World News for Students of English

16-03-2022 15:00

Scientists have found one of the most famous shipwrecks at the bottom of the Weddell Sea, Antarctica.

Sir Ernest Shackleton’s expedition started in 1914, just when World War I was also starting in Europe. His ship HMS Endurance set off to the South Pole, and Shackleton wanted to walk across Antarctica from one side to the other.

However, the ship became trapped in the sea ice, and the ice slowly crushed it. It forced Shackleton to make an astonishing escape. He and his crew had to leave Endurance, they camped on the ice, and eventually, on November 21, 1915, the ship sank.

Despite sitting in 3,000 meters of water, the wreckage is in remarkable condition. Endurance22 was the name of the search; it was the world’s most challenging shipwreck search. A sub-sea team had to work in -35 degrees Celsius and fight with mechanical failures. However, after a month, on the 100^th anniversary of Shackleton’s funeral, they found Endurance.

Difficult words: shipwreck (when a ship is destroyed in an accident at sea, and it sinks), astonishing (extremely surprising or amazing), sub-sea (existing or working below the surface of the sea).

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