Page 27 - Binder Pendampingan UTBK SAINTEK

The sun set on the North Pole more than a month ago, not to rise again until
spring. Usually that serves as a cue for sea ice to spread its frozen tentacles
across the Arctic Ocean. But in the depths of the polar night, a strange thing
started to happen in mid-October. Sea ice growth slowed to a crawl and even
started shrinking for a bit.
Intense warmth in both the air and oceans is driving the mini-meltdown at a
time when Arctic sea ice
should be rapidly growing. This follows last winter, when temperatures saw
a huge December spike. Even in an age where climate change is making
outliers – lowest maximum sea ice extent set two years in a row, the hottest
year on record set three years in a row, global coral bleaching entering a third
year – the norm, what is happening in the Arctic right now does not have any
relation else where.
"I've never seen anything like it this last year and a half," Mark Serreze,
director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, said. The latest twist in
the Arctic sea ice saga began in mid-October. Temperatures stayed stuck in
their September range, pausing sea ace growth. By the end of the month,
the Arctic was missing a chunk of ice the size of the eastern U.S.
The oddness continued into November. A large area of the Arctic saw
temperatures as much as 36°F above normal, further slowing Arctic sea ice
growth and even turning it around for a few days. In other words, it was so
warm in the Arctic that despite the lack of sunlight, sea ice actually
disappeared. "The ridiculously warm temperatures in the Arctic during
October and November this year are off the charts over our 68 years of
measurements," Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at Rutgers University
who studies the Arctic, said. Compounding the warm air is warm water. Sea
surface temperatures on the edge of the ice are also running well above
normal in many places, further encouraging sea ice growth.

11. Another way of expressing "Sea ice growth slowed to a crawl and even
started shrinking for a bit" in lines 3

- 3 is …
A. sea ice was melting slowly in a slightly reduced size
B. sea ice was formed very slowly and in a slightly reduced size
C. the ice was formed very slowly and started getting a bit large
D. the sea was formed very slowly and the ice was reduced in size
E. the growth of sea ice was very slow and the size was a bit large

12. The author begins paragraph 3 by quoting an expert's opinion followed by ....
A. some reasons for the sea ice growth.
B. some facts about the effects of the sea ice growth.
C. some ideas about twisting the temperature in the Arctic sea.
D. some detailed examples of what happened in the Arctic sea.
E. some explanation of the detailed activities done by this expert

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