Nearly all of Greenland(n.格陵蘭)'s ice cover (n.復蓋物) at least temporarily (adv.暫時地) melted (v.融化) at the surface during an usually warm stretch (n.一段時間) in mid-July - a level of melting (n.融化) not seen there in 123 years, NASA (n.（美國）太空總署) said.
In an average (adj.典型的) summer, melting happens on about half of the surface of Greenland's ice sheet (n.一大片復蓋物), which covers (v.復蓋) most of the land and is an average (adj.平均的) 1 mile thick. But satellites (n.人造衛星) showed that an estimated (adj.估計的) 97% of the surface had melted at some point (n.時刻) by July 12, NASA said.
While (conj.在……的時候) some of that melt (n.融化) water freezes (v.結冰) in place (adv.在原地), some of it is lost to rivers and the ocean, said Tom Wagner (n.華格納), NASA's cryosphere (n.冰雪圈) program (n.計畫) manager (n.主管) in Washington (n.華盛頓州).
Ice core (n.核心) samples (n.樣本) show that the surface melting seen this July happens once (adv.一次) in about every 150 years, and the last such melt happened in 1889, NASA said.
So, Wagner said, one can't now attribute (v.歸因於) July's melting to global (adj.全球的) warming (n.暖化), but "warming is causing the loss of ice all over Greenland, and the Greenland ice sheet is shrinking (v.縮小)."
(CNN, July 25)
格陵蘭在七月中一段慣常的溫暖日子內，冰蓋表面幾乎全部融化了，至少暫時會如此。美國太空總署表示，這種融化程度是一百二十三年來首見。
格陵蘭的廣大冰蓋，平均有一英里厚，把大部分陸地復蓋。在典型的夏季，冰蓋表面大約有一半會融化；但太空總署透露，人造衛星顯示到了七月十二日，估計有百分之九十七的表面都已在某些時候融化了。
太空總署華盛頓州冰雪圈計畫主管華格納指出，融化後的水，有些在原地結冰，但有些則流失到河流與海洋中。
太空總署指出，冰核樣本顯示，今年七月出現的冰蓋表面融化，大約每一百五十年才發生一次，而上次如此融化是在一八八九年。
華格納的意思是，我們現在未能把七月的冰蓋融化歸因於全球暖化，但“暖化正導致整個格陵蘭冰塊流失，而格陵蘭的廣大冰蓋正在縮小。”
（美國“有電視新聞網”，七月二十五日）
閱讀指引
1. cover (n) /'kΛvə/，KUV-va 復蓋物、掩蔽物
知多點：動詞cover解作復蓋、掩蔽，文中第二段的cover(s)便是這個意思；作名詞的cover因而解作復蓋／掩蔽物，例如cushion cover是軟墊套；首段的ice cover指冰蓋，即復蓋陸地的冰帽，近義詞是第二段和末段的ice sheet，指廣大冰蓋。
2. cryosphere (n) /'kraIəsfIə/，CRY-a-sphere 冰雪圈、冰凍層
知多點：名詞sphere可解作圓球，也可指地球上有不同特徵與生態的圈或層，例如atmosphere是大氣層，biosphere是生物圈；cryosphere指地球上水份以冰雪形態出現的圈層，可叫作冰雪圈；當中的cryo-解作冰雪、冰凍，例如cryogen是冰凍劑。
3. core (n) /kɔ:/，k-ORE 核心、中心部分
知多點：core可指水果的果心、果核，引申指各種東西或事物的核心、中心部分，例如core of the Earth或the Earth's core是地球的核心、地核；文中的ice core指冰核，指的其實是從冰蓋中提取出來的圓柱狀樣本。
文︰范斌
