3.1.1 Reading

Read the article about deep sea exploration. Five sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences (A-G) the one which fits each gap (1-5). There are two extra sentences which you do not need to use. (10 marks)

A  Amazingly, before Cameron’s expedition, more was known about the surface of Mars than was known about the deep sea.

B  In fact, he even created a documentary called Deepsea Challenge 3D so others could witness the experience.

C  Once it was discovered that there may be life there, the next barrier was its inaccessibility.

D  He described it as a vast and desolate place, and also recorded seeing some previously unknown creatures.

E  It had taken almost seven years to design and build the Challenger and they had to find many ways to solve problems of pressure and temperature.

F  Not only does it extend so massively, it’s also pitch black and the pressure is over 1000 times that of the surface.

G  Moreover, films such as those created by Cameron may hold some truth to what lies below.

Adventure below the seas 

Relatively little is known about the deep seas on our planet. In fact, the ocean takes up about 70% of the planet, and around 95% of this remains unexplored. This is for many reasons. Firstly, it was commonly believed that the deep seas were lifeless and uninteresting and therefore not worth exploring. 1 

Despite its inhospitable nature, the trench was once explored in 1960 by two men, Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh. However, since then, because of the difficulty of the water pressure, the remote location and great depth of the trench, nobody had returned. That was until James Cameron came along. You might know him as the director of films like The Terminator or Titanic, but aside from this he is also one of the bravest adventurers of the deep sea. In fact, on March 26^th 2012 Cameron reached the deepest part of the Mariana Trench. He was the third person to ever explore these depths, and the first person to do it alone.

Cameron has always loved science and exploration. The desire to experience the unknown was the inspiration for his journey to the bottom of the seas. 

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It wasn’t just his youthful aim that made this ambition a reality. He also wanted to advance the world’s understanding of the oceans. 

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The journey took him over nine hours in total. The first two hours were spent on the descent to the sea floor. Here, Cameron had to withstand huge temperature differences. Being in the Deepsea Challenger on the surface was as hot as in a sauna, but the deeper he went, the colder the temperature became. He then spent three hours collecting samples and exploring the sea bed. And what did he see there? 5