VOA常速英语:Arctic Ice Melting Faster Than Predicted

短语讲解：

1. As government officials from eight Arctic nations - the United States, Russia, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland -  prepare to meet in Greenland next week to discuss the challenges of climate change, a report released May 4, 2011 underscores the urgency of the Arctic Council meeting.

climate change气候变化
例句：Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions.
大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。

2. And so with our new understanding on how ice sheets are behaving and how they are responding to climate change we can say that the IPCC [UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] estimate for sea level rise from 18 to 59 centimeters is a very large underestimate and we are looking at something probably double the upper end of the estimate.

respond to对…有某种反应〔感觉, 表现〕
例句：She responded to the news by bursting into tears.
她听到那个消息后眼泪夺眶而出。

3. Melting from Arctic glaciers, ocean ice and the Greenland ice sheet will make substantial contributions to that sea level rise, the report finds. 

make a contribution to对……作出贡献
例句：Einstein make a great contribution to science.
爱因斯坦对科学作出了伟大的贡献。

4. "If you’re building coastal structures or if you are planning development in coastal zones, these are the types of human activity that take place over the course of decades and so we need to be making these decisions with the best sea level estimates in hand," he said.

take place发生
例句：The evening party will take place on New Year's Eve.
晚会将在除夕那天举行。
make decisions 做决定
例句：We should make decisions in accordance with specific conditions.
我们应当根据具体情况做出决定。

5. Hamilton is amazed at the rate of change he’s witnessed in polar regions.

be amazed at 对…感到惊讶，惊奇
例句：You will be amazed at the progress we have made.
你将会对我们的进展感到有所惊讶。

6. The report finds that the Arctic Ocean could become nearly ice-free in the summers within the next thirty to forty years. Hamilton says there is still time to act to slow down these changes by drastically reducing climate-changing carbon emissions, initiatives that he hopes the Arctic country ministers adopt when they meet next week in Greenland. 

slow down (使)慢下来
例句：You have to slow down your car at the crossing.
在十字路口, 你得放慢速度。