题目内容：

The Arctic Circle—the habitat of polar bears and decreasing sea ice at the top of the world—hit 32 degrees Celsius, last week.

This was the temperature in Banak, Norway on July 30, though some Norwegian areas even reached a couple degrees warmer, according to the European meteorology site severe-weather.eu. Banak sits atop northern Europe, over 350 miles above the bottom edge of the Arctic Circle.

The greater Northern Hemisphere and Europe itself have been repeatedly scorched by both record and near-record temperatures this summer, a consequence of overall rising global temperatures.

In the past 40 years, Earth’s climate has experienced an accelerated warming trend, which adds an extra level of background warming to hot spells—making heatwaves more extreme, climate scientists have said.

A photo of what appears to be Scandinavian folks taking a dip in a river while reindeer—the cold-adapted herbivores(食草动物)—cooled off in the water beside them is perhaps the best example of just how hot it is in parts of the Arctic Circle right now.

The “warm season” in Banak is short, lasting around three months, but the very warmest day of the year, around July 23, is usually around 62 degrees Fahrenheit(华氏度)—about 30 degrees cooler than temperatures there now. Overall, temperatures in northern Europe are between 14 to 21 degrees Fahrenheit, 8 to 13 degrees Celsius, above average.

All-time temperature records were set in both Norway and Finland on July 30, including 86 degrees Fahrenheit, 30 degrees Celsius, in Verde, near Banak, though extreme or near-record temperatures blanketed the region.

Persistent heat and dryness this summer have transformed normally green European countries into brown and yellow lands, and the continent’s extreme heat is expected to persist.

Andrew Derocher, a professor at the University of Alberta who studies polar bears, said climate change is shrinking the ice bears usually hunt on, making them faced with the danger of extinction.

1.What does the underlined word “scorched” in the third paragraph probably mean?

A. burned    B. achieved

C. scored    D. reached

2.What does the photo show according to the author?

A. Scandinavian folks like to swim in a river.

B. Reindeer have adapted to the cold climate.

C. The ice there has totally been melted into water.

D. The temperature of the Arctic Circle now is high.

3.What can you learn from Professor Derocher’s words?

A. Maybe bears will die out in the near future.

B. Climate change is threatening polar bears.

C. He is worried about the shrinking of the sea ice.

D. He advises people to do something to improve the condition.

4.Where may you find this article?

A. In a fashion magazine.    B. In a news report.

C. In a geography textbook.    D. In a travel handbook.