Alice: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English: we’ll be
talking about a story in the news and learning some vocabulary along the way.
I’m Alice and joining me today is Neil. Welcome, Neil.
Neil: Hi there Alice.
Alice: Now, Neil are you good with maps?
Neil: Good with maps? You mean – am I good at reading maps?
Alice: Yes. Can you find your way to a place you want to go to just by looking at
a map.
Neil: Well, actually I need a map. Because I used to think I had a great sense of
direction but now I have to admit I have a terrible sense of direction. I almost
always walk in the wrong direction automatically, so I need a map.
Alice: You need a map. Well I like to think I’m a fairly good navigator – that’s
someone who finds or plots the way. But what if the map is wrong? I once
walked around a town for a whole hour using a map I’d downloaded from the
internet, and then I realised the map I was using was completely wrong.
Neil: Oh dear, it does happen.
Alice: Yes it does. And in 6 Minute English today, we’ll be hearing about an island that
has appeared on maps for several years, but which people now realise has never
existed at all!
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2012
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Neil: Aha, this is the famous Sandy Island near Australia.
Alice: Yes, it’s all very suspicious! And, Neil, as we’re talking about islands, my
question for you today is about a legendary island which is supposed to have
sunk into the ocean thousands of years ago. Was it called:
a) Pacifica
b) Atlantis, or
c) Oceana
Neil: Well, I will have a think about that and tell you at the end of the programme.
Alice: OK, as usual we’ll find out what the answer is at the end. Now let’s hear more
about Sandy Island – the island that never was! Maria Seton from the University
of Sydney in Australia was on an expedition in the sea between Australia and
New Caledonia.
Scientist Maria Seton:
We were actually out in the Eastern Coral Sea conducting a scientific research expedition and
when we were approaching the area of this supposed island, we saw that our scientific maps
showed there was an island there, and yet the navigation charts on board the vessel showed
that we had a water depth of 1,400 metres. So that’s where we started getting suspicious.
Alice: Maria Seton and her research team were looking at their scientific maps which
showed an island. But they became suspicious – they questioned what they
saw. Why?
Neil: Because when they got to the area where the island was supposed to be, the
navigation charts on board the vessel – the ship – showed that all that was there
was 1,400 metres of water.
Alice: So, the island wasn’t there. Could it have sunk? Here’s BBC Correspondent
Duncan Kennedy in Australia:
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BBC Correspondent, Duncan Kennedy
It hasn’t sunk – no it was never there. The Australian Naval Maps department – the
department that makes naval maps – said it could simply be human error repeated down
through the years.
Neil: Did you hear what did the department that makes naval maps in Australia said
about Sandy Island appearing on its maps?
Alice: They said it could be human error repeated through the years. That means one
person made a mistake and put the island on the map and then other people
just copied their map over and over again.
Neil: Interesting. But how could all maps make the same mistake? The island
appeared on standard maps, nautical maps – that’s maps of the ocean - and
even Google Earth, which is largely made up of photos from space?
Alice: Well, people who make maps use a variety of sources they say – lots of different
reference materials – so maybe it wasn’t worth taking thousands of photos of
the sea, but easier to copy someone else’s map. Here’s what the BBC’s Duncan
Kennedy says about the mistake:
BBC Correspondent Duncan Kennedy:
Sandy Island appears on standard maps, nautical maps and it even appears on Google
Earth and a spokesman for Google Earth Maps Australia said they use a variety of sources to
compile their maps but that things change. They’re advising people to tell them if they spot
similar mistakes could they let them know.
Alice: The BBC’s Duncan Kennedy, who says map makers like Google Earth have
advised people to tell them if they spot similar mistakes on any of their maps.
Neil: Yes, things change! Even islands disappear sometimes – which brings me to the
answer to your question at the beginning of 6 Minute English Alice. I think I
know the name of that legendary island you were talking about.
Alice: Ah yes, I asked you if it was called: a. Pacifica, b. Atlantis or c. Oceana.
6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2012
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Neil: And I thought it was a trick question but I’m going to go with what I first
thought, which is Atlantis.
Alice: And you’re right. Atlantis was the name given to a legendary island which was
supposed to have been somewhere between Africa and Europe before it sunk. It
was talked about by Plato in the fourth century BC.
And, Neil, I hope you’ll share some of the words we’ve heard in today’s
programme:
Neil: Yes, of course. Here they are:
Reading maps, navigator, expedition, suspicious, human error, nautical, variety
of sources
Alice: Thanks so much, Neil. And please join us again soon for more 6 Minute English
from bbclearningenglish.com.
Neil: And don’t forget to find us on Facebook and Twitter. We really do exist
there. Honestly.
Alice: Bye for now.
Neil: Bye.
