Tekst 2.
A resident of an island between Finland and Sweden recently came across a large number of egg-shaped balls of ice while he was walking on the beach. An area of about 30 meters along the coastline was covered with thousands of these ice balls. The smallest were the size of eggs, and the biggest – the size of footballs. According to experts, such ice balls are formed when pieces of ice break off an ice sheet, and are rolled into balls by the movement of the waves. When the sea water freezes onto their surfaces, they grow bigger. As in this case, they are sometimes washed up onto a beach. Although it’s quite rare for such a large group of them to be found together, similar sights have been reported in some coastal areas of Siberia and the northern United States.

Tekst 3.
Woman: John, today you’re a well-known ocean explorer. Could you tell our listeners how this passion began?

Man: I like to think of myself as someone who grew up in water. I was only seven when my dad put an oxygen tank on my back for the first time. Then he put another tank on my brother, and on my mother, too, and pushed the three of us overboard. And so we became scuba divers. He jumped in straight afterwards. And I remember that I wanted to talk to him, but when I removed my mouthpiece underwater, my Dad put it straight back in! At that time my father was one of the pioneers of scuba diving and the diving gear we used was all his creation.

Woman: Did you travel on research trips with your parents?

Man: We spent a lot of time on board the Calypso, our family boat. My brother and I would fly over from boarding school in France to wherever the Calypso was during the Christmas, New Year and summer holidays. Every time it was somewhere different. It was an unusual childhood, but it seemed normal to me, because that was all I knew! I learnt so much about the ocean and the crew members became closer than brothers to me. When I grew up, the Alcyone, our expedition ship, became my new home and I worked on many films about the ocean from there.

Woman: Was your mother passionate about the sea, too?

Man: She was the real strength behind the entire operation. She was the daughter of an admiral, and many generations of her family were naval officers. Throughout her youth, she was unhappy because joining the French Navy was out of the question for a woman at that time. She fell in love with my father, who was a naval officer, and when they got married, they decided to live on board the Calypso. She spent even more time there than my father. She was in charge of first aid when anyone got hurt; and she was always cheerful and ready to comfort us. Whenever an argument broke out, she always managed to negotiate a compromise without upsetting anyone. She was a really skilful diplomat.

Woman: And the last question, how are the rest of your family continuing your father’s great legacy?

Man: My dad used to say that people protect what they love. I have a wonderful team and we’re carrying on his message. But the clock is ticking. As a species we must do everything we can to protect marine life. We must manage the oceans like a business. They are our most precious asset and we are heading towards bankruptcy. We’re the only species that has the privilege to decide whether or not to disappear – and we need to take action before it’s too late.