the world. This supports the idea that continents do not stay in one place. Instead, they move around in the oceans, very slowly.

Voice 2

Things did not go well for Scott and his men after they reached the North Pole. They had to hurry to reach the base camp before the weather became very bad. They had expected to meet their dogs along the way. But the dogs never came. Evans died after a fall. The extreme cold damaged Oates’s leg. So he did a very brave thing. He knew that he was delaying the others. So one night he walked out of the tent into a snowstorm. He was never seen again.

Voice 1

Scott, Wilson and Bowers struggled on. Then they were trapped in their tent by a storm. And that is where they died. Their bodies remain in Antarctica, where they were found. But when people heard about them, they called Scott and his friends heroes. And Scott’s final prayer was answered. In England, supporters collected money to help the families of the dead men. Supporters also organized a permanent research station in England. It is called the Scott Polar Research Institute. The building where Scott and his men lived is also kept as a memorial to them.

Voice 2

Scott and his group did not achieve their main goal. Amundsen beat them to the South Pole. Scott wrote:

Voice 3

“If We Had lived, I would have a story to tell. It would show the courage of my friends. They would have been an example to everyone.”

Voice 1

The writer of this program was Sheila Godwin. The producer was Luke Haley. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted and voiced by Spotlight. You can find our programs on the internet at www.radioenglish.net. This program is called S”cott of the Antarctic”.

Voice 2

We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program.

Goodbye.

Question:

Do you know someone personally or heard of someone who died to save others? Would you be willing to die for someone else?