The glaciers that reached the Pacific Coast were valley glaciers, and between those tongue
A.that many sanctuaries were
B.were many sanctuaries
C.were there many sanctuaries
D.there the many sanctuaries
A.that many sanctuaries were
B.were many sanctuaries
C.were there many sanctuaries
D.there the many sanctuaries
Earth: Melting in the Heat?
Glaciers are melting; the ice caps are disappearing into the oceans; sea levels may rise by many meters as a consequence. Indigenous(本土的) Arctic peoples will find their food stocks gone, while flesh water supplies in Asia and south America will disappear as the glaciers which provide them melt away; penguins, polar bears and seals will find their habitats gone, their traditional lives unlivable.
But how realistic is this picture? Is the world's ice really disappearing, or is it unscientific hot air?
A European satellite named Cryosat was designed to provide definitive answers to some of these questions. A launcher fault destroyed the mission in October 2005, hut the European Space Agency has approved a replacement, in the meantime, here is our global snapshot.
The Antarctic
Huge, pristine(质朴的), dramatic, unforgiving--the Antarctic is where the biggest of all global changes could begin.
There is so much ice here that if it all melted, sea levels globally would rise hugely-perhaps as much as 80m. Say goodbye to London, New York, Sydney, Bangkok...in fact, the majority of the world's major cities.
But will it happen? Scientists divide the Antarctic into three zones: the east and west Antarctic ice sheets; and the Peninsula, the tongue of land which points up towards the southern tip of South America.
"Everybody thinks that the Antarctic is shrinking due to climate change, but the reality is much more complex," says David Vaughan, a principal investigator at the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, U.K. "Parts of it appear to be thickening as a result of snowfall increases, but the Peninsula is thinning at an alarming rate due to warming. The West Antarctic sheet is also thinning, and we're not sure of the reason why."
On the Up
Temperatures in the Peninsula appear to be increasing at around twice the global average—about 2℃ over the last 50 years. Those figures are based on measurements made by instruments at scientific stations.
Earlier this year, David Vaughan's group published research showing that the vast majority of glaciers along the Peninsula--87% of the 244 studied--are in retreat. The ice dumped into the ocean as the glaciers retreat should not make much difference to global sea levels--perhaps a few centimeters.
More worrying, potentially, are the vast ice sheets covering the rest of Antarctica. Making temperature measurements for the continent as a whole is difficult; it is a vast place--more than 2,000 km across---there are few research stations, and temperatures vary naturally by 2-3 ℃ from year to year. But measurements indicate that in the west, melting is underway.
"About one-third of the West Antarctic ice sheet is thinning," says Dr. Vaughan, "un average by about 10 cm per year, but in the worst places by 3~4m per year."
The rock on which the West Antarctic ice rests is below sea level, and British Antarctic Survey researchers believe the thinning could be due to the ice sheet melting on its underside.
"It may be that the ocean is warming end that's causing the ice to melt, but there may be other reasons as well; for example, there's lots of volcanism in that area and so that could change how much heat is delivered to the underside of the ice sheet."
Cryosat should help to pin down what is happening at the West Antarctic fringe. The radar altimeters on board its predecessors ERS1 and ERS2 have been unable to map the steep slopes at the coast, whereas Cryosat's instrument should be able to cope.
If the entire West Antarctic ice sheet did melt, sea levels globally would rise, by around 5m. But at the moment, there is no sign of that happening.
One recant scientific paper attempted to calculate probabilities for how much West An
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Top Ten Ignores Four of Five Sacred Mountains
In its October issue, the Chinese National Geography magazine announced the results of its search for the "Most Beautiful Places in China", including a list of Top Ten Mountains that has caused some controversy.
Of China's traditional "Five Sacred Mountains", only Mount Tai (Shandong) made it into the Top Ten, the rest of which were: Mt. Namjagbarwa (Tibet), Mt. Gongga (Sichuan), Mt. Qomolangma (Tibet), Meili Snow Mountain (Yunnan), Mount Huangshan (Anhui), Daocheng Sacred Peaks (Sichuan), Mount Chogori (Xinjiang), The Kangrinboqe Peak (Tibet) and Mount Emei (Sichuan).
The state of the natural environment was a key factor in selections. Experts cast their votes on the mountains according to a whole range of criteria including: height, the surrounding environment and ecosystem and scientific interest.
Mt. Namjagbarwa in the southeast of China Autonomous Region, the highest peak in the eastern section of the Himalayas, is the world's only unconquered peak above 7,500 meters. The mountain stands 7,788 meters above sea level, capped all year round with a transparent sheet of ice and snow, and is hard to view because it is constantly encircled in fog. Once in a while, the peak of the mountain peeks out from the mist, so it is nicknamed "shy girl". There are three huge valley glaciers between Namjagbarwa Peak and Naipeng Peak to the south that reach down to the green and immense forest.
The Mountain Minya Gongga stands on the borders of Kangding, Luding and Jiulong counties, 7,556 meters above sea level. It is the highest mountain in Sichuan and the 11th highest in the world. Around the summit, in area of 292 square kilometers, there are 145 ice peaks whose altitudes are above 5,000 meters and 110 glaciers of various sizes. The top of Gongga is hidden in cloud almost all year round and it possesses virgin forests, snow mountains, grassland, lakes, hot springs, waterfalls and is worshipped by the locals as a supreme holy mountain.
