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Global Warming Melting Arctic Sea Ice 全球暖化使北极冰层消融

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Global Warming Melting Arctic Sea Ice  全球暖化使北极冰层消融

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore’s film, An Inconvenient Truth, has been lauded by many experts for its scientific accuracy. The film claims that the collapse of the Arctic ice sheet could raise global sea levels by six meters, which would produce 100 million refugees worldwide as coastal areas become flooded.

前美国副总统高尔的电影《不愿面对的真相》，以其科学上的精确度得到许多专家赞许。这部电影声称北极冰原的融化将提高海平面六公尺，而沿海地区泛滥成灾时，将导致一亿名灾民。

Experts have warned that by as early as the year 2040, the Arctic could be nothing more than an expanse of open water. More conservative climate models have suggested that this might not happen until the year 2100. Partly due to global warming caused by increased emissions of greenhouse gases, the Arctic ice has already shrunk by an area the size of Alaska.

专家已警告，最快于2040年时，北极会仅剩一大片汪洋。较谨慎保守的气候模型显示，此现象直到2100年才会发生。北极冰原已缩小了一个阿拉斯加的面积，一部份由于温室气体的增加而形成的全球暖化。

Already in some parts of the world people are feeling the effects of rising sea levels due to global warming. Two Indian islands, one of which used to be home to 10,000 people, have already been claimed by the sea. It is also reported that a dozen other islands in the Sunderban chain, located where the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers drain into the Bay of Bengal, will suffer the same fate.

在世界上某些地区，人们已感受到全球暖化造成海平面上升所带来的效应。有两个印度的岛屿已被海水淹没，其中一个岛屿曾有一万名人口居住其中。亦有报告指出，位于恒河和雅鲁藏布江汇流入孟加拉国国国湾之处的桑德班群岛中，将有12个岛屿面临同样命运。

“It’s becoming increasingly unlikely that things will be able to turn around,” said Walt Meier, a scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado. “It would take several very cold winters and cool summers, which seems unlikely under global warming conditions.” With all the evidence piling up, it becomes increasingly important for crucial environmental initiatives, such as the Kyoto Protocol, to not only be signed, but ratified by the world’s major industrial players.

「这种情况越来越无法逆转，」科罗拉多州博德尔国家冰雪数据中心的科学家华特．梅尔说道：「需要数个严冬和凉夏才能逆转情况，但这在全球暖化的影响下，恐怕很难发生。」随着越来越多证据出现，采取重大的环保措施就更加重要，如「京都协议书」，不但要签署，更必须得到世界主要工业国的认可。

Vocabulary

单词发音

accuracy [ˋækjərəsɪ] n. 正确（性）

refugee [͵rɛfjʊˋdʒi] n. 难民

conservative [kənˋsɝvətɪv] adj. 保守的

emission [ɪˋmɪʃən] n.〔光﹑热﹑气等的〕散发

claim [klem] v.（疾病，意外）夺去（生命）

turn around  扭转

pile up 增多; 积累

initiative [ɪˋnɪʃətɪv] n. 主动的行动；倡议

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单词发音

laud [lɔd] v. 赞美

expanse [ɪkˋspæns] n. 广阔的区域[（+of）]

Ganges [ˋgæŋdʒiz] n. 恒河

Brahmaputra [brɑməˋputrə] n. 雅鲁藏布江（发源于西藏）

Bengal [bɛŋˋgɔl] n. 孟加拉国国

Colorado [͵kɑləˋrædo] n. 美国科罗拉多州

ratify [ˋrætə͵faɪ] v. （正式）批准；认可

 课文讲解

Newspapers Face Challenge from Online Media  报纸面对在线媒体的挑战

You wake up in the morning and roll out of bed, wondering what happened in the world while you were asleep. A number of choices as to where you get your news await you. You can flip on the TV, set your radio to your favorite news station, or easier still, walk on over to your PC and log on to a host of online news sites. It may be hard to believe that there was a time when a newspaper would have been your sole option.

早晨起床后，你想知道在睡觉时世界上发生了什么事。有几个可获取新闻的管道供你选择：打开电视、将收音机转到你最喜欢的新闻网，或是更简单，走到计算机旁，登入许多在线新闻网站。实在很难相信，报纸曾一度是唯一的选择。

Newspapers rallied against radio and toughed it out against television, but now they’re facing their toughest competition to date: the Internet. Today, much of the news people can read in the newspaper is available for free online. Therein lies the challenge for today’s print media: how do you compete with free?

报纸曾对抗收音机，也曾坚决对抗电视的影响，但现在报纸正面临至今最严峻的竞争：网络。今日，人们在报上读到的新闻在在线都可免费获得；这正是现今印刷媒体的挑战：如何和「免费」竞争？

Newspaper websites have become incredibly popular in the past few years, with advertising revenue from online sites booming. In 2005, the number of people who read the New York Times online surpassed the amount who bought the print edition. In response, many newspaper companies began building their own websites and are redefining themselves as media companies.

随着在线网站的广告收入激增，新闻网站在这几年来变得极受欢迎。2005年，阅读在线纽约时报的人数已超越购买印刷版的人。为因应此情况，许多报社开始设立网站，并转型为媒体公司。

Most major online newspapers, and an increasing number of smaller dailies, are also beginning to charge readers for their premium content. In addition, online news services can offer things that regular print newspaper can’t, such as audio and video files. It is unlikely that the Internet will spell the end of traditional newspapers. But one thing is for sure, if newspapers hope to compete and survive, they will have to adapt to life in the digital age.

多数主要的在线新闻和越来越多的小型日报，都开始向读者索取阅读优质内容的费用。除外，在线新闻还能提供一般书面报纸无法做到的服务，例如影音档案。传统报纸不太可能因网络的兴起而结束，但有件事是确定的：如果报纸希望在竞争中存活，就必须适应数字时代的生活。

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Vocabulary

单词发音

log on to 登入; 进入系统

option [ˋɑpʃən] n. 选择

rally [ˋrælɪ] against 团结对抗

tough it out [美口] 咬紧牙关挺过去 to be strong while experiencing difficulties

compete with  与...竞争

revenue [ˋrɛvə͵nju] n. 收入，收益

boom [bum] v. 迅速发展，兴旺

premium [ˋprimɪəm] adj. 优质的

adapt to 适应

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单词发音

flip [flɪp] v. 轻弹，轻击

to date 迄今; 至今; 到目前为止 up to the present time

therein [ðɛrˋɪn] adv. 在其中, 在那里, 在那一点上

surpass [sɚˋpæs] v. 超过; 胜过

daily [ˋdelɪ] n. 日报

spell [spɛl] v. 意味着，招致(常常是不愉快的结果)