Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the question.
Alaska is disappearing slowly, but surely. It is estimated that since the 19505, as much as fifteen percent of Alaska's land area has disappeared. How can a whole state be disappearing? The problem is that Alaska’s glaciers are melting. The state has more than 100,000 glaciers. These glaciers account for about 75,000 square kilometers, or five percent, of the state’s area. That is an area of land larger than Ireland!
According to a recent report by the US Geological Survey, ninety-nine percent of Alaska's glaciers are either retreating or diminishing. This diminishing seems mainly due to the increase in global temperatures. Since the 19605, the average year-round temperature has increased by almost 3°C. Additionally, the average winter temperature has increased by over 6°C. Presently, an estimated 100 cubic kilometers of ice is disappearing from Alaskan glaciers every year. It may be even more in the near future, as some scientists predict that the average world temperature could go up 4 to 7°C by the year 2100.
Another problem facing Alaska is its thawing permafrost. Much of the land in Alaska used to be permanently frozen or frozen for most of the year. Now, the thawing permafrost is causing a number of problems for people living in Alaska. Roads and utility poles are collapsing as the ground around and under them warms and soften. Also, the hard permafrost that originally prevented beaches from eroding during violent storms is now melting. People who live along Alaska's coasts are being forced to relocate. For villages on small low islands, one terrible storm could wipe out the entire community.
The melting permafrost and increasing temperatures are both affecting the forests of Alaska. As the permafrost under the forests melts, insects that normally do not turn up until the warmer seasons are appearing sooner. The spruce-bark beetle, for example, is increasing in numbers as a result of warmer winter temperatures. It usually takes about two years for these beetles to grow and reproduce in. very cold weather. However, due to the increase in temperatures, spruce-bark beetles are reproducing faster and damaging as many trees in one year as they previously damaged in two. If something cannot be done to
change things, Alaska's forests will not survive the turn of the century.
Some scientists believe that human activity is linked to a global increase in weather temperature. Whatever the cause of rising temperatures may be, the fact remains that temperatures are warming, affecting Alaska for the worse. Horribly, this could be a preview of what will happen to the rest of the world in the next century.
According to the passage, the following are the problems caused by the melting permafrost, EXCEPT _____.
A. The warm and soft ground makes roads and utility poles easy to collapse.
B. The beaches are effortlessly eroded by violent storms.
C. The insects which usually appear in warmer temperature do not come back.
D. The trees destroyed by the spruce—bark beetles in one warm year are twice as many as those damaged in a cold year.
Đáp án
Theo đoạn văn, những thông tin sau là các vấn đề gây ra bởi sự tan chảy tầng hàng vĩnh viễn, ngoại trừ ________.
A. Tầng đất ẩm và mềm làm cho các con đường và các trụ tiện ích dễ dàng bị đổ sập.
B. Các bãi biển dễ dàng bị xói mòn bởi các cơn bão mạnh.
C. Các loài côn trùng mà thường xuất hiện trong thời tiết ấm đã không quay trở lại.
D. Số lượng cây bị loài bọ cánh cứng phá hủy trong 1 năm thời tiết ấm nhiều gấp đôi số cây bị thiệt hại trong 1 năm thời tiết lạnh.
Từ khóa: problems caused by the melting permafrost/ except
Căn cứ các thông tin trong đoạn 3 và 4:
“Roads and utility poles are collapsing as the ground around and under them warms and softens. Also, the hard permafrost that originally prevented beaches from eroding during violent storms is now melting."
(Các con đường và các trụ tiện ích đang đổ sập xuống vì mặt đất xung quanh và bên dưới chúng ẩm và mềm đi. Bên cạnh đó, tầng băng cứng nhất từng bảo vệ các bờ biển khỏi sự xói mòn trong các cơn bão lớn bây giờ đang bị tan chảy.)
"As the permafrost under the forests melts, insects that normally do not turn up until the warmer seasons are appearing sooner. The spruce-bark beetle, for example, is increasing in numbers as a result of warmer winter temperatures. It usually takes about two years for these beetles to grow and reproduce in very cold weather. However, due to the increase in temperatures, spruce-bark beetles are reproducing faster and damaging as many trees in one year as they previously damaged in two." (Khi tầng băng vĩnh viễn dưới các khu rừng tan chảy, các loại côn trùng mà chỉ có mặt vào mùa thời tiết ấm đang xuất hiện sớm hơn. Ví dụ, loài bọ cánh cứng đang tăng nhanh về số lượng do thời tiết mùa đông đang ấm lên. Thường phải mất 2 năm cho loài bọ cánh cứng này sinh trường và sinh sản trong thời tiết lạnh. Tuy nhiên, bởi vì sự tăng lên của nhiệt độ, loài bọ cánh cứng này đang sinh trưởng nhanh hơn và trong 1 năm đã gây hại nhiều cây bằng số cây mà trước đây chúng gây hại trong 2 năm.)