Mt. Qomolangma, also known as Everest, is the highest mountain in the world and stands among the jagged(参差不齐的) landscape of the Himalayas on the border of China and Nepal. The seemingly pyramidal shape of the 8,844. 43meter mountain dominates the center of the scene if viewed from south. The northeast side of this grand mountain rises steeply without break for 3,600 meters. Like the other peaks at this high altitude, Qomolangma has been carved by glaciers that move under their own weight. The re suiting sharp peaks, steep walls, and Ushaped valleys characterize the almost surreal(犹如梦幻的) landscape. Glaciers at the base of these peaks seem to snake down every possible valley. While numerous attempts to reach its summit were made between 1921 and 1952, it was not until May 20, 1953 that Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary finally succeeded.
Meili Snow Mountain is located about 10 kilometers west of Deqing City in Diqing Prefecture, Yunnan Province. As the sun rises in the east, the snowmountain looks splendid draped in gold. This scene is described in a book named The Lost Horizon. Lowaltitude modern glaciers can be found in this area, of particular interest to those engaged in geological research. Under Kawageber Peak, Mingyuchia and Sichia glaciers stretch down to the forest at an altitude of 2,700 meters; this area is accessible. However, Kawageber Peak, the highest at 6,740 meters above sea level, is still a "virgin peak" untouched till now. Meili Snow Mountain is the highest holy Tibetan Mountain in the world, shrouded in mist, cloud and mystery.
Mount Huangshan, located in the southern part of Anhui Province, extends across four counties—Shexian, Yixian, Taiping, and Xining. Within an area of 154 square kilometers there is a crowd of peaks, 72 of which have names indicating the shapes they resemble, and when it is cloudy the pinnacles(顶峰) loom
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Earth: Melting in the Heat?
Glaciers are melting; the ice caps are disappearing into the oceans; sea levels may rise by many meters as a consequence. Indigenous (本土的) Arctic peoples will find their food stocks gone, while fresh water supplies in Asia and south America will disappear as the glaciers which provide them melt away; penguins, polar bears and seals will find their habitats gone, their traditional lives unlivable.
But how realistic is this picture? Is the world's ice really disappearing, or is it unscientific hot air?
A European satellite named Cryosat was designed to provide definitive answers to some of these questions. A launcher fault destroyed the mission in October 2005, but the European Space Agency has approved a replacement. In the meantime, here is our global snapshot.
The Antarctic
Huge, pristine (质朴的), dramatic, unforgiving-the Antarctic is where the biggest of all global changes could begin.
There is so much ice here that if it all melted, sea levels globally would rise hugely—perhaps as much as 80m. Say goodbye to London, New York, Sydney, Bangkok … in fact, the majority of the world's major cities.
But will it happen? Scientists divide the Antarctic into three zones: the east and west Antarctic ice sheets; and the Peninsula, the tongue of land which points up towards the southern tip of South America.
"Everybody thinks that the Antarctic is shrinking due to climate change, but the reality is much more complex," says David Vaughan, a principal investigator at the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, U.K. "Parts of it appear to be thickening as a result of snowfall increases, but the Peninsula is thinning at an alarming rate due to warming. The West Antarctic sheet is also thinning, and we're not sure of the mason why."
On the Up
Temperatures in the Peninsula appear to be increasing at around twice the global average—about 2℃ over the last 50 years. Those figures are based on measurements made by instruments at scientific stations.
Earlier this year, David Vaughan's group published research showing that the vast majority of glaciers along the Peninsula—87% of the 244 studied—are in retreat. The ice dumped into the ocean as the glaciers retreat should not make much difference to global sea levels—perhaps a few centimeters.
More worrying, potentially, are the vast ice sheets covering the rest of Antarctica. Making temperature measurements for the continent as a whole is difficult; it is a vast place--more than 2,000 km across--them are few research stations, and temperatures vary naturally by 2~3℃ from year to year. But measurements indicate that in the west, reciting is underway.
"About one-third of the West Antarctic ice sheet is thinning," says Dr. Vaughan, "on average by about 10cm per year, but in the worst places by 3~4m per year."
The rock on which the West Antarctic ice rests is below sea level, and British Antarctic Survey researchers believe the thinning could be due to the ice sheet melting on its underside.
"It may be that the ocean is warming and that's causing the ice to melt, but there may be other reasons as well; for example, there's lots of volcanism in that area and so that could change how much heat is delivered to the underside of the ice sheet."
Cryosat should help to pin down what is happening at the West Antarctic fringe. The radar altimeters on board its predecessors ERSI and ERS2 have been unable to map the steep slopes at the coast, whereas Cryosat's instrument should be able to cope.
If the entire West Antarctic ice sheet did melt, sea levels globally would rise, by around 5m. But at the moment, there is no sign of that happening.
One recent scientific paper attempted to calculate probabilities for how much West Antarct
A.Y
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The author mainly describes ______ in the article.
A.the creation of glaciers
B.the classification of glaciers
C.the features of glaciers
D.what glaciers are
The glaciers in the passage are compared to a machine.
A.Right
B.Wrong
C.Not mentioned
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The main idea of this passage is ______.
A.the Ice Age was a long period of time
B.great glaciers covered North America many years ago
C.changes in climate helped to melt the glaciers
D.how glaciers changed North America
The glaciers have been entering oceans at a higher rate than before.
A.Y
B.N
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What can we know according to the passage?
A.Great glaciers are very destructive.
B.All glaciers move southward.
C.The Mississippi-Missouri-Ohio system is larger than it was before the Ice Age.
D.The Great Lakes are now smaller than they were before the Ice Age.
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