C. Christmas traditions in the UK.

第二部分 阅读理解 （共两节， 满分35分）

第一节（共10小题； 每小题2.5分，满分25题）

阅读下列短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C和D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　A

　　Underneath the Greenland ice sheet lies a body of water covering an area larger than West Virginia, and until just a few years ago, scientists had no idea that it existed.

　　First discovered in 2011, scientists now believe it covers some 27, 000 square miles and contains more than 100 billion tons of liquid water.

　　The melt-water reservoir (蓄水池) was discovered under the ice, in a south-eastern part of Greenland, by researchers from the University of Utah about two years ago. According to the BBC, at first the researchers expected to find waters stored in small spaces between the rocks. What they actually found was a massive reservoir of water trapped in the ice, kind of like the liquid in a snow-cone. Newser quotes lead study author Richard Forster saying, "we thought we had an understanding of how things work in Greenland, but here is this entire storage system of water we didn't realize was there."

OK, so snow water under the ice in Greenland; why is this a big deal? Well, researchers say it could provide new clues to understanding Greenland's ice melts and sea level rise in general. Voice of America quotes Forster saying, "of the present sea level rise, the Greenland ice sheet is the largest contributor, and it is melting at record levels, so understanding the aquifer's (地下蓄水层) capacity to store water from year to year is important, because it fills a major gap in the overall connection of melt-water runoff and sea levels." According to researchers, the water is 15 to