Text c The Mystery of the Franklin Expedition

Task. Scan the text and get ready to discuss its main points.

1. Many years ago, explorers wanted to find a way by sea from Europe to China, via Alaska. In 1845, John Franklin left England with 134 men to look for a route through the Arctic.

2. Franklin’s ships had everything they needed. They had enough food in tins for three years and thousands of litres of lemon juice to stop disease. They also had two libraries with 3000 books, excellent maps, scientific instruments, musical instruments and a new invention: a camera.

3. Franklin and his men left England on May 19^th, 1845 and they sailed without problems across the Atlantic towards Canada. When Franklin arrived at Baffin Bay in July 1845, things were going very well for the expedition. On July 26^th, some sailors saw Franklin’s ships when they were entering the bay. That was the last time that anyone saw Franklin and his men alive.

4. The British government became very worried when they heard nothing from Franklin. They sent expeditions to look for him, but the expeditions all returned without any news. The government offered ₤20000 to anybody who could help Franklin or anybody who had information about Franklin. Nobody came with information. By 1850 there were 14 ships in the Arctic looking for him.

5. Lady Franklin sent several expeditions to search for her husband. Francis McClintock led one such expedition in the Fox (a small steam yacht that belonged to Lady Franklin). In 1859 a party of his men solved the mystery. On King William Island they found a tin cylinder buried in a mound of stones. Inside was the document that explained what had happened. The note, signed by two of Franklin’s officers, recorded Franklin’s death in 1847. It also reported that, after the expedition’s two ships had been stuck in the ice for a year and half, the crews tried to reach safety by travelling south overland. Not one men survived.

Ex. 1. Look at the list of supplies on Franklin’s ships. Which things are the most important, do you think? Why?

Supplies on Franklin’s ships:

8000 tins of meat, soup and vegetables

900 litres of wine for the sick

4250 kilograms of chocolate

1000 kilograms of tea

62000 kilograms of flour

17000 litres of rum

3200 kilograms of tobacco

4200 litres of lemon juice

Ex. 2. Write the correct number of the paragraph in the following statements.

Paragraph … says what the British government did to search Franklin expedition.

Paragraph … says why Franklin went to the Arctic.

Paragraph … reveals the mystery of Franklin expedition.

Paragraph … says what Franklin took with him.

Paragraph … says who saw Franklin for the last time.

Ex. 3. Imagine you are going to make a trip by ship from Europe to Alaska. Work with a partner and look at the maps. Make some notes about the things that might be useful (a possible route, the things you should take, possible problems that may arise), using the suggested phrases.

We can go from ……to …… We should take lots of food. We should take …… We might hit an iceberg. We might ……