自考00596英语阅读(二)自考模拟试题(四)

00596

英语阅读（二）自考模拟试题（四）

Passage Five

“

Climate change in the Arctic is a reality now!

”

So insists Robert Corell, an oceanographer with the American

Meteorological Society. Wild-eyed proclamations are all too common when it comes to global warming, but

in this case his assertion seems well founded.

Dr. Corell heads a team of some 300 scientists who have spent the past four years investigating the matter in

a process known as the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA). The group, drawn from the eight countries

with territories inside the Arctic Circle, has just issued a report called

“

Impacts of a Warming Arctic

”

, a lengthy

summary of the principal scientific findings. A second report, which will sketch out recommended policies, is

due out in a few weeks. A third, far heftier tome detailing all the scientific findings will not come out for some

months yet.

Already,

though,

the

ACIA

has

made

a

splash.

One

reason

is

the

inevitable

wrangling

over

policy

recommendations. News reports have suggested that the Bush administration has tried to suppress signs of

support in the second, as yet unreleased, report, for the UN

’

s Kyoto protocol or other mandatory policies for

the control of greenhouse-gas emissions. But even setting politics aside, this week

’

s scientific report has still

created a stir with its bold assessment of polar warming.

At first sight, its conclusions are not so surprising. After all, scientists have long suspected that several factors

lead to greater temperature swings at the poles than elsewhere on the planet. One is albedo (

反射率

)

—

the

posh scientific name for how much sunlight is absorbed by a planet

’

s surface, and how much is reflected.

Most of the polar regions are covered in snow and ice, which are much more reflective than soil or ocean. If

that snow melts, the exposure of dark earth (which absorbs heat) acts as a feedback loop that accelerates

warming. A second factor that makes the poles special is that the atmosphere is thinner there than at the

equator,

and

so

less

energy

is

required

to

warm

it

up.

A

third

factor

is

that

less

solar

energy

is

lost

in

evaporation at the frigid poles than in the steamy tropics.

And yet the language of this week

’

s report is still eye- catching:

“

the Arctic is now experiencing some of the

most rapid and severe climate change on Earth.

”

The last authoritative assessment of the topic as done by

the

UN

’

s

Intergovernmental

Panel

on

Climate

Change

(IPCC)

in

2001.

That

report

made

headlines

by

predicting a rise in sea level of between 10 cm (four inches) and 90cm, and a temperature rise of between

1.4

℃

and 5.8

℃

over this century. However, its authors did not feel confident in predicting either rapid polar

warming

or

the

speedy

demise

of

the

Greenland

ice

sheet.

Pointing

to

evidence

gathered

since

the

IPCC

report, this week

’

s report suggests trouble lies ahead.

Questions 31-35 are based on Passage Five

31. By saying

“

his assertion seems well founded

”

, the author means that _____.

A. his statement is not reasonable

B. his assertion can be discovered

C. his statement can hold water

D. his assertion is well-known to the public

32. Scientists of the team headed by Dr. Corell _____.

A. had much acquaintance with the Arctic circle prior to the investigation

B. were absorbed in the South Pole climate impact Assessment

C. had no acquaintance with the Arctic Circle prior to the study

D. were detached from the South Pole snowstorm impact investigation

33. The manipulation of greenhouse-gas emissions is in its strongest form echoed in _____.