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Passage 1
短文 1
During the Arctic winter from October to March, the average temperature in the frozen north typically hovers around minus 20 degrees Celsius.
在10月至3月，北极的冬季，冰冻的北方平均气温通常在零下20摄氏度左右。
But this year, the Arctic is experiencing much higher temperatures.
但今年，北极地区的气温要高得多。
On February 20, the temperature in Greenland climbed above freezing or zero degrees Celsius and it stayed there for over 24 hours.
2月20日，格陵兰岛的气温攀升至零度以上，并持续了24个多小时。
Then on February 24, the temperature on Greenland's northern tip reached six degrees Celsius. Climate scientists described the phenomenon as "stunning."
2月24日，格陵兰岛北端的温度达到了6摄氏度。气候科学家称这一现象“令人震惊”。
Weather conditions that drive this bizarre temperature surge have visited the Arctic before. They typically appear about once in a decade.
导致这种奇怪的气温飙升的天气条件以前也曾出现在北极地区。它们通常每十年出现一次。
However, the last such increase in temperature took place two years ago.
然而，最近一次气温上升发生在两年前。
This is troubling as climbing Arctic temperatures combined with rapid sea-ice loss are creating a new type of climate feedback loop which could accelerate Arctic warming.
这令人担忧，因为北极气温不断攀升，加上海冰迅速减少，正在形成一种新型的气候反馈回路，可能加速北极变暖。
Indeed, sea-ice cover in the Arctic is melting faster than expected.
事实上，北极海冰的融化速度比预期的要快。
Without those masses of cooling sea ice, warm air brought to the Arctic can penetrate further inland than it ever did before.
没有这些大量的冰冷的海冰，带到北极的暖空气可以以前所未有的程度都深入内陆。
The air can stay warmer longer, too. This drives additional melting.
空气变暖也还会持续更长时间。这会导致进一步的融化。
Overall, Earth is warming at a rapid pace—2014 through 2017 rank as the hottest years on record—and the Arctic is warming twice as fast as anyplace else on Earth.
总的来说，地球正在快速变暖——2014年到2017年是有记录以来最热的年份，北极的变暖速度是地球上其他地方的两倍。
This raises unique challenges for Arctic wildlife and indigenous people who depend on Arctic ecosystems to survive.
这对依赖北极生态系统生存的北极野生动物和土著居民提出了独特的挑战。
Previously, climate forecasts predicted that Arctic summer ice would disappear entirely by around 2060.
此前，气候预报预测，北极夏季冰层将在2060年左右完全消失。
But based on what scientists are seeing now, the Arctic may be facing summers without ice within 20 years.
但根据科学家目前的观察，北极可能在20年内面临没有冰的夏季。
Questions 9 to 11 are based on the passage you have just heard.
请根据你刚刚听到的短文回答第9题至第11题。
9. What did climate scientists describe as "stunning"?
9. 气候科学家认为什么是“惊人的”？
10. What does the passage say about the temperature surge in the Arctic?
10. 这篇文章对北极的气温飙升有什么看法？
11. What may occur in 20 years according to scientists' recent observations?
11. 根据科学家最近的观察，20年后可能会发生什么？
