6th Class English Comprehension (Prose and Poetry) Question Bank Comprehension (Prose and Poetry)

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    DIRECTIONS: Read the following passages and answer the questions that follow. PASSAGE - 5 The Antarctic ice sheet is disappearing at twice the speed of when it was last surveyed, losing 159 billion tonnes of ice to the ocean every year. Three years of observations from the European Space Agency's (ESA) Cryo Sat satellite have surpassed scientists' worst fears. A20-year mean average determined from a combination of techniques on the ground predicted the continent's ice would be melting at half the current rate. Polar ice sheets are a major contributor to the global rise in sea levels and the losses in Antarctica alone are enough to raise levels by 0.45mm every year. From 2010 to 2013, West Antarctica, East Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula lost 134 billion, 3 billion and 23 billion tonnes of ice each year respectively. It is still a small fraction of the total area of Antarctica, which holds more than 26 million cubic km of ice. The research, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, was made possible by the Cryo Sat mission that-launched in 2010 to measure the variation in ice thickness in unprecedented detail. Dr Malcolm Macmillan from Leeds University, who was the lead author of the study, said ice losses were most pronounced along fast-flowing streams in the Amundsen Sea. He said they were disappearing at rates of 4 to 8 metres a year where ice streams are lifted from the land and float into the sea. The area has long been identified as the most vulnerable to changes in climate and assessments suggest its glaciers may have passed a point of irreversible retreat. Study the passage given above and answer the following questions. What are the possible causes of the melting of the ice in Antarctica?

    A) eating of ice by polar bears.

    B) global warming.

    C) pollution in Antarctica

    D) all of these.

    Correct Answer: B

    Solution :

    Global warming which is leading to the increase in temperature is the main reason behind the melting of ice sheets.


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