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TheColdestPlaceOnEarth世界上最冷的地方
The Coldest Place On Earth
Chapter 1 Two Ships
The race began in the summer of 1910．
On June lst，in London，a black ship，the Terra Nova， went down the river Thames to the
sea．Thousands of people stood by the river to watch it．They were all excited and happy．
On the Terra Nova，Captain Robert Falcon Scott smiled quietly．It was a very important day for
him．He was a strong man，not very tall，in the blue clothes of a captain．He was forty-one years
old，but he had a young face，like a boy．His eyes were dark and quiet．
One man on the ship，Titus Oates，smiled at Scott．
'What an exciting day ， Captain ！
'he said ． 'Look at those people ！
I feel like an important
man！
'
Scott laughed．'You are important，Titus，'he said．'And you're going to be famous，too．We
all are．Do you see this flag？
'He looked at the big British flag at the back of the ship，and smiled at
Oates．'That flag is coming with us，'he said．
'In the Antarctic，I'm going to carry it under my clothes． We're going to be the first men at the
South Pole，and that flag is going to be first，too！
'
*****
Five days later，on June 6th，a man opened the door of his wooden house in Norway．He was a
tall man ， with a long face ． He waited outside the house for a minute ． Everything was very
quiet．He could see no houses，only mountains，trees，and wa-ter．It was nearly dark．The sky
was black over the mountains．
The man smiled，and walked quickly away from the house，down to the sea．In the water，a
big wooden ship waited for him．The man got onto the ship，and talked and laughed quietly with his
friends．
The ship's name was Fram ， and the man was Roald Amundsen ． The Fram was the most
beautiful ship on earth，Amundsen thought．His friends were the best skiers on earth，too．One of
them，Olav Bjaaland，smiled at him．
'North Pole，here we come，Captain，'he said．
'Yes ． 'Amundsen said ． His friends could not see his face in the dark ． 'Fram is going to the
Arctic．'
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Everyone on the Fram was ready to go to the North Pole，to the Arctic．Amundsen wanted to go
there，too．But first he wanted to go south．His friends didn't know that．
At midnight on June 6th，the Fram moved quietly away from Amundsen's house，out to sea．
Chapter 2 The Race
The Fram went to an island in the south of Norway ．It was a very little island，with only one
small wooden house，two trees—and nearly a hundred dogs．
'Look at that ！
'Bjaaland said ．'It's an island of dogs！
There are dogs in the water ，near the
trees，on the house—dogs everywhere！
'
Two men came out of the house．'Hassel！
Lindstrom！
'Amundsen said．'It's good to see you！
How many dogs do you have for me？
'
'Ninety-nine， Roald， 'said Hassel ． 'The best ninety-nine dogs from Greenland ． And they're
very happy！
They don't work；they just eat and play all day！
They're having a won-derful summer
here！
'
'Good，good．'Amundsen laughed．'But that's finished now．Hey，Bjaaland！
Stop laughing—
come down here and help me．Let's get all these dogs onto the ship！
'
It was not easy．The dogs were fat and strong，and they didn't want to go on the ship．But at
last，after three hours'hard work，all ninety-nine were on the ship，and the Fram went out to sea
again．
The men were not happy ．The weather was bad，the dogs were dirty，and some of the men
were ill．They began to ask questions．
'Why are we bringing dogs witn us？
'asked one man，Jo- hansen．'We're going thousands of
kilometres south ， past Cape Horn ， and then north to Alaska ． Why not wait ， and get dogs in
Alaska？
'
'Don't ask me，'said his friend，Helmer Hanssen，'I don't understand it．'
The men talked for a long time．Then，on September 9th， Amundsen called everyone to the
back of the ship．He stood quietly and looked at them．Behind him was a big map．It was not a map
of the Arctic．It was a map of Antarctica．
Bjaaland looked at Helmer Hanssen，and laughed．Then Amundsen began to speak．
'Boys，'he said．'I know you are unhappy．You often ask me difficult questions，and I don't
answer．Well，I'm going to an-swer all those questions now，today．
We began to work for this journey two years ago．Then，we wanted to be the first men at the
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North Pole．But last year，Peary，an American，found the North Pole．So America was first to the
North Pole，not Norway．We're going there，but we're too late．'
'I don't understand this ， 'Bjaaland thought ． 'Why is Amundsen talking about the North
Pole，with a map of Antarctica behind him？
'
Amundsen stopped for a minute，and looked at all the men slowly．No one said anything．
'We have to go a long way south before we get to Alaska，'he said．'Very near Antarctica，you
know．And Captain Scott，the Englishman，is going to the South Pole this year．He wants to put his
British flag there．An American flag at the North Pole，a British flag at the South Pole．'
Bjaaland began to understand ． He started to smile and couldn't stop ． He was warm and
excited．
