Journey to the end of the Earth, Explanation, Line by Line, Meaning of Difficult Words, Class 12  CBSE English  Moments Chapter 3

Journey to the end of the Earth, Explanation, Line by Line, Meaning of Difficult Words, Class 12  CBSE English  Moments Chapter 3

JOURNEY TO THE END OF THE EARTH

(Explanation and Meaning of difficult words)

Author – Tishani Doshi

 

Word	Meaning
Aboard	On or into a ship, train, plane etc.
Vessel	Ship
Heading towards	Moving or going towards

During the initial period of this year, I got into a Russian research ship. Name of this ship was Akademik Shokalskiy. This ship was going toward Antarctica. It is coldest, driest and windiest continent in the world.

 

We started from Madras. This city is now known as Chennai. Latitude of Chennai is 13.09 degrees north. It is to the north of Equator. [The Earth’s equator is an imaginary planetary line that runs around the globe. The equator divides the Earth into the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere. Latitude of Equator is at 0 degrees, halfway the North Pole and South Pole.] We would be crossing nine time zones, six locations where checking of our ship would be done. We would be also be crossing three oceans and at least three ecospheres.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Set foot	Arrived, Reached
Facing	Seeing, Looking
Expansive	A very large area, Extensive
Landscape	Scenery, Area of land
Uninterrupted	Without any break
Relief	Comfort
Profound	Great, Very large

During my journey to Antarctica I had travelled by a car, an aeroplane and a ship. Total time of journey was 100 hours. When I reached there I saw a great area of white colour. At Antarctica ice never melts. Every piece of land is covered with ice. So the whole area looks white to the extent one can see. The sky is clear and of blue colour. I felt a great comfort to have reached such a beautiful area. The feeling of comfort immediately changed to a great wonder to see such a beautiful sight.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Immensity	Greatness
Isolation	Separation, Being unconnected
Part of the same landmass	Connected through land

I was surprised by the large size of the continent and that it was not connected to any other part of the land. I was puzzled by the belief that once upon a time India and Antarctica were connected through land.

 

 

 

Word	Meaning
Giant	Very big, Huge
Amalgamated	Combined, Connected, United
Supercontinent	Very big continent
Indeed	Really

It is believed that about six hundred and fifty million years ago, a very big combined continent existed in the world. It was in the southern hemisphere of the world. Name of that continent was Gondwana. Through that continent India and Antarctica were connected. That continent was near Antarctica of this period.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Hosting	Supporting
Flora and fauna	Plants and animals

During that time situation was very much different from that of the present time. During that time there were no human beings on the earth. The climate was very warm. The warm climate supported the plants and animals living on the earth.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Thrived	Prospered, Grew, Survived
Wiped out	Obliterated, Eliminated, Became extinct
Mammals	Living being whose babies drink milk of mother
Shaping	Making, Creating

The Gondwana supercontinent survived for about 500 million years. Then dinosaurs stopped existing on the earth. During that time life of mammals started on the Earth. Owing to some events occurring in the nature, the Gondwana supercontinent got separated into several countries. Thus, the world as we see today was created. 

 

 

Word	Meaning
To get a grasp	To get an idea or an understanding

By visiting Antarctica one feels that one is part of this history of creation of the world. One can get an understanding of how human beings appeared on the earth and in which direction we are now moving.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Evolution	Development, Growth
Extinction	Obliteration, Elimination
Pretty	Very much, Quite
Mind-boggling	Puzzling, Exciting, Startling

One can understand the importance of various geological and environmental changes. Some of these are about Cordilleran folds and pre-Cambrian granite shields and about ozone and carbon. One can also understand about development and extinction. When you start thinking that all this could happen in just one million years, it feels quite puzzling and startling.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Jamming	Applying force
Buckle	Bend
Crust	Upper surface
Drifting off	Moving away
Circumpolar	Moving around the poles
Frigid	Very cold
Desolate	Alone, Isolated

The author is asking us to imagine a situation.

The landmass of India starts moving in the north direction. So it generates a force on the landmass of Asia. The upper surface of Asia bends upwards to create one more Himalayas. South America starts moving away and joins North America. Very cold wind from poles start blowing in the Drake Passage. Because of these, the Antarctica becomes very cold and isolated from the other parts of the world. And now Antarctica is at the one of the poles of the Earth or at the end of the Earth.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Worship	To perform ‘pooja’, Reverence
Chilling	Horrifying, Frightening
Prospect	Possibility, Situation
Circulatory	Refers to circulation of wind
Metabolic	Refers to various activities of body

People living in South India worship Sun. In South India the climate is hot. [Author used to live in South India]. Therefore I was afraid to be in an area where 90 percent of total volume of Earth’s ice exists. Author wants to say that he was very afraid to stay in the cold environment of Antarctica. I was afraid of cold winds. I was also worried of the impact on my body and its functions. Even the imagination of living in such cold environment was frightening to me.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Giant	Very big
Devoid of	Without, Total absence
Markers	Indications
Billboards	Signboards
Earthly sense	Feeling of being on the earth
Perspective	Thoughts, Opinion

