职称英语理工类阅读理解复习必备训练题(2)

　　Arctic Melt 　　Normally, ice builds in Arctic waters around the North Pole each winter and shrinks during the summer. But for many years, the amount of ice left by the end of summer has been declining. 　　Last summer, Arctic sea ice reached its skimpiest levels yet. By the end of summer 2007, the ice had shrunk to cover just 4.2 million square kilometers. Thats 38 percent less area than the average cover at that time of year. Andits a very large 23 percent below the previous record low, which was set just 2 years ago. This continuing trend has scientists concerned. 　　Scientists also suspect that fewer clouds cover the Arctic now than in the past. Clearer skies allow more sunlight to reach the ocean. The extra heat warms both the water and the atmosphere. In parts of the Arctic Ocean last year, surface temperatures were 3.5℃Celsius warmer than average and 1.5℃ warmer than the previous record high5. 　　The new measurements suggest that melting is far more severe than scientists have seen by just looking at ice cover from above, says Donald K. Perovich, a geophysicist at the U. S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in Hanover, N.H.7 　　词汇： 　　the Arctic Ocean 北冰洋 shrink v.萎缩;缩小，减少 oceanographer n.海洋学家 skimpy adj.缺乏的，不足的 centimeter n.厘米 geophysicist n.地球物理学家 　　1. fell to a record low: 跌到历史最低点。record 作形容词时，意思是空前的，创记 录的。Record low 的反义词是 record high: 历史最高点。 　　3. University of Washington: 华盛顿大学，创建于 l861 年，座落在美国华盛顿州西雅图 市东北角，所以又称西雅图华盛顿大学，是美国著名的公立研究型大学。 　　5. record high : 见注释1。 　　7. Hanover，N.H：新罕布什尔州汉诺威市。N.H.是 New Hampshire 的缩写。该州位于美 国新英格兰地区。