The evidence is clear. Wherever there is permanent ice – Greenland, Antarctica, the Alps, the Himalayas –that
ice is melting. Anybody who has been to high mountains will have noticed this fact. Scientists agree that the cause
for this melting is very simple. The earth’s atmosphere is warming up.
The melting ice, in turn, is causing sea levels to rise as the extra water from the melting ice pours into the
oceans. Already, sea levels have risen about 8 inches (20 cm) in recent years, and scientists believe they could rise
at least another 20 inches (50 cm) by the year 2100. This could put many heavily populated coastal areas at risk.
Coastal Florida, the Nile Delta, Bangladesh, and many other areas would end up under water.
Along with rising air temperatures, the ocean temperatures are also rising. This has brought changes in
weather patterns, with more frequent and more severe storms. Rising ocean temperatures are also one of the factors
in the death of coral reefs in the southern oceans. These reefs are the natural homes to 65 percent of the world’s
fish. When the reefs die, so do the fish.
The warmer air temperatures are also causing changes in the world’s climate zones. In Europe, the southern
countries along the Mediterranean are already becoming drier and more desert-like. On the other hand, countries in
northern Europe, such as Germany and England, have experienced terrible floods from too much rain. Worldwide,
agriculture will soon be negatively affected in many places. Life will become more difficult in the poorer countries
of Asia and Africa, which already suffer from poor soil and lack of water. Millions of people could be forced to
leave their homes and countries in search of food and a better life. 【題組】
47. The ice in Antarctica is melting because _________________.
(A) more people are traveling to Antarctica
(B) sea levels are rising very fast
(C) there are many high mountains on continent
(D) the temperature of the atmosphere is warmer
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