ScienceJanuary 8, 2026

Ships, robots and the fight to study Thwaites Glacier

Easy Medium Hard

② Start Lesson

Key Vocabulary

icebreaker/ˈaɪsˌbreɪ.kər/

a strong ship that breaks ice in cold seas

"The icebreaker opens a path through sea ice."

glacier/ˈɡlæsiər/

a very large mass of ice that moves slowly

"We read about a big glacier in Antarctica."

robot/ˈroʊ.bɒt/

a machine that can do tasks by itself or by remote control

"The underwater robot dived under the ice."

Listening

Ships, robots and the fight to study Thwaites Glacier

Araon is a South Korean icebreaker that sails to the Antarctic. It carries scientists and equipment for polar research. The ship helps teams study glaciers and the ocean near the ice.

Thwaites Glacier is very large and it is losing ice. Scientists visit the glacier to study warm water under the ice because the water can melt the glacier from below. In January 2024 an underwater robot named Ran went missing under Thwaites during a trip with Araon. The loss showed how hard polar research can be, but researchers still try to learn more. They plan to place sensors and moorings on the seafloor. These instruments measure temperature and currents.

110 words

Quiz

1. What is Araon?

2. Where did the underwater robot Ran go missing?

3. When did Ran go missing?

Reading Practice

Read the article from the Listening section aloud. Your AI teacher will give you pronunciation feedback.

Discussion

Do you feel curious about visiting a cold place like Antarctica? Why or why not?

Have you ever been on a long boat trip? What did you see?

What do you think when you hear that a glacier is losing ice?