根据下列内容，回答201-205题。

When we analyze the salt salinity(盐浓度) of ocean waters, we find that it varies only slightlyfrom place to place. Nevertheless, some of these small changes are important. There are three basicprocesses that cause a change in oceanic salinity. One of these is the subtraction of water from theocean by means of evaporation. In this manner, the salinity is increased, since the salt stays be-hind. If this is carried to the extreme, of course, white salt would be left behind; this, by the

way, is how much of the table salt we use is actually obtained.

The opposite of evaporation is precipitation, such as rain, by which water is added to theocean. Here the ocean is being diluted so that the salinity is decreased. This may occur in areas ofhigh rainfall or in coastal regions where rivers flow into the ocean. Thus salinity may be increasedby the subtraction of water by evaporation, or decreased by the addition of fresh water by precipi-tation.

Normally, in hot regions where the sun is very strong, the ocean salinity is somewhat higherthan it is in other parts of the world where there is not as much evaporation. Similarly, in coastalregions where rivers dilute the sea, salinity is somewhat lower than in other oceanic areas.

A third process by which salinity may be altered is associated with the formation and melting ofsea ice. When seawater is frozen, the dissolved materials are left behind. In thismanner, seawaterdirectly beneath freshly formed sea ice has a higher salinity than it did before the ice appeared.

Of course, when this ice melts, it will tend to decrease the salinity of the surrounding water.

In the Weddell Sea, the densest water in the ocean is formed as a result of this freezing pro-cess, which increases the salinity of cold water. This heavy water sinks and is found in the deeperportion of the oceans of the world.

This passage mainly tells us about___________.

• A.the analysis of the salinity of ocean waters
• B.the causes of the variation in oceanic salinity
• C.the importance of the changes in oceanic salinity
• D.the different forms of salts in ocean waters