A team of scientists has come up with a plan hey say could help rebuild the Arctic ice cap. The ice cap is a huge area of sea ice that covers most of the Arctic Ocean all year round.
Usually, the sea ice gets thicker and spreads further each winter, but this hasn't happened for the past few years. Last month, the ice cap had shrunk to its smallest size since scientists began keeping records of it 38 years ago. The weather in the Arctic has been unusually warm this winter. Some days, temperatures have been 20℃ higher than is normal for this time of year. In March, the temperature was above 0℃ at least one day.
The Arctic ice cap is needed to be rebuilt because sea ice reflects heat and light from the sun back into space. With less ice, the ocean would absorb more heat. The Arctic would warm up even more quickly, and more ice would melt. Without sea ice, many animals would lose their natural habitats and could become endangered. It could also affect the weather, with more storms and erosion along the coast.
Dr. Steven Desch and a group of scientists from Arizona State University in the United States think they can help to build up Arctic sea ice again. They want to set up wind-powered pumps on the existing sea ice. During the winter, the pumps would spread water from the ocean over the surface of the ice where it would freeze and form a new layer of ice. The scientists say that in 10 years, this could add an extra metre of ice to the ice cap.
The plan would require about 10 million pumps and it would be very expensive-about $655 billion. Some other scientists are wondering if the pumps would actually work in severe Arctic conditions. They are also concerned about how the project might affect the environment.
Dr. Desch said his team hoped their proposal would get more people interested in looking for a solution to the problem of melting sea ice. He said the only plan people have right now is to try to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (排放) from cars and other man-made sources. He and his team don't think that will be enough to save the sea ice, so they're going to work on their plan and hope that it will give everyone a good start on saving the Arctic ice cap.
41. Why is Arctic ice cap important?
42. What is Dr. Steven Desch's solution to the problem?
43. Please decide which part is false in the following statement, then underline it and explain why.
Some scientists were worried about the project and Dr. Desch hoped more people could help improve it.
44. Please briefly present your own solution(s) to the greenhouse gas emission problem in your daily life. (about 40 words)