Antarctica (南极洲) is the highest, driest and coldest place on Earth. It is also the remotest, a fact which account for its     1     environment. It is widely described as the last     2     on our planet. The cold climate plays a significant role in     3     the continent’s year-round ice fields. Even though Antarctica receives more sunlight than the equator (赤道) , the temperatures are lower because the ice there     4     the heat back into space.

For centuries, Europeans wondered about the     5     of a South-Polar continent, but no one actually knew for certain Antarctica was there until 1820 when European explorers “discovered” it. Since then, men have gone to Antarctica in search of     6     . Testing their abilities, several teams of explorers set out in 1911 to be the first men to stand at the South Pole.

Once completely     7     Antarctica has more recently been playing host to adventurers seeking for excitement, scientists interested in experimenting, and companies looking to     8     this wild area for profit.

Yet, Antarctica’s fragile and complicated eco-system is threatened by its human visitors. Damage to the environment is done as people come looking for resources beneath the ice, or     9     leave their rubbish behind. Currently, countries are working to ensure that the damage to Antarctica’s environment is     10     , and that Antarctica will remain an unspoiled place.