I felt as if I was walking on the surface of something that was very big. I did not see any indication that human beings used to live there. I did not see trees, signboards or buildings. After reaching Antarctica, one loses all the feelings of being on the earth. One loses every thought and feeling of being on earth and of the time frame.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Visual scale	Variety seen
Microscopic	Very small
Mighty	Very big
Midges	Insects that can fly
Mites	Small insects not able to fly
Iceberg	Large piece of ice floating in water

One can see things of various sizes here. One can see insects that are small in sizes and blue whales which are the largest animals on the earth. The floating ice in water is of very huge size. Area of the biggest iceberg seen here was equal to the area of Belgium. Belgium is a country whose area is 30689 square KM.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Surreal	Unusual, Strange
Austral	Relating to southern hemisphere
Summer light	Sun shine of summer season
Ubiquitous	Everywhere, All over the place
Avalanche	Rapid slide of snow
Calving	Breaking at the edge
Consecrates	To cause a difference, Set apart

The summer season at Antarctica is strange. The sun does not set. All the 24 hours of the day the sun shines. Everywhere there is silence. Sometimes snow slides and edges of floating sheets of ice break into the water. These are the only sound that can be heard on Antarctica. Such sounds break the strange silence of Antarctica.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Immersion	Adventure, Engagement
Context	Reference
Prognosis	Opinion, Prediction

To visit Antarctica is an adventure. It compels you to notice and understand the geological history of Earth. We the human beings should not make any opinion about the geological history of the Earth. We should understand it. Nor is it possible to make any prediction about the Earth.  

 

 

Word	Meaning
Paltry	Very small amount

Human beings have been living on the Earth since last 12000 years only. This period of time is very small if we compare it with the age of the Earth. The age of the Earth is many millions of years.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Ruckus	Commotion, Uproar, Disturbance
Etching	Creating
Dominance	Superiority, Supremacy
Megacities	Very big cities

In this short period of 12000 years, human beings have caused lot of disturbance to nature. We have tried to create our supremacy over the nature through our villages, towns, cities and megacities. While creating facilities for themselves, human beings have damaged the ecology and environment of the Earth to a great extent.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Rapid	Quick
Battling	Fighting, Competing
Unmitigated	Increased
Fossil fuel	Coal, Petrol, Natural Gas etc.
Blanket	A thick layer

Population of the world is increasing at a fast pace. Natural resources available on the Earth are limited. Human beings as well as other species of the world are trying to use the larger share of these resources. Use of fossil fuels like coal, petrol etc. has increased. Owing to this, a thick layer of carbon dioxide has developed around the earth.  This is steadily increasing temperature of the globe.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Hotly contested	Strongly argued by all
Disrupted	Stopped, Disturbed,

Impact on environment due to change in the climate of the earth is being very strongly argued. Several questions are being debated. Will all the ice of Antarctica completely melt? Will the movement of water through Gulf Stream get disturbed? Will the world end or get destroyed? These may happen or may not happen. Nobody is sure about such extreme impact.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Either way	In every situation
Crucial	Important
Element	Aspect
Sustained	Supported
Pristine	In original condition, Pure
Trapped	Hidden, Confined

In every argument that is put forward about environment of the Earth, Antarctica is an important aspect. Its importance is not because it is the only part of the world where human beings have never lived. Because of this reason, it remains relatively pure and its original conditions are not disturbed. The Antarctica is important to the world because within its ice, old evidence about development of human beings are hidden. These are understood by a method called carbon dating. The age of such evidences could be nearly half a million years.

 

 

If we want to know about the past, present and future of the Earth, such studies should be done at Antarctica.  We may obtain enough evidences at Antarctica.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Providing	Making available
Foster	Develop, Promote

The author was part of the programme ‘Students on Ice’. Author had travelled to Antarctica with some high school students on the ship Shokaskiy. The aim of this programme was to make available some new learning opportunities to students. Such programmes would inspire them and motivate them to develop a new understanding about our planet – the Earth. They would start respecting the Earth to protect its environment.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Carting	Transporting
Celebrities	Famous or popular personalities
Curiosity-seekers	Those who are eager, Adventurous

This programming has been running since past six years. Head of this programme is Geoff Green. His native country is Canada. Earlier he used to arrange transport for the people who wanted to travel for adventure. In this business he became rich. Those people were quite famous. But they gave back to society in very limited way. So he left his business and started the programme ‘Students on Ice’.

 

 

Geoff Green has designed the programme ‘Students on Ice’ for young students. They represent the future generation of the world. After some time they will become policy-makers. The experience gained through this programme changes thoughts of students. At the young age they are ready to understand, learn and also act. 