'Well，boys，'Amundsen said slowly．'Do we want the British to put their flag at the South Pole
first ？
How fast can we travel ？
We have a lot of dogs ，and some of the most won-derful skiers on
earth—Bjaaland here is the best in Norway ！
So I have an idea ， boys ． Let's go to the South
Pole，and put the Norwegian flag there before the British！
What do you say？
'
For a minute or two it was very quiet ． Amundsen waited ， and the men watched him and
thought．Then Bjaaland
laughed．
'Yes！
'he said．'Why not？
It's a ski race，isn't it，and the English can't ski！
It's a wonderful
idea，of course！
Let's go！
'
Chapter 3 The Ponies
On October 27th，the Terra Nova arrived in Wellington，New Zealand．When Scott came off the
ship，a newspa-per man walked up to him．
'Captain Scott！
Captain Scott！
Can I talk to you，please！
'he said．
Scott stopped and smiled．'Yes，of course，'he said．'What do you want to know？
'
'Are you going to win？
'the man asked．
'Win？
'Scott asked．'Win what？
'
'Win the race to the South Pole，of course，'the newspaper man said．'It's a race between you
and Amundsen，now．Look at this！
'He gave a newspaper to Scott ．Scott looked at it．It said：
Scott's face went white．'Give me that！
'he said．He took the newspaper and read it carefully．The
newspaper man watched him，and waited．'Well，Captain Scott，'he said at last．'Who's going to
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win this race？
Tell me that！
'
Scott looked at him angrily ． 'This is stupid ！
'he said ． 'It's not a race ！
I came here to learn
about the Antarctic—I'm not interested in Amundsen，or in races！
'Then he walked back on-to his
ship，with the newspaper in his hand．
Later that day，he talked to his men．He gave them the newspaper，and laughed．
'It doesn't matter，'he said．'We're in front of Amundsen，and we have more men，and more
money ． He has only eight men ， and a lot of dogs ． I know about dogs—they don't work in the
Antarctic．We have sixteen men and the new motor sledges—they are much better．And tomorrow
the ponies are coming ． We need ponies ， motor sledges ， and good strong British men—that's
all．Forget about Amundsen！
He's not important！
'
Scott asked Oates to look after the ponies，but he did not let Oates buy them．When Oates first
saw the ponies，in New Zealand，he was very unhappy．Most of the ponies were old，and some of
them were ill．
'They're beautiful ponies ， Titus ， 'Scott said ． 'They come from China—they're wonderful
ponies！
'
Oates looked at them angrily ， and said nothing ． Then he asked ：
'Where is their
food，Captain？
'
'Here！
'Scott opened a door．
Oates looked inside．He thought for a minute．'We need more food than this，Captain Scott！
These ponies are going to work in the coldest place on earth—they need a lot of food—more than
this！
'
Scott smiled quietly．'We can't take more food on this ship，Titus．Where can we put it？
But it
doesn't matter，old boy．They're very strong ponies，you know．The best ponies on earth．'
Later that night ，Oates wrote a letter to his mother ． There are nineteen ponies on the Terra
Nova now，he wrote．All the penies are in a small room at the front of the ship．We eat our food in
the room under the ponies ， so our table is often wet and dirty ． Scott makes a lot of mistakes ， I
think，and Antarc-tica is a very dangerous place．
Chapter 4 Food Depots
The two ships ，Terra Nova and fram，arrived in Antarctica ，in January 1911，at the end of
summer．The Englishmen and the Norwegians wanted to stay on the ice all winter．They wanted to
be ready to go to the South Pole at the beglnning of the next Antarctic summer．
The dogs pulled the Norwegians'sledges ． They ran quickly over the snow and pulled the big
sledges from the ship onto the ice．The men ran beside them on skis．
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They put a big wooden house on the ice ． The house was full of food ， and skis ， and
sledges ． They called it Framheim ． Out-side the house ， the dogs lived in holes under the
snow．When the house was ready，the men made their first journey south．
Before the winter，they wanted to take a lot of food south，and leave it in depots．For the long
journey to the Pole，they needed a lot of food，and they couldn't carry it all with them．On February
10th ，five men ，three sledges ，eighteen dogs，and half a tonne of food left Framheim and went
south．
It was easy ． The weather was warm for the Antarctic ， be-tween—7°Centigrade and—
17°Centigrade ． The snow was good ， and the dogs and skis went fast ． They went fifty or sixty
kilometres every day．After four days they reached 80°South，and made the first depot．
Amundsen made his depot very carefully ． It was very im-portant to find it again ， next
summer．So he put a big black flag on top．Then he put ten flags to the east of the depot—each flag
half a kilometre from the next—and ten flags to the west ．So there were flags for five kilometres to
the left of the depot，and five kilometres to the right．
Then they went back to Framheim，and took som
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