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進入《中英對照讀新聞》Beware melting glaciers this century 本世紀應當小心提防冰河融化
◎胡立宗
Don’t worry too much, for now, about rising seas caused by melting ice in Greenland and Antarctica. The big threat this century could come from small thawing glaciers, researchers reported.
研究人員指出，至少現在，還可以不用太擔心格陵蘭及南極的融冰造成海平面上升。本世紀真正的威脅是局部融化的冰河。
Even though these glaciers contain only 1 percent of the water tied up in the great ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland, they could account for 60 percent of an anticipated rise in the world’s sea level by the year 2100.
儘管這些冰河只含有南極及格陵蘭冰層1%的水量，但在2100年之前海平面預期的上升中，可能有60%來自這些冰河。
Sea-level rise is seen a key consequence of global warming, and much of the concern has focused on the big ice sheets that contain the vast majority of the world’s ice.
海平面上升被視為溫室效應會造成的主要後果之一，各界的擔憂主要集中在佔世界冰量絕大多數的廣大冰層。
Researchers writing in the online journal Science Express estimate melting glaciers, which are located all over the globe including in the tropics, could add between 0.1 to 0.25 metres to world sea level this century.
研究人員發表在線上期刊Science Express的研究報告估計，分布於全球各地，包括熱帶的冰河，一旦融解，可能在本世紀讓海平面上升0.1到0.25公尺。
While this may not sound like much, consider that some 100 million people live within 1 vertical metre of sea level, said Mark Meier of the University of Colorado-Boulder, a lead author of the study.
聽起來似乎不多，但論文主要作者之一、科羅拉多大學博得校區的馬克．邁爾指出，住在海拔高度1公尺以內區域的人口大約有1億。
新聞字彙
be tied up：片語，鎖死的、固定於…的。例句︰The phone was tied up for almost an hour.（電話講了一小時還沒辦法掛掉。）be tied up with sth，片語，忙於…事，與…密切聯絡。
account for：解釋、說明、對…負責。例句︰His contribution accounted for the success of the team. （他的貢獻讓隊伍成功。）
anticipate：動詞，預期、預先準備。例句︰The enemy’s moves were already anticipated. （敵人的一舉一動都在預料之中。）