 

 

This programme is very successful. Author wants to say that it is very popular. Anyone who goes near the South Pole (Antarctica), gets impressed by its beauty and environment. It is all together a unique experience.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Blasé about	Unimpressed, Unaffected
Latitude and longitude	Location of a place
Glacier	A large mass of ice
Retreating	Going back, Reducing

While sitting comfortably in your location, it is very easy to remain unaffected by the effects of melting of ice. This is because you have not seen it. But when you go to Antarctica, you can see that size of glaciers is reducing. You can also see that sheet of ice is breaking and falling into water. After observing these events, you realise that the threat of global warming is real. 

 

 

Word	Meaning
Ecosystem	Ecological and environmental system, Combination of plants and living beings in an area
Biodiversity	Variety of plants in an area
Repercussions	Consequence, Effect

The ecosystem of Antarctica is very simple. Variety of plants is very limited at Antarctica. Therefore it is easy to understand that even a small change in environment can have a big effect.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Microscopic	Very small in size
Phytoplankton	Type of algae or grass of very small size
Nourish	Feed
Assimilate	Absorb
Synthesise	Produce
Wondrous	Wonderful
Photosynthesis	Process through which plants absorb carbon gases and sunlight to produce nutrients for themselves

Consider the example of phytoplankton. It is a type of algae and small plants that grow in water of Antarctica. All the living beings feed on this grass. Through phytoplankton the entire food chain of Antarctica is sustained. Phytoplankton are made up of one cell only. In the presence of water and sunlight they absorb carbon compounds.  Through a wonderful and most important process of photosynthesis, they produce food for all living beings.   

 

 

Word	Meaning
Further	More
Depletion	Reduction
Marine animals	Animals living in water

The scientists have issued a warning.  If more reduction in ozone layer is caused, the activities of phytoplankton will be adversely affected. Such situation will disturb the lives of all animals living in water and of birds in Antarctica. It will also disturb the carbon cycle of the entire world.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Parable	Story
Metaphor	A phrase used to express similarity
Fall into place	Become satisfactory, Get organised

The story of phytoplankton has a similarity with a saying. If one takes care of small aspects, the bigger aspects also start becoming satisfactory.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Epiphanies	Understandings, Realizations

During my journey to Antarctica and stay at Antarctica I understood many new important things. Author wants to say that he had several experiences for the first time in his life. But the best experience was when they were at the latitude of 65.55 degree south. At that time they were very near to Antarctic Circle.

 

 

Word	Meaning
To wedge into	To force into
Peninsula	Land area surrounded by water on three sides
Island	Land area surrounded by water on all sides

Our ship Shokalskiy had forced itself into a thick layer of ice. This was between a peninsula and tadpole island. Our ship was not able to move forward because sheet of ice was very thick.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Turn around	Turn back
Gangplank	A wooden platform of stairs used for getting down from a ship
Kitted out	Wearing
Gore-Tex	A brand that makes water proof clothes
Glares	Googles
Stark	Pure, Complete

The captain of the ship realised that it was not possible to move forward. So he decided to turn the ship to go back in north direction. But before going back, we were instructed to climb down on the sheet of ice. We wore water proof clothes of Gore-Tex brand. We wore our antiglare goggles. Then through the gangplank we climbed down from the ship onto the ice. It was actually an ocean whose water had frozen.

 

 

 

Word	Meaning
Underneath	Below
In the periphery	All round the nearby area
Crab-eater seals	Type of seal (an animal) that live on Antarctica
Stretching	Relaxing
Sunning	Sitting in the sun rays to get warmth
Ice floes	A sheet of floating ice
Revelation	Something understood for the first time

We were standing on ice. Thickness of ice was about one metre. Below the sheet of ice, depth water was about 180 metres. It was salty water where several animals, insects, plants, algae etc lived. All around us in the nearby areas, we saw that Crab-eater seals were relaxing. These were sitting in the sunrays to get warmth. The sheet of ice we were standing was not stationary. It was a floating big mass of ice. The seals were sitting almost everywhere. This can be compared with stray dogs sitting in the shade of a tree. Everything we saw was a new aspect or knowledge for us. Everything that we saw was a discovery for us. All the activities around Antarctica are somehow related to one of the situations prevailing there.

 

 

During this journey I have travelled across nine time zones, six checkpoints, three oceans and many ecospheres. But I am still puzzled how beautifully nature balances everything in this world. 

 

 

Word	Meaning
Mammoths	Type of large animal that is extinct now
Woolly rhinos	Type of large animal that is extinct  now

Try to imagine what would happen if Antarctica again becomes as warm as it used to be millions of years ago. Author is not sure the human beings will survive if Antarctica becomes a warm place. We may become extinct just like dinosaurs, mammoths and woolly rhinos. Author says that no one in this world is sure about survival of human beings.

 

 

Word	Meaning
Bunch	Group
Idealism	A perfect thought

Author has spent about two weeks with a group of teenagers. He feels that these teenagers want to save the world from destruction. He admires their thoughts. A million years is a very long period of time. Lot of changes can happen in this period. But experience and happiness of just one day can make lot of difference to many people of this world. 

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