The likely result：a rise in global sea levels of 4 feet or more in the coming centuries，says research made public Monday by scientists at the University of Washington，the University of California-Irvine and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

　　“It really is an amazingly distressing situation，”says Pennsylvania State University glaciologist(冰川學家)Sridhar Anandakrishnan，who was not affiliated with either study.“This is a huge part of West Antarctica.and it seems to have been kicked over the edge.”

　　The researchers say the fate of the glaciers is almost certainly beyond hope.

　　One study shows that a river of ice called Thwaites Glacier is probably in the early stages of collapse.Total collapse is almost inevitable.the study shows.

　　A second study shows that a halfdozen glaciers are pouring ice into the sea at an ever-greater pace.That will trigger 4 feet of sea-level rise，says study author Eric Rignot，a glaciologist at the University of Califomia-Irvine，and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

　　“The retreat of ice in that area is unstoppable，”Rignot said at a briefing Monday,adding that the glaciers have“passed the point of no return.”

　　Rignot and his team used data from satellites and aircraft to map changes in six West Antarctic glaciers and the terrain underlying these massive ice floes(浮冰).The data show the glaciers are stretching out，thinning and shrinking in volume.They’re A.so flowing faster from the continent’s interior to the sea，dumping larger quantities of ice into the ocean than before and thereby raising sea levels.

　　At the same time，the portion of each glacier projecting into the sea is being melted from below by warm ocean water.That leads to a vicious cycle of more thinning and faster flow,and the local Terrain offers no barrier to the glaciers’retreat，the researchers report in an upcoming issue of Geophysical Research Leaers.

　　A report in this week’s Science says the Thwaites Glacier will collapse.perhaps in 200 years.The paper doesn’t specify the amount of sea-level rise associated with nlwaites’demise.

　　56、 Who contributed to the Monday research?

　　A.The two separate teams of scientists.

　　B.Scientists at the University of Washington，of California.Irvine and NASA's Lab.

　　C.Scientists at Pennsylvania State University.

　　D.Several glaciologists.

　　57、 What is the current situation of Thwaites Glacier?

　　A.It is on the edge of inevitable collapsing.

　　B.It has completely gone.

　　C.It is becoming 1arger in volume.

　　D.It is flowing to the sea.

　　58、 What are the problems ofAntarcfic glaciers?

　　A.They are becoming smaller in volume.

　　B.They are flowing at a faster speed to the sea.

　　C.They ale pouring more and mole ice into the sea.

　　D.All the above.

　　59、 What does the report in Geophysical Research Letters show?

　　A.The ice poured into the sea is being melted from above.

　　B.The melting of the ice can result in the vicious cycle of the glaciers’melting.

　　C.The local terrain has nothing to do with glacier retreat.

　　D.Warm ocean water can slow down the glaciers’melting.

　　60、 According to the passage，what do the words“passed the point of no return”mean(Line 2，Para.1)?

　　A.The glaciers can’t flow back to the continents.

　　B.The glaciers are different from what they were years ago.

　　C.The melting of glaciers has come to the stage of being inevitable.

　　D.The speed of glacier melting can’t return to the former one.

　　Quesaons 61 to 65 are based on thefollowingpassage.

　　In 2005，the medical examiner in Wichita，Kansas，noticed a cluster of deaths that were unusually similar in nature：in three years，sixteen men and women，between the ages of twenty-two and fifty-two，had died in their sleep.In the hours before they lost consciousness，they had been sluggish and dopey,struggling to stay awake.A few had complained of chest pain.“I can’t catch my breath，”one kept saying.

　　All of them had taken painkillers prescribed by a family practice called the Schneider Medical Clinic.

　　The clinic was in Haysville.a working.class suburb of Wichita.The main industries in the area were aircraft and plastics，neither of which was doing well.A mile south of the clinic，there was little except wheat fields.The chief doctor was Stephen Schneider,a fifty-one-year-old osteopath(整骨師)with sandy hair and dimples.He treated the county commissioner and the chief of police，gave physicals to the boys at the Haysville high school，and did rounds at local nursing homes.One of his patients，Jeffrey Peters，told me that Schneider reminded him of the“kind of family doctor we had forty years ago.when l was growing up—a doctor who will sit down and listen to you and ioke around and make you feel comfortable.”

　　On September 13，2005，Schneider arrived at work to find the clinic cordoned(包圍隔離)off with police tape.He called his wife，Linda Atterbury,a blond，peppy forty-seven-year-old nurse，who was at home with their two young daughters，and told her to come to work.Agents from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration led Schneider into one of the clinic’s fourteen exam rooms and asked him why he had been prescribing so many opioid(鴉片類)painkillers.He responded that sixty per cent of his patients suffered from chronic pain，and few other physicians in the area would treat them.The agents wrote.“He tries to believe his patients whenthey describe their health problems and he will believe them until they prove themselves wrong.”When asked how many of his patients had died,Schneider said that he didn’t know…

　　61、What’s the similar nature of the 16 people’s death?

　　A.They were examined by the same medical examiner.

　　B.They were treated by the same docton

　　C.Thev all died in their sleep.

　　D.Their ages are roughly the same.

　　62、 What were the common symptoms they had before they died?

　　A.They were sluggish and dopey before losing their consciousness.

　　B.They had taken painkillers from the same docton

　　C.They got hurt in their chest.

　　D.They couldn’t breathe.

　　63、 Where did Schneider Medical Clinic locate?

　　A.In the center of Wichita.

　　B.A mile north of a large wheat field.

　　C.A place which did well in aircraft and plastics.

　　D.A rich upper-class area in Haysville.

　　64、 What was the family doctor like 40 years ago?

　　A.Serious and strict.

　　B.Cold.hearted.

　　C.Cruel and vicious.

　　D.Sincere and considerate.

　　65、 Why was Schneider’s clinic visited by the police?

　　A.Because the doctor was selling opioid painkillers to the patients.

　　B.Because the clinic was the only one in this area.

　　C.Because the doctor abused his patients.

　　D.Because the police wanted to use the clinic as an exam place.