雅思口语新思路：Animal阅读与Animal口语

　　【美文赏析】

　　Global Warming and the Polar Bear

　　A Polar bears prefer to live in extremely cold artic climates. They live only in the Northern Hemisphere, on the arctic ice cap, and they spend most of their time on coastal areas. Polar bears are widely spread in Canada, extending from the northern arctic islands south to the Hudson Bay area. They are also found in Greenland, on islands off the shore of Norway, on the northern coast of the former Soviet Union, and on the northern and northwestern coasts of Alaska in the United States.

　　B The polar bear is the largest members of the bear family. Males Polar Bears stand from eight to 11 feet tall and generally weigh from 500 to 1,000 pounds, but can weigh as much as 1,400 pounds. Female bears generally stand eight feet tall and weigh 400 to 600 pounds, except some, which can reach 700 pounds. The reason the polar bear weighs so much is that it stores about a four-inch layer of fat to keep it warm. The polar bear has a long, narrower head and nose, and small ears. It has coat that appears white but, each individual hair is actually clear and hollow. This helps the polar bear keep warm. The polar bears coat helps it blend in with its snowy surroundings, this adaptation helps the Polar Bear hide while hunting. The polar bears front legs are slightly pigeon-toed, and fur covers the bottoms of its paws. These adaptations help polar bears keep themselves from slipping on ice.

　　C They mainly live on the meat but rarely eat plants. That is why it is considered to be a carnivore, or meat-eater. The ringed seal is the polar bears primary prey. A polar bear hunts a seal by waiting quietly for it to emerge from an opening a seal makes in the ice, allowing them to breathe or climb out of the water to rest. Polar bears eat only the seals skin and blubber of the seal. The remaining meat provides a food source for other animals in the Arctic. Polar bears also prey on young walruss. The remains of whale, seal, and walrus are also important sources of food for polar bears. In fact, because of their acute sense of smell, polar bears can sense animal remains from far away.

　　E Some people at first suppose that polar bears are social animals. However, they are, actually, solitary animals. There are two exceptions to this: when a mother polar bear has cubs and during mating season. Polar bears are in active most of their life. They spend their time either sleeping or lying around. The rest of the time is spent traveling, hunting, or eating. After eating, a bear will clean itself by rinsing and licking their fur. It is estimated that there are about 28,000 polar bears worldwide. Most of the population is located in Canada and the Soviet Union. The rest of it is in Greenland and Norway.

　　F However, climate warming is already significantly impacting wildlife around the globe. If global warming is continuing on this path, the melting of artic ice caps will cause a big problem for the polar bears and their cubs. It will eventually drive the polar bears to go on land and compete with the brown bears. When worst comes to worst the polar bears will be forced to swim larger bodies of water to obtain their food. This will then affect their sex drive and their ability to reproduce.