Until 13, Parker Liautaud was an ordinary kid. That changed after he met polar explorer Robert Swan. They began an email correspondence which turned into a friendship that eventually saw the then 14-year-old invited to join a trip to the Antarctic. He said yes almost instantly. Friends and family, to whom he’d so far shown no particular interest in outdoor activities,particularly polar ones, were thrown into total confusion. He ate lots of chicken, spent a long time in the gym,and proved them wrong.
The following year, Liautaud put forward a more ambitious plan: to become the youngest-ever person to go to the North Pole. He found a new partner, Doug Stoup,and through a mixture of charm and luck raised the roughly $150,000 needed for the record attempt. Then disaster struck. The early months of the year, when the two set out, were among the warmest on record. The North Pole, which is essentially a GPS location on a constantly-floating collection of ice sheets,became virtually inaccessible, surrounded by pieces of uncovered ocean.
A trip which had been intended to raise awareness of melting ice caps was delayed by melting ice caps. “We would get up, battle through these difficult conditions for 150 hours, then wake up the next morning and find that we were further away from the Pole than we’d started the previous morning,”he said. After 14 days’ trying, they admitted defeat.
Liautaud came home and decided to try again the next spring. Conditions were cold but perfect, and he and Stoup reached the Pole in no time. While it might not have made Liautaud the youngest North-Poler, the success did fulfil his original intention, giving him a platform to continue promotion against climate change, through his campaigning website. His view is that it’s his generation that must make the greatest effort to reduce carbon emissions. He has already contributed to research projects carried out by the International Atomic Energy Agency and will soon set up two stations to record weather data.
4. How did Liautaud’s family react to his decision to go to the Antarctic?
A.They made fun of it. | B.They were puzzled about it. |
C.They turned a deaf ear to it. | D.They tried to talk him out of it. |
5. What prevented Liautaud and Stoup from reaching the North Pole?
A.The severe weather. | B.The lack of ice sheets. |
C.The failure of equipment. | D.The poor financial support. |
6. Why was Liautaud determined to go to the North Pole?
A.To push his physical limits. |
B.To become an Internet celebrity. |
C.To support environmental protection. |
D.To finish a research project for his website. |
7. Which of the following words can best describe Liautaud as a young man?
A.Demanding. | B.Cooperative. | C.Generous. | D.Responsible. |