The world's oceans have warmed 50 percent faster over the last 40 years than previously thought due to climate change, Australian and US climate researchers reported Wednesday. Higher ocean temperatures expand the volume of water, contributing to a rise in sea levels that is submerging small island nations and threatening to do damage in low-lying, densely-populated delta regions around the globe.
The study, published in the British journal Nature, adds to a growing scientific chorus of warnings about the pace and consequences of rising oceans. It also serves as a corrective to a massive report issued last year by the Nobel, winning UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), according to the authors.
Rising sea levels are driven by two things: the thermal expansion of sea water, and additional water from melting sources of ice. Both processes are caused by global warming. The ice sheet that sits at the top of Greenland, for example, contains enough water to raise world ocean levels by seven metres (23 feet), which would bury sea-level cities from Dhaka to Shanghai.
Trying to figure out how much each of these factors contributes to rising sea levels is critically important to understanding climate change, and forecasting future temperature rises, scientists say. But up to now, there has been a perplexing gap between the projections of computer-based climate models, and the observations of scientists gathering data from the oceans.
The new study, led by Catia Domingues of the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, is the first to reconcile the models with observed data. Using new techniques to assess ocean temperatures to a depth of 700 metres (2,300 feet) from 1961 to 2003, it shows that thermal warming contributed to a 0.53 millimetre-per-year rise in sea levels rather than the 0.32 mm rise reported by the IPCC.
1.36. What happens when the ocean's temperature rises?
2.37. The rise in water levels is especially dangerous for small island nations and（ ）.
3.38. The new study（ ）.
4.39. Ultimately, the new study should help scientists to（ ）.
5.40. What was the main finding of the study?
问题1选项
A.It causes sea levels to rise.
B.It causes sea levels to remain constant.
C.It causes sea levels to decrease.
D.It causes sea levels to change.
问题2选项
A.low-lying urban areas
B.all coastal cities
C.people who live on the beach
D.people who live around the globe
问题3选项
A.shows that thermal warming contributed to a 0.32 millimeter-per-year rise in sea levels
B.did not reveal anything that scientists didn't already know
C.used new techniques to assess ocean temperatures
D.shows how quickly the sea levels fall
问题4选项
A.lower water levels
B.find out what is wrong with the earth
C.bury sea-level cities like Dhaka and Shanghai
D.better predict climate change
问题5选项
A.Not enough is being done about global warming.
B.Ocean waters have warmed faster than scientists had previously thought.
C.The warming of the world's oceans is not a threat.
D.The rise of sea levels has nothing to do with ocean temperature.
第1题:A
第2题:A
第3题:C
第4题:D
第5题:B
1.细节事实题。由题干关键词ocean’s temperature rises可以定位到文章第一段中 “Higher ocean temperatures expend the volume of water, contributing to a rise in sea levels that is submerging small island nations and threatening to do damage in low-lying, densely-populated delta regions around the globe.” 中文翻译为“海水温度的升高将会导致海水体积的膨胀，从而导致海平面的上升，最终淹没那些较小的岛国并且对处在全球地势低洼的人口密集的三角洲地区构成威胁”可以得知海水温度升高会使海平面上升。因此A选项符合题意。
2.细节事实题。题干询问：海平面上升尤其会对小岛国和…构成威胁。定位到第一段中 “contributing to a rise in sea levels that is submerging small island nations and threatening to do damage in low-lying, densely-populated delta regions around the globe.” 译为：导致海平面上升，最终淹没那些较小的岛国并且对处在全球地势低洼的人口密集的三角洲地区构成威胁。因此A符合题意。
3.细节事实题。由题干关键词new study可以定位到文章最后一段。其中第一句话“The new study, led by Catia Domingues of the Centre for Australia Weather and Climate Research, is the first to reconcile the models with observed data.”中文翻译为：由于澳大利亚的天气和气候研究中心的Catia Domingues主导的这一项新的研究首次将模型与观测数据相协调。可知B选项错误；第二句话“Using new techniques to assess ocean temperatures to a depth of 700 metres (2,300 feet) from 1961 to 2003, it shows that thermal warming contributed to a 0.53 millimetre-pre-year rise in sea levels rather than the 0.32mm rise reported by the IPCC.” 译为：通过使用新技术对海平面2300英尺以下的海水温度进行评估，研究发现从1961年到2003年，气候变暖的热力作用导致海平面每年上升0.53毫米，而不是像IPCC所说的0.32毫米。由此可以选项A，D错误。故答案选C。
4.细节事实题。根据题干可以定位到文章第四段中“Trying to figure out how much each of these factors contributes to rising sea levels is critically important to understanding climate change, and forecasting future temperature rises, scientists say.”译为：“科学家们表示，明确这些因素导致海平面上升的方式，对于理解气候变化和预测未来气温的升高至关重要”以及最后一段中“Using new techniques to assess ocean temperatures to a depth of 700 metres (2,300 feet) from 1961 to 2003, it shows that thermal warming contributed to a 0.53 millimetre-pre-year rise in sea levels rather than the 0.32mm rise reported by the IPCC.”译为：通过使用新技术对海平面2300英尺以下的海水温度进行评估，研究发现从1961年到2003年，气候变暖的热力作用导致海平面每年上升0.53毫米，而不是像IPCC所说的0.32毫米。可知这将有助于科学家们后期更好地预测气候变化，因此答案选D。
5.根据题干可定位到文章最后一段中 “...it shows that thermal warming contributed to a 0.53 millimeter-per-year rise in sea levels rather than the 0.32 mm rise reported by the IPCC” 中文翻译为：研究发现气候变暖的热力作用导致海平面每年上升0.53毫米，而不是像IPCC所说的032 毫米。因此选择答案B。
