Touring theAntarctic Brings Danger

1 Ship tourism toAntarctica is on the rise.More than 35,000 tourists are expected to visit Antarctica

this spring andsummer. In 1992一1993,6,750visited Antarctica,according to the Antarctic Treaty

Secretariat. All ofthis tourism,however,is posing great danger to both tourists and theenvironment.

2 Among the touristships that visit the continent,the Explorer,a Canadian ship,was one of thefirst.

Launched in 1969,itwas built to ferry tourists to Antarctica.Last week,however,it became the firstcommer-

cial passenger shipto sink beneath the polar region's waters.Fortunately,all of the passengers andcrew

members wereevacuated（撤离）from theship. However , the sunken ship threatens the Antarctic'S fragile

environment.The shipwas estimated to be holding 48,000 gallons of marine diesel fuel.

3 The accident wasnot unanticipated.Both the USand the UKhad warned at a conference of Antarc-

tic treaty nationsin May that the tourism situation in the region was a potential disaster. The US said in apa-

per,"Peopleshould take a hard look at tourism issues now,especially those related tovessel safety.""The

increasing number ofships operating in Antarctica means that shipsare under greater pressures to meet the

time slots forvisiting key sites,"the British government wrote in a paper at the meetingof treaty nations.

4 Although theAntarctic seas are relatively calm,floating ice poses a potential threat toships.The

owner of theExplorer attributed the sinking to a fist-size hole in the hull created byice.Many of the other

large cruise shipsnow visiting Antarctica have little or no icereinforcement in their designs.Such ships

generally can onlycome to the continent at the height of summer. But the tourist rush is pushingvessels into

dangeroussituations.

5 As a naturalfrontier,Antarctica is in a legal muddle.Thereare no obvious answers as to who is re-

sponsible fordealing with the threat that tourism may cause to human life and theenvironment.

6 JimBarnes,executive director of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition,toldthe New York

Times,"There'Sno military or coast guard for Antarctica."Heasked,"Do we want this(the Antarctic)to

become Disneyland,or do we want some controls?"Paragraph1________

A.The Sinking of theExplorer

B.IncreasingTourists

C.Pollution

D.Hidden Dangers

E.Warnings Beforethe Accident