职称英语综合类C级概括大意模拟题(29)-已翻译.doc

Arctic Melt （北极圈融化）Earths North and South Poles are famous for being cold and icy. Last year, however, the amount of ice in the Arctic Ocean fell to a record low.1地球的北极和南极以寒冷而闻名。然而，在去年北冰洋的冰的数量跌到历史最低点。Normally, ice builds in Arctic waters around the North Pole each winter and shrinks during the summer. But for many years, the amount of ice left by the end of summer has been declining.通常情况下，北极的冰在冬天扩大，在夏天缩小。但多年来，即使夏天结束后，冰的数量依然在减少。Since 1979, each decade has seen an 11.4 percent drop in end-of-summer ice cover2. Between 1981 and 2000, ice in the Arctic lost 22 percent of its thickness - becoming 1.13 meters thinner.自1979年以来，在夏天结束后冰覆盖量每十年下降11.4%。在1981年到2000年期间，北极冰的厚度减少22%变得只有1.13米的厚度。Last summer, Arctic sea ice reached its skimpiest levels yet. By the end of summer 2007, the ice had shrunk to cover just 4.2 million square kilometers. Thats 38 percent less area than the average cover at that time of year. Andits a very large 23 percent below the previous record low, which was set just 2 years ago. This continuing trend has scientists concerned.上个夏天，北极的海冰量已经达到了最低水平。到2007 年夏末，冰的覆盖面积已经 缩小至 420 万平方公里。与往年的同期相比减少了38%的面积。比两年前的历史最低点还少23%。这一持续的趋势引起了科学家们的担心。There may be several reasons for the ice melt, says Jinlun Zhang, an oceanographer at the University of Washington3 in Seattle. Unusually strong winds blew through the Arctic last summer. The winds pushed much of the ice out of the central Arctic, leaving a large area of thin ice and open water4.华盛顿大学的海洋学家说，有几种原因导致了冰的融化。去年夏天异常强劲的大风吹过北极。大风使大量的冰离开北极中心，留下了大面积的薄冰和没有冰覆盖的海面。Scientists also suspect that fewer clouds cover the Arctic now than in the past. Clearer skies allow more sunlight to reach the ocean. The extra heat warms both the water and the atmosphere. In parts of the Arctic Ocean last year, surface temperatures were 3.5Celsius warmer than average and 1.5 warmer than the previous record high5.科学家猜测北极上空的云比往年要少。更加晴朗的天空让更多的阳光直接照射在大海上。海水和大气都更加的热。去年在北冰洋的一些地方，海面温度比平均值高出3.5摄氏度，比以前的最高纪录还高1.5摄氏度。With both air and water getting warmer, the ice is melting from both above and below. In some parts of the Beaufort Sea6, north of Alaska and western Canada, ice that measured 3.3m thick at the beginning of the summer measured just 50 centimeters by seasons end.随着空气和海水的转暖，冰的上下都在融化。在波弗特海的某些地方、阿拉斯加北部和加拿大西部，夏季开始时测量的冰厚度是3.3米，在夏季结束的时候再次测量时只有50厘米。The new measurements suggest that melting is far more severe than scientists have seen by just looking at ice cover from above, says Donald K. Perovich, a geophysicist at the U. S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in Hanover, N.H.7“新的测量表面，冰的融化程度比科学家仅仅从冰面看到的情况更加严重” ，新罕布什尔州汉诺威市美国陆军寒冷地区研究和工程实验室的地球物理学者唐纳德说。Some scientists fear that the Arctic is stuck in a warming trend from which it may never recover.一些科学家担心北冰洋变暖的趋势可能不会逆转。词汇： Arctic n.北极，北极圈；adj.北极的 the Arctic Ocean 北冰洋 shrink v.萎缩；缩小，减少 oceanographer n.海洋学家 skimpy adj.缺乏的，不足的 centimeter n.厘米 geophysicist n.地球物理学家 注释 中华 考试 网1. fell to a record low: 跌到历史最低点。record 作形容词时，意思是“空前的，创记 录的”。Record low 的反义词是 record high: 历史最高点。 2. ice cover: 冰覆盖量 3. University of Washington: 华盛顿大学，创建于 l861 年，座落在美国华盛顿州西雅图 市东北角，所以又称西雅图华盛顿大学，是美国着名的公立研究型大学。 4. open water: