英语听力：自然百科 当北极变成无冰海洋

 Data released this week by a team of explorers who trekked¹ through the Arctic for three months this spring shows that North Pole will be an open sea during the summer months within 20 years. The Catlin Arctic Survey team, led by explorer Pen Hadow, measured the thickness of the ice as they sledged² and hiked through the northern part of the Beaufort Sea in the geographic³ North Pole. Their findings show that most the ice in the region is first-year ice that is only around six feet thick and will melt next summer. The region has traditionally contained thicker, multi-year ice which doesn't melt as rapidly. The results come as negotiators prepare to meet in Copenhagen in December to draft a global climate pact⁴.

 

Their conclusions from this work and from other measurements that have been done and from new models are that the summer ice will disappear within 20 to 30 years, and it will be, a lot of it will be gone within 10 years. And it will retreat to a fairly small area north of Greenland within about a decade, and then the rest of the ice pool will disappear during the following decade.

 

These results are significant because they highlight the urgency, they highlight how and important aspect of the climate system is actually much more vulnerable to climate change than we thought.

 

Sommerkorn noted⁵ that the Arctic sea holds a central position in the earth's climate system, and loss of Arctic ice could impact the climate of the regions way beyond the Arctic itself. Potential consequences include flooding affecting a quarter of the world's population, significant increases in greenhouse gas emissions⁶ from massive carbon pools, as well as extreme global weather changes. Global warming has raised the stakes in the scramble⁷ for sovereignty in the Arctic because shrinking polar ice could someday open resource development and new shipping⁸ lanes. The rapid ice melting has raised speculation⁹ that the Northwest Passage linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans could one day become a regular shipping lane.

1 trekked   

v.艰苦跋涉，徒步旅行( trek的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指在山中）远足，徒步旅行，游山玩水

参考例句：

• They trekked for three days along the banks of the Zambezi. 他们沿着赞比西河河岸跋涉了三天。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Six-man teams trekked through the woods, respectively for 72 to 96 hours. 6人一组的小分队，经过长途跋涉，穿过了森林，分别用72小时到96小时不等。 来自互联网

2 sledged   

v.乘雪橇( sledge的过去式和过去分词 )；用雪橇运载

参考例句：

• Millstones had been cut and laboriously sledged down the rough mountainsides. 石磨被琢好，然后费力用雪橇运下那崎岖不平的山坡。 来自辞典例句
• The children sledged all day by the lake. 孩子们整天在湖面上滑雪橇。 来自互联网

3 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 pact   

n.合同，条约，公约，协定

参考例句：

• The two opposition parties made an electoral pact.那两个反对党订了一个有关选举的协定。
• The trade pact between those two countries came to an end.那两国的通商协定宣告结束。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

7 scramble   

v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料

参考例句：

• He broke his leg in his scramble down the wall.他爬墙摔断了腿。
• It was a long scramble to the top of the hill.到山顶须要爬登一段长路。

8 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

9 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。