Ship tourism to Antarctica is on the rise.More than 35，000 tourists are expected to visit Antarctica this summer.In 1992－1993，6，750 tourists visited Antarctica，according to the Antarctica Treaty.All of this tourism，however，is putting both tourists and the environment in great danger.
Among the tourist ships that visit the continent，the Explorer，a Canadian ship，was one of the first.Put to use in 1969，it was built to carry tourists to Antarctica.Last week，however，it became the first commercial passenger ship to sink beneath the waters.Fortunately，all of the passengers and crew members were rescued from the ship.However，the sunken ship endangered the Antarctic's fragile environment.The ship was estimated to be holding 48，000 gallons of fuel.
As a natural frontier，Antarctica is in a messy legal situation.There are no obvious answers as to who is responsible for dealing with the threat that tourist may cause to human life and the environment.
There is no coast guard for Antarctica.Do we want it to become Disneyland，or do we need some controls?
[阅读障碍词]
1．commercial adj.商业的
2．sink v．下沉；沉没
3．fragile adj.脆弱的
4．responsible adj.有责任的
