一份研究報告稱，氣候變化給興都庫什山脈和喜馬拉雅山脈的冰川帶來的威脅日益加劇。此研究發現，如果人們不迅速減少二氧化碳的排放，這些巨大冰原的三分之二可能會消失。
文字稿
The towering peaks of K2 and Mount Everest are part of the frozen Hindu Kush and Himalaya ranges that contain more ice than anywhere else on Earth, apart from the polar regions.
喬戈裡峰和珠穆朗瑪峰的高聳山頂是結冰的興都庫什山脈和喜馬拉雅山脈的一部分，除極地區域以外，這兩個山脈的含冰量比地球上任何一個地方都多。
But these ice fields could turn to bare rocks in less than a century because of rising temperatures, say scientists.
但科學傢們說，由於氣溫升高，這些冰原可能在不到一個世紀的時間內變成裸露的巖石。
Over the next few decades, the melting could accelerate thanks to warming and increased air pollution from a growing population depositing soot on the ice.
在接下來的幾十年內，冰川融化速度可能會加快，這是由於氣候變暖以及日益增長的人口在冰上留下煤灰而造成空氣污染加劇。
If global temperatures rise by 2 degrees C, then half the glaciers would be gone by 2100. Even if the world takes dramatic action and limits warming to 1.5C by the end of the century, 36% of the glaciers will have disappeared.
如果全球氣溫上升 2 攝氏度，那麼冰川將在 2100 年前減半。即使全世界都采取斷然的行動，在本世紀末將全球變暖控制在 1.5 攝氏度以內，36% 的冰川也將消失。
As well as millions of people living in the mountains, there are another 1.65 billion living in the river valleys below – all are vulnerable to flooding and the destruction of crops.
除瞭生活在山區的數百萬人以外，還有 16.5 億人生活在低處的河谷地區，他們容易受洪水和農作物被破壞的影響。
1. 詞匯
towering peaks 高峰，峰頂
frozen 冰凍的，結冰的
ranges 山脈
polar regions 極地區域
ice fields 冰原
melting 融化
accelerate 加速
air pollution 空氣污染
soot 煤灰
glaciers 冰川
river valleys 河谷
vulnerable 易受影響的
flooding 洪水
2. 閱讀理解：請在讀完上文後，回答下列問題 。
1. True or false? Hindu Kush and Himalaya ranges contain more ice than anywhere else on Earth.
2. Why would the melting accelerate over the next few decades?
3. Besides millions of people living in the mountains, who else is vulnerable to flooding and the destruction of crops?
4. Which adjective in the text means ‘very sudden or noticeable’?
3. 答案
1. True or false? Hindu Kush and Himalaya ranges contain more ice than anywhere else on Earth.
False. They contain more ice than anywhere else on Earth apart from the polar regions.
2. Why would the melting accelerate over the next few decades?
Over the next few decades, the melting could accelerate thanks to warming and increased air pollution from a growing population depositing soot on the ice.
3. Besides millions of people living in the mountains, who else is vulnerable to flooding and the destruction of crops?
There are another 1.65 billion living in the river valleys below. They are also vulnerable to flooding and the destruction of crops.
4. Which adjective in the text means ‘very sudden or noticeable’?
Dramatic.
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