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Transcript:
Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Liz Waid.
Voice 2
And I’m Nick Page. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
The conditions in Antarctica are very extreme. The temperature is often well below freezing. There are very few plants. The continent is mostly covered with ice. It is almost impossible to live there. But every year, many people try to explore it.
Voice 2
One such person is Felicity Aston. She works as a meteorologist in Antarctica. She has been studying Antarctica’s weather for over 10 years. But Aston does not just study Antarctica. She also explores it. Today’s Spotlight is on Felicity Aston. She is the first woman to cross Antarctica alone.
Voice 1
Felicity Aston has always dreamed of exploring Antarctica. When she was a child, she enjoyed stories about Ernest Shackleton. Shackleton was the first person to travel to Antarctica’s South Pole. Shackleton was very famous. And he is Aston’s hero. Aston told Mother Jones Magazine:
Voice 3
“I have always recognized that Antarctica is a place where people went to prove how strong they are. It is a place where these kind of amazing heroes were made.”
Voice 2
In 2000, Aston decided she wanted follow her hero’s example. She joined the British Antarctic Survey. She studied in Antarctica with a large group of scientists for three years. This experience confirmed Aston’s dream. But she wanted to achieve even more. So she began planning a major trip.
Voice 1
In 2009, Aston planned a group trip to Antarctica’s South Pole. You may remember another Spotlight program about this trip. Aston led a group of 8 women from different countries. The group used only the power of their bodies to complete the trip. They did not use vehicles, dogs or special equipment. Instead, they used long, thin skis on their feet. With these they slid on top of the snow. When necessary, they walked and climbed. After 38 days, the women reached the South Pole. They had traveled 900 kilometers.
Voice 2
This was a major achievement. But Aston kept dreaming. And she began planning her next trip. This time, she wanted to travel across Antarctica. And, she wanted to go alone. She knew the trip would be very difficult. So she began to prepare.
Voice 1
Aston exercised and trained for many months. Like before, she wanted to complete the trip using only the power of her body. So, she trained to strengthen her body. But she also trained her mind. She had to learn how to be happy being alone for a long time. She told the sports news organization ESPN:
Voice 3
“In Antarctica, there would be no one to depend on but me. If something went wrong, I needed to know that I could take care of myself.”
Voice 2
On November the 25th, 2011, Felicity Aston began her trip. An airplane brought her to the starting point. Aston told ESPN how it felt when the airplane flew away.
Voice 3
“I never felt so small. All around me, as far as I could see, there was no other sign of life. Just me.”
Voice 1
For the next 59 days, Aston travelled across Antarctica. Her trip was very difficult. On the fourth day, she experienced very strong wind. She tried to use her tent to protect her from the wind. She struggled to put the tent together in the wind. It took a very long time. Finally, she finished. She told Mother Jones magazine:
Voice 3
“Once I was in the tent, I remember sitting there. The winds were beating the tent…At that minute, I recognized that there was no one to come and help… I had to get myself out of this difficult situation.”
Voice 2
This was not Aston’s only difficult day. She experienced other problems as well. She had to cross very large crevasses in the ice. These large, deep divides in the ice are dangerous. Crevasses can be many meters wide and many meters deep. Often, the only way to get across them is to climb.
Voice 1
For Aston, the crevasses were the most frightening part of the trip. She feared that the ice would change position while she was climbing. She feared being trapped and that no one would find her. She told ESPN:
Voice 3
“I was very frightened of the crevasses. But I was able to cross them well. Because of this, they were also some of the best parts of the trip for me. I experienced the power to face my fears and defeat them. This is both the most difficult and most pleasing part of a trip like this.”
Voice 2
Aston also struggled with being alone. She told “The Guardian” news organization,
Voice 3
“The mornings were the most difficult…I would think, ‘I cannot do this, I need to get out of here.’ Every single morning, I would feel the same thing…Some mornings, I would get past it with positive thinking. Other mornings, I would cry. Other times, I would turn on music as soon as I woke up.”
Voice 1
On January 22, 2012, Aston reached her end point — Hercules Inlet. When she recognized that she had arrived, she sat down and cried. She recorded a film of the end of her trip. In it, she said:
Voice 3
“I am finished. I am on my way home. The only thing I can think right now is that I want to call my mother on the telephone. I want to tell her I am here. I want to tell her I am fine…I do not want to go anywhere now. The airplane will come to me. It is so strange. I cannot believe it. I cannot believe that I skiied across Antarctica.”
Voice 2
Aston’s trip across Antartica was an amazing success. She showed her courage. She showed her physical and mental strength. And she showed her heroic spirit. Eugene Kapersky runs a company called Kapersky Lab. His company paid for Aston’s trip. After the trip, he told ESPN:
Voice 4
“Discovery is in Felicity’s blood. She is always looking for the next bigger, better, more difficult goal. With her Antarctic crossing, she has set the goal higher for other explorers.”
Voice 1
Felicity Aston travelled 1,744 kilometres in 59 days. It was very difficult. She often felt alone, and sometimes she felt afraid. But she defeated her fear and achieved her dream. She became the first woman to travel alone across the continent of Antarctica. She told ESPN,
Voice 3
“I proved to myself how strong I am. To me, that is the victory.”