Determination is anything but frozen - Unit 5

C2 Proficiency · Gapped Text · Close-up C2 Workbook, National Geographic Learning

You are going to read an extract from a magazine article. Seven paragraphs have been removed from the extract. Choose from the paragraphs A-H the one which fits each gap (1–7). There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.

Determination is anything but frozen

Our standard ideas about creation can take a bit of letting go of. For most people, if they had spent so much time and energy building a structure, they would want it to remain, to be enjoyed by others over and over again. To see something like this melt away into nothingness flies in the face of conventional wisdom.

Even smaller municipalities, such as Saranac Lake, New York, construct ice castles almost on an annual basis in a tradition that goes back decades. In the late 1800s, a poor town in Colorado constructed a giant ice castle to generate income from tourism. A dazzling sight, its walls were bluish-white and visitors could entertain themselves on an adjacent ice-skating rink and a toboggan slide.

But for all the ice sculptors out there, that depressing thought does not discourage them from their craft. They teach us that no circumstance should inhibit us from creating, from achieving our dreams. Equipped with hammers, razor-sharp chisels, even chainsaws, they can create something as simple as a centrepiece for a cruise liner buffet or as grandiose as an entire village.

This disaster could mirror the delicate conditions in which an ice sculpture can exist. It takes not only frigid temperatures and large quantities of frozen water, but determination and – for large structures – the financial prowess to recreate it repeatedly.

And every year, to create these structures that visitors pay hundreds of euros a night to stay in, hundreds of thousands of tons of ice are carved and positioned. The blocks are fused together with 'snice' – a portmanteau of the words 'snow' and 'ice' – which has the consistency of soft, malleable ice that freezes after it is placed.

In fact, in neighbouring China, some of the most impressive ice structures can be viewed annually in the city of Harbin. Located on the edge of Siberia, Harbin hosts a large ice and snow festival that features an entire village's worth of structures. Exquisitely detailed, these buildings and monuments provide an extravagant spectacle for millions of visitors each year.

That, however, cannot be said about ice sculptures. Lasting as long as months or as little as minutes, one is never unaware of the transient nature of an ice sculpture. Why would someone spend hours carving what won't last much longer than it took to create?

Designed by Russian architect Pyotr Yeroghis, its mammoth dimensions put it at around 20 metres tall and 50 metres wide. Interior features consisted of an ice 'garden', in which trees with ice birds perched on the branches filled the grounds. Although decorative, ice mattresses and ice pillows adorned rooms, and the outer walls were lined with delicate ice sculptures.

It is a testament to man's ability to create things for the sake of creating. Never mind how long it lasts or how much effort went into the creation of it. If it was there, it existed for a short while and now it's gone, only to live on as a memory, as a catalogued experience. In a world so conditioned to aspire to durability, it is a challenging test to create something that's quite the opposite.

For the ice hotels of Scandinavia, that's almost exactly what happens. They are a miraculous feat; these hotels of course, the walls are made of blocks of ice, but so is much of the furniture, including the seating that makes up the bars and restaurants. Even the drinks are served in glasses made of ice.

The construction of large ice structures such as these is not a new concept. In the 18th century, Empress Anna Ioannova commissioned an ice palace to be constructed in honour of Russia's defeat of Ottoman forces. This frozen palace marked the first such structure of its kind – the predecessor of the ice structures created today.

Such a massive structure was obviously built to demonstrate a sense of pride in man and country. Other such structures were later erected in a smattering of American and Canadian cities, which essentially served as a kind of symbol of the arrival of affluence to these newer nations. It has since become a tradition in cities such as Quebec City and St Paul to erect structures every so often.

Despite much fanfare, it was a commercial flop and city officials decided not to invest in such a venture again. It was simply too costly to build a structure that would only last for three months. The site was eventually razed and homes were built on it.

An even deeper connection could be drawn between the ephemeral nature of ice sculptures and our experience of life, which is also temporary. Mankind toils through blood, sweat and tears to strive for excellence, which, like an ice sculpture, does not last forever. In a sense, an ice sculpture represents a sliver of what we face in life.

The letter is certainly proof that mankind's determination knows no bounds, nor does it consider the longevity of a creation. Just like the sandcastles we create as children, which crumble away as the sea laps at their bases, so do the ice sculptures reaching several storeys in height become meaningless puddles under the warming sun.

For millennia, mankind has used sculpture to represent many things: devotion to faith, the aggrandisement of humanity or for merely decorative purposes. One thing in almost all cases that remains true about sculpture is its permanence. ___ It is a testament to man's ability to create things for the sake of creating. Never mind how long it lasts or how much effort went into the creation of it. If it was there, it existed for a short while and now it's gone, only to live on as a memory, as a catalogued experience. In a world so conditioned to aspire to durability, it is a challenging test to create something that's quite the opposite. ___ For the ice hotels of Scandinavia, that's almost exactly what happens. They are a miraculous feat; these hotels of course, the walls are made of blocks of ice, but so is much of the furniture, including the seating that makes up the bars and restaurants. Even the drinks are served in glasses made of ice. ___ The construction of large ice structures such as these is not a new concept. In the 18th century, Empress Anna Ioannova commissioned an ice palace to be constructed in honour of Russia's defeat of Ottoman forces. This frozen palace marked the first such structure of its kind – the predecessor of the ice structures created today. ___ Such a massive structure was obviously built to demonstrate a sense of pride in man and country. Other such structures were later erected in a smattering of American and Canadian cities, which essentially served as a kind of symbol of the arrival of affluence to these newer nations. It has since become a tradition in cities such as Quebec City and St Paul to erect structures every so often. ___ Despite much fanfare, it was a commercial flop and city officials decided not to invest in such a venture again. It was simply too costly to build a structure that would only last for three months. The site was eventually razed and homes were built on it. ___ An even deeper connection could be drawn between the ephemeral nature of ice sculptures and our experience of life, which is also temporary. Mankind toils through blood, sweat and tears to strive for excellence, which, like an ice sculpture, does not last forever. In a sense, an ice sculpture represents a sliver of what we face in life. ___ The letter is certainly proof that mankind's determination knows no bounds, nor does it consider the longevity of a creation. Just like the sandcastles we create as children, which crumble away as the sea laps at their bases, so do the ice sculptures reaching several storeys in height become meaningless puddles under the warming sun.

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