Before you read oils North

q\.\
-
1 Check you understand the g¿(1\19
d\¿
meaning of these words.
South
container ship
sea currents @
stipped float
frozen appeared @ AtLa n ti c
Acean
@
While you read Pacific
Acean
2 Draw the route which
the ducks took on the map.

( rn" biggest scientific experirnent in the world

1992.A huge co,tainer ship u,as crossins the Pacific from China to Seattle.There
trt rvas
rvas a terrible srcr::
arrd 350 containers slipped off the deck. Some of the containers
broke as they hit the w¿lrer and the conre:-
Gll into the ocean. It r'r'as the start of an incredible journey for 29,000 plastic
drcks.
The sea currents took sonre of the ducks south to Harvaii. Most of the
ducks floated north towards Alaska 1
1995 the-v arrived at the Beri'g straits.They were in the Beri,g
Straits for several years becar.rse the \\¡arer,l
usually frozen'lJut in 2ill')0 thev appeared at the other encl of
the Ilerrng Str¿rits and sonre of theln began i.-
float dou'n the eastern coast of the united states. In 2003, people ,0,...
,.porrrng plasric ducks on rhe eas¡
coast of the Lrnited States and even the west coast of Europel
It sounds like an amusing storv' but it's nrore than that. For Curtis Ebbesmeyer, an
oceanographer, it rvas ar:
opportunity for scientific investigation. He used his observations of the
clucks to test his theories of oce¿n
c"rrrents'AI unusual accidetrt became the biggest scientific erperiirrent
in the world.

After you read

3 Match the sentence halves.
The ducks came from
-
I The ship was.rorring)
the Pacific when I ¡
2 tn1ee5 I ,
3 tn2OO3 / ¿
4 Curtis fbbesreyer. \
5 Curtis Ebbesmeyer e
used the information f people in Europe
w
4 Answer these questions.
Where was the container ship saiting?
a the ducks arrived at
the Bering Straits.
1 Why cjid the containers come off the ship?
is an oceanographer.
to test his theories.
2 Did most of the ducks go to Hawaii?
there was a terribte
storm.
3 Why were the ducks in the Bering Straits for
a container ship.
5 years?
saw the ducks. 4 What does Curtis Ebbesmeyer do?

5 How did the ducks help Curtis Ebbesmeyer?