The melting waters of the Ruwenzori Mountains feed the headwaters of the Nile. Here, for hundreds of thousands of years, people have depended on the river for basic necessities: water, transportation, farming, and fishing.
Now, the glaciers of the Ruwenzori are melting so rapidly that they will soon disappear. Within the next twenty or thirty years, most glaciers in Africa and South America will vanish completely.
The shrinking of the world’s glaciers will have massive consequences for communities that depend on ice melt. In the short-term, these consequences may appear beneficial. For example, extra water from glaciers means that hydroelectric dams will run at maximum power. In the long run, however, the melting of earth’s glaciers could be catastrophic. Today’s extra hydroelectric power has been stolen from the future. Communities with ample power now may have none after the glaciers have melted, and the loss of ice will increase sea levels worldwide.
Temperature change and a lack of snow is causing the retreat of the glaciers. Glaciers are no longer getting built up during the snowy winter months, so they are no longer able to maintain their size over the long run.
Unless there are some changes in the current rate of global warming, the glaciers are essentially doomed. 【題組】What does the word “beneficial” mean in this passage?
(A)Helpful (B)Worthless (C)Dangerous (D)Unbelievable
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