Environment & comparisons · News English
Winter ice around Antarctica
A new report describes ice on the sea.
Read the story, check the words, then answer the questions and speak.
Ice on the sea
Is sea ice the same as land?
1A new report looks at sea ice around Antarctica. Antarctica is land with ocean around it. In winter, ice grows on the sea. In summer, much of this ice melts.
2Scientists use satellites to study the ice. They say the ice probably reached its largest area this year on 14 September. The area was smaller than in most years in the satellite record. It was the third-smallest winter maximum.
3This is ice on the sea, not the land. The report came out on 12 October 2026. The photograph here is much older. It shows sea ice in October 2009. It helps us see what sea ice looks like.
Original teaching summary. Models and practice sentences are illustrative learning examples, not news quotations.
Word help · Three useful words
Read the meanings and examples. Choose one word to use in your own sentence.
sea
a large area of salt water
The boat is on the sea.
grow
become bigger
Plants grow.
melt
change from ice to water
Ice melts in a warm room.
Check your reading · Three questions
Choose one answer for every question, then check. You can change an answer and check again.
Useful English: compare sizes
This bag is big. That bag is bigger. This box is small. That box is smaller.
Compare two things you can see. Use bigger and smaller.
Model and help
Model: My book is bigger than my phone. My phone is smaller than my book.
Speak: your ideas
Compare two things you can see. Use bigger and smaller.
Labelled model answer
My book is bigger than my phone. My phone is smaller than my book.
Illustrative learning example, not a news quotation.
Alone: repeat without the model. Tutor: ask one follow-up question.
Mastery check · Three questions
Choose one answer for every question, then check. You can change an answer and check again.
Sources and reporting date
Report published 12 October 2026 at 00:00 EDT (UTC-04:00). The winter maximum was probably on 14 September.
- Antarctic Sea Ice Grows to Its 2026 Maximum
Report published 12 October 2026 at 00:00 EDT (UTC-04:00). The winter maximum was probably on 14 September. - Archive image and credit
Archive photograph of sea ice over the Bellingshausen Sea, 21 October 2009, from a NASA research aircraft. Background, not the 2026 maximum.