ENVIRONMENT REPORT - Snow Melting on Mount Kilimanjaro

ENVIRONMENT REPORT - November 15, 2002: Snow Melting on Mount¹ Kilimanjaro

By Cynthia Kirk

This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.

A new study says ancient snow on top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania could be
gone in about twenty years. Huge layers of ice formed on the African mountain
during a wet period about eleven-thousand years ago. But scientists say the ice on
top of the mountain is melting because of rising temperatures in recent years.

Lonnie Thompson of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio led the study. It was
published in Science magazine. The scientists used maps, modern navigational²
satellites and markers placed on the mountain to measure the ice. They found that the ice on Mount Kilimanjaro
has shrunk³ from about twelve square kilometers in nineteen-twelve to about two square kilometers today. That is
about an eighty percent reduction⁴ in the ice. Scientists say the ice will be gone by two-thousand-twenty if it
continues to melt at its current rate.

Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa. It is almost five-thousand-nine-hundred meters high. The
top part of the mountain is covered with snow. The mountain rises above flat land, called the savannah. The land
is home to many different kinds of animals.

Many stories have been written about the famous mountain. The most famous is Ernest Hemingway’s “The
Snows of Kilimanjaro.” Some ancient beliefs in Africa consider the mountain to be a holy place.

About twenty-thousand people visit Mount Kilimanjaro every year to see the famous snow-topped mountain. It
even has its own international airport. The government of Tanzania fears that the melting ice will affect tourism
and weaken⁵ the economy. The decreasing ice already has reduced the amount of water flowing from the
mountain to some Tanzanian rivers. Water from the mountain supplies many villages.

The scientists are working to save pieces of the shrinking⁶ ice for more study. The frozen⁷ layers tell about
Africa’s weather in ancient times. The ice also provides information about the world’s climate. Experts say
other ice glaciers⁸ around the world are melting because of climate change caused by human activities. But they
say natural climate change could be the cause of Mount Kilimanjaro’s problems.

This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written by Cynthia Kirk.

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1 mount   

n.山峰，乘用马，框，衬纸；vi.增长，骑上（马）；vt.提升，爬上，装备

参考例句：

• Their debts continued to mount up.他们的债务不断增加。
• She is the first woman who steps on the top of Mount Jolmo Lungma.她是第一个登上珠穆朗玛峰的女人。

2 navigational   

a.航行的；航海的；航空的

参考例句：

• Zooming and panning are navigational tools for exploring 2D and 3D information.缩放和平移是浏览二维和三维信息的导航工具。

3 shrunk   

shrink的过去式和过去分词:收缩,缩短,皱缩,退避

参考例句：

• I confess it with shame--shrunk icily into myself, like a snail. 我羞愧地忏悔了——冷冰冰地退缩，像个蜗牛。
• The peasantry has shrunk from 74.6 millions to 65.5. 农民人数已从7460万减至6550万。

4 reduction   

n.减少，减低，减缩；减少，减低

参考例句：

• Reduction in income tax will be welcomed with open arms.减少所得税将受到热烈欢迎。
• You will have a reduction for cash.付现金可以打折扣。

5 weaken   

v.(使)变弱，(使)虚弱

参考例句：

• You can weaken the tea by adding water.你可以加水把茶弄得淡一些。
• We never weaken our efforts in face of difficulties.我们在困难面前从不软化我们的努力。

6 shrinking   

a.畏缩的，犹豫不决的

参考例句：

• She purposely made the dress larger to allow for shrinking when it was washed. 她故意把衣服做大一些，以防洗时缩水。
• I can't imagine why a dynamic young woman like her is marrying a shrinking violet like him. 我不能想像，像她这样一个充满活力的年轻女子为什么会嫁给他这样一个胆怯害羞的人。

7 frozen   

adj.冻结的，冰冻的

参考例句：

• He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上，他被冻死了。
• The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。

8 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）