Page 40 - Reading Success B4

The two ends of the earth are the South Pole and the North Pole. The South
Pole is colder than the North Pole. The South Pole is located at the coldest and

highest continent on Earth, the Antarctic. Only two percent of the Antarctic is not
covered by ice. The South Pole is a vast area of land surrounded by oceans, and

sits on top of a very thick layer of ice which extends more than two kilometers
above sea level. Hence the air is much thinner and colder compared to the climate

at the North Pole. It is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent in the world.
In contrast, the North Pole is an area of ocean surrounded by land. It is situated

in the middle of the ice-covered Arctic Ocean. Unlike the very thick ice-sheet at
the South Pole, the surface of floating ice at the North Pole is only a foot or so

above sea level. There are no permanent human residents in the South Pole.
Only cold-adapted plants and animals survive there, including penguins, fur seals,

mosses, lichens, and many types of algae. However, the North Pole teems with
life, including organisms living in the ice, fish and marine mammals, birds, land

animals and human societies.

Main Idea

What is the main idea of this story?

a. the differences between the North and South Poles

b. the different types of life that can be found at the North and South Poles
c. the similarity in the structure of the North and South Poles

d. the climate of the Antarctic

42_Reading Success B 4