1. A bright fountain 2. Who lives there 3. What would happen if … 4. Once upon a time it was green 5. A dry land 6. White on blue 7. The discovery of the continent 8. Environmentally friendly A. Antarctica has no government and no country owns this continent. It is the only region on earth which is not ruled by any nation. There are no local people in Antarctica. However, in the summer season, more than four thousand scientists from different countries come to study the mysterious region while one thousand stay there in the winter season. The scientific bases are the only ‘settlements’ with residents who stay for several months or a year. B. Antarctica is a huge desert, despite the fact that it holds 70 percent of the world's fresh water. Usually, no more than six centimeters of rain fall per year. Most of this falls in the eastern part of the continent. These figures are comparable to those of the Sahara desert. Some parts of Antarctica have had no rain or snow for the last 2 million years. C. You will be surprised to know that Antarctica was found just 200 years ago. The ancient Greeks did not mark Antarctica on their maps. It was only in 1820, when travellers found this icy white continent by accident. The captain of the Imperial Russian Navy, Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, was the first person who saw Antarctica from his ship. It was on 27th January 1820. D. Antarctica contains about 90 percent of the world's ice. Antarctica has 8 times more ice than the Arctic. If all of the Antarctic ice melted, the sea level around the world would rise about 70 meters. But the average temperature in Antarctica is –37°C and the ice is in no danger of melting so far. In fact, in most parts of the continent it never gets above freezing. E. Since Antarctica is not a country, it has neither a state emblem nor an official flag. However in 2002, a special flag was approved by the Antarctic Treaty Organization. The design of the flag was suggested by Graham Bartram who used the flag of the United Nations as its basic pattern. The white image of Antarctica on the blue background looks simple and elegant. Nowadays it is used as an informal flag of the continent. F. Fifty million years ago Antarctica had a mild climate, evergreen forests and many more kinds of animals than it has today. Due to continental drift, Antarctica moved from the equator to the South Pole, where it is today. Nowadays, Antarctica is the coldest continent on the planet and almost completely covered with a layer of ice. However, its wildlife is quite diverse: from emperor penguins, southern elephant seals, humpback whales to small bugs in the coastal areas. G. Antarctica is covered with thick snow. Everything around is white, but in the McMurdo Valley there is ‘a Bloody Waterfall’ or ‘Blood Fall’. This waterfall is actually glacier water which is red-colored like blood. Microbes, which can live there without light and oxygen, give it the red colour. They just eat the iron and sulfur in the water. When the water comes out from the surface of the ice, it looks like a small red waterfall.
My teaching philosophy is to be passionate, enthusiastic, and engaging every time that I give a lecture so students are excited to learn more about the topic and become active learners. I don’t try to be the favorite teacher. Instead, I want to help the students to become self-sufficient, as scientists and physicians at the forefront of the field for the next half-century. I am most proud when I can make a positive difference in someone’s academic career and see the amazing accomplishments of those whom I have mentored. I truly believe that the future is in the hands of the students we lead toward careers as scientists and physicians. While in research we are only as good as our last experiment, the students we mentor and their future students are a legacy that will endure. Finally, Henry Ford once said, “anyone who stops learning is old, whether at age 20 or 80”. I truly believe learning is a lifelong process and my role as an educator is to instill lifelong learning in all my students
Actually, I’m not fond of sport, but sometimes I watch hockey games with my parents. My favorite team is SKA from Saint-Petersburg, Russia and in my opinion, the best player of the team is Iliya Kovalchuk.
Ilya started his hockey career when he was 16 years old in Tver. At first time he was a player of the famous Moscow team ‘Spartak’. He is a fantastic hockeyist and the player is loved by Russians so much. Probably, it is because he is the first Russian player invited in NHL in 2001. Ilya played in such Russian hockey teams as “Spartak”, “Ak bars” and “SKA”, but he also signed some contracts with teams of USA and played in “Atlanta” and “New Jersey”. Ilya is also known as a finalist of the Stanley Cup.
Besides, his team won a bronze medal at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and Ilya has been a member of Russian Olympic team three times at least. Ilya has been honored with the Master of Sports title. In 2015 he gained silver medals of the World Championship.
Indeed, a lot of women like this guy because he is a very handsome and charismatic man. He is really tall (191 cm) and big (100 kg) like a savage Russian bear. His position in the team is forward. Competitors are afraid of him, but he is so respected by his partners and hockey fans.
By the way, Ilya Kovalchuk participates in different charity events and social occasions with other celebrities. He is favorable guest on every party. Ilya is known as a very good-natured and sociable sportsman. That’s why SKA twitter gets more than 100 000 followers.
As for me, I guess, that such people as mr. Kovalchuk can make every game more spectacular and interesting. I like him for his outstanding performance and achievements. He is not only a clever, nice and charming man but a great professional in the hockey sphere, that’s why he is my favorite sportsman.