Question

【題目】Scientists are learning new things about Antarctica, the coldest place on Earth. For example, the Antarctic ice sheet is shrinking. A new study found that summer ice loss in parts of Antarctica was at its highest level in 1,000 years. The study showed that Antarctic ice was melting mostly from below ice shelves, where the water is warmer than the ice.

Eric Rignot is an earth system expert at the University of California, Irvine. He also works for the American space agency, NASA. There he serves as senior research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, also in California. He says ice melting from below is responsible for 55 percent of the shelf loss from 2003 to 2008. That is a much higher rate than scientists thought earlier.

Professor Rignot and his team used satellite observations, radar and computer models to measure features above the ice to learn what was going on below.

The measurements show differences from one area to the next around the continent. The major ice shelves are called Ross, Filchner and Ronne. They make up two-thirds of Antarctica’s ice shelves. But they are responsible for only 15 percent of the melting ice.

The professor says even small changes, like changes in ocean flow driven by wind, can make a huge difference in the melting of the ice shelf.

Sixty percent of the Earth’s fresh water is held in the huge Antarctic ice sheet. Professor Rignot says the study will help experts predict how the continent reacts to warmer ocean waters and helps to cause rising sea levels around the world. The study was published in the journal Science.

【1】 What’s the main idea of the passage?

A. the Antarctic ice sheet is shrinking

B. the coldest place on earth

C. the major Antarctica’s ice shelves

D. the Atlantic Ocean are changing

【2】How did Eric Rignot and his team do the research?

A. He serves as senior research scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

B. Small changes, like changes in ocean flow driven by wind, can make a huge difference in the melting of the ice shelf.

C. They used satellite observations, radar and computer models to know the things happening below the ice.

D. They melted 55% of the Antarctica’s ice to prove their theory is right.

【3】Which is true of the following statements?

A. Ice melting from below is responsible for 35 percent of the shelf loss from 2003 to 2008.

B. Sixty percent of the Earth’s fresh water is contained in the huge Antarctic ice sheet.

C. The major ice shelves are called Ross, Filchner and Ronne, which make up one-third of Antarctica’s ice shelves.

D. Summer ice loss in Antarctica was at its highest level in 1,000 years.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】C

【3】B

【解析】

試題分析：這是一篇說明文，講的是科學(xué)家們對南極洲的新的發(fā)現(xiàn)，包括南極洲的冰正在減少，海洋的漂流由風(fēng)控制等，這些新的發(fā)現(xiàn)會幫助專家預(yù)測溫暖海水如何影響南極洲，如何造成全世界海平面上升的。

【1】A主旨大意題。根據(jù)第一段第一、二兩句話“Scientists are learning new things about Antarctica, the coldest place on Earth. For example, the Antarctic ice sheet is shrinking.”意思是科學(xué)家們正在研究南極洲的新事物，地球上最冷的地方。比如，南極洲的冰正在減少。所以整篇文章主要講的是南極洲的冰正在減少，A選項符合題意。故選A。

【2】C推理判斷題。根據(jù)第三段“Professor Rignot and his team used satellite observations, radar and computer models to measure features above the ice to learn what was going on below.” Rignot和他的團隊用衛(wèi)星探測器，雷達和計算機模型來測量冰上面的特征，以此來了解冰下面發(fā)生的情況，C選項完全符合題意。故選C。

【3】B推理判斷題。根據(jù)最后一段第一句話“Sixty percent of the Earth’s fresh water is held in the huge Antarctic ice sheet”可以知道地球上60%的水在龐大的南極洲冰面上，B選項符合題意。故選B。