Open cloze
For questions 1-8, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap.
Working at a research station in Antarctica is not a job for everyone. During the winter months the sun does not rise at 1., and temperatures can fall below minus sixty degrees. For about eight months of the year no planes can land, so the small team of scientists and support staff are left with no choice 2. to rely entirely on each other. Supplies have to be ordered nearly a year in advance, which means that if somebody forgets to order something important, 3. as coffee or batteries, there is nothing anyone can do about it. Fresh fruit and vegetables run out early, 4. is why some stations now grow salad in special greenhouses lit by lamps. Living so close to the same people for months 5. end can be difficult, and arguments over small things are common. Those 6. have spent a winter there say that a sense of humour is 7. important as any scientific skill. Despite the hardships, many return year after year. As one engineer put it, 'Once you have seen the southern lights, nowhere else feels quite 8. exciting.'