ページ1:

問題 次の文章を読みあとの問いに答えなさい。
In the *Arctic Circle, an extremely cold region of sea ice, polar bears live by hunting seals and
*breeding on the sea ice. For *polar bears, which stand at the top of the Arctic ecosystem,
①[ enemy is among / greatest / the animals ] humans.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) @ (have) listed them as an
endangered species. The population is estimated at 22,000 to 31,000, with a projected decline
of 2( )30% by 2050. A paper published in ③the British scientific journal Nature Climate
Change in July of this year also stated that polar bears in most areas are unlikely to survive
until the year 2100.
Polar bears hunt on sea ice to store *fat and spend the unstable summer months on land,
where food is scarce. ④( ), as global warming thins the sea ice and reduces its extent, polar
bears lose their habitat and spend longer periods of "fasting" on land, where they cannot hunt.
Their health will deteriorate and their survival rate will decline.
The average global temperature at the end of this century is projected to be about 4 degrees
Celsius (high) than the previous century in severe cases. It is also pointed out that
temperatures in the Arctic are rising twice as fast as average, and that by the middle of this
century there will be a period when the Arctic ②⑤* sea ice will disappear.
*Masata Emori of the National Institute for *Environmental Studies explains why the
Arctic is susceptible to global warming: "As temperatures rise, the amount of ice that
rebounds solar radiation decreases, which in turn causes sea level to rise.
The warming of seawater makes it's © (easy) for the ice to melt again,
creating a vicious cycle" he explains.
*() Arctic Circle
breeding
polar bear ホッキョクグマ
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) KARA
decline 低下する average global temperature 地球の平均気温
fat
sea ice will disappear 海氷がなくなる
Masata Emori IE [AZ]
National Institute for Environmental Studies
vicious Environmental Studies
is susceptible to ~ ・・・ は~に影響される
(1) 文中 ①の英語を以下の日本語訳に合うように並びかえなさい。
動物で最大の敵は人間です。
[ enemy is among / greatest / the animals ] humans.
(2) 文中②, ④に当てはまる語句を以下の選択肢から選びなさい。
ア.in 1. so about I. but since
however . for
(3) T3 [the British scientific journal Nature Climate Change in July]
どのようなものが掲載されたのか, 日本語で答えなさい。
(4) 下線部 ⑤のようになるのはなぜか日本語で答えなさい。

ページ2:

(5) 文中, 6, C の[ ]内の単語を適切な形に直しなさい。
(6)この本文はどのような内容か。 適切なものを以下の選択肢から選びなさい。
ア. Camels declining due to environmental problems desertification
イ. Global warming is melting the ice and making more places for polar bears to live.
ウ. Global warming is melting the ice and polar bears are running out of ice to ride on.
エ. Masata Emori is saddened by rising temperatures due to global warming.