ADVANCED 1 – BRITANICO GOLD – READING TASK – JUN 2022

Read the article about deep sea exploration. Six sentences have been removed from the article. Choose
from the sentences A–G the one which fits each gap (31–35). There is one extra sentence which you do
not need to use. There is an example at the beginning.

Adventure below the seas

Relatively little is known about the deep seas on our planet. In fact, the ocean takes up about 70% of the planet,
and around 95% of this remains unexplored. This is for many reasons. Firstly, it was commonly believed that the
deep seas were lifeless and uninteresting and hence not worth exploring. 0. D . One of the deepest parts
of the oceans, the Mariana Trench, is over seven miles below the sea’s surface. Sound waves were used to
measure the depths it reaches and amazingly, it is a greater distance than the peak of Mount Everest 31. .
Despite its inhospitable nature, the trench was once explored in 1960 by two men, Jacques Piccard and Don
Walsh. However, since then, because of the difficulty of the water pressure, the remote location and great depth
of the trench, nobody had returned. That was, until James Cameron came along. 32. . In fact, on March
26th 2012, Cameron reached the deepest part of the Mariana Trench. He was the third person to ever explore
these depths, and the first person to do it alone.

It might seem like something quite crazy to do when he’s already so successful in a completely unrelated field.
However, Cameron has always loved science and exploration. 33. . In fact, he even created a
documentary called Deepsea Challenge 3D so others could witness the experience. Surprisingly, he didn’t direct
this film, but he did certainly have some control over it. The film features strongly his desire to achieve a childhood
dream.

It wasn’t just his youthful aim that made this ambition a reality. He also wanted to advance the world’s
understanding of the oceans. 34. . Although the ocean floor had previously been reached, the original
submersible didn’t have the technology to collect samples or record what was seen. Cameron’s Deepsea
Challenger had a mechanical arm and cameras in order to take both visual and physical samples back to the
surface.

The journey took him over nine hours in total. The first two hours were spent on the descent to the sea floor. Here,
Cameron had to withstand huge temperature differences. Being in the Deepsea Challenger on the surface was
as hot as a sauna, but the deeper he went, the colder the temperature became. He then spent three hours
collecting samples and exploring the sea bed. And what did he see there? 35. . He was disappointed
not to see some kind of creature of the deep from one of his films, but this is not to say there was not one out
there in the expanse. For now, we can only imagine, but one day, perhaps all the secrets of the oceans will be
revealed to us, and maybe films such as those created by Cameron may hold some truth to what lies below.

A The desire to experience the unknown was the inspiration for his journey to the bottom of the seas.
B He described it as a vast and desolate place, and also recorded seeing some previously unknown creatures.
C You might know him as the director of films like The Terminator or Titanic, but aside from this he is also one of
the bravest adventurers of the deep sea.
D Once it was discovered that there may be life there, the next barrier was its inaccessibility.
E Amazingly, before Cameron’s expedition, more was known about the surface of Mars than was known about
the deep sea.
F It had taken almost seven years to design and build the Challenger and they had to find many ways to solve
problems of pressure and temperature.
G Not only does it extend so massively, it’s also pitch black and the pressure is over 1000 times that of the
surface.