Hurricanes that form in the Atlantic Ocean are expected to gain considerable strength asthe global temperature continues to rise, a new study has found.
Using modeling data focused on the conditions in which hurricanes form, a group ofinternational researchers based at Beijing Normal University found that for every 1.8°F ( 1℃ )rise of the Earth's temperature, the number of hurricanes in the Atlantic that are as strong orstronger than Hurricane Katrina will increase twofold to sevenfold.
Hurricane strength is directly related to the heat of the water where the storm forms. Morewater vapor in the air from evaporating ocean water adds fuel to hurricanes that build strengthand head toward land.
Hurricane Katrina is widely considered the measure for a destructive storm, holding themaximum Category 5 designation for a full 24 hours in late August 2005. It lost strength as itpassed over the Florida peninsula, but gained destructive power fight before colliding withNew Orleans, killing more than 200 people and causing $ 80 billion in damage.
The study points to a gradual increase of Katrina-like events. The warming experiencedover the 20th century doubled the number of such debilitating(將人類摧垮的)storms. But theongoing warming of the planet into the 21st century could increase the frequency of theworst kinds of storms by 700 percent, threatening coastlines along the Atlantic Ocean withmuitiple Category 5 storms every year.
"Our results support the idea that changes in regional sea surface temperatures is theprimary cause of hurricane variability," said Aslak Girnstead, a researcher with the Center forIce and Climate at the University of Copenhagen. The large impact of small sea-surfacetemperature increases was more than Girustead and his colleagues had anticipated. Theentire study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Global temperatures have steadily increased, making the past decade the warmest onrecord. Earlier this year, climate researchers reported that the Earth's temperatures have risenfaster in the last century than at any point since the last ice age, 11,300 years ago. Theprimary cause, a couseusus of scientists has said, is the rising emissions of greenhousegases like carbon dioxide and methane.
Past hurricanes have supported the study's finding that global temperature rise is linkedto more destructive storms. According to the National Center for Atmospheric Research, whilethe frequency of storms doesn't appear to have increased, the percentage of strong ones hasrisen sharply over the past few decades. The trend may be similar further back in time, butcomprehensive hurricane data doesn't exist.
61. According to the team of international researchers based at Beijing Normal University,the rise of the Earth's temperature is likely to cause
A.the coming of ice age
C.more Katrina-like or worse hurricanes
B.less intense hurricanes
D.more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
62. The ocean water in the region where the storm forms
A.is heating the hurricanes
B.evaporates and becomes fuel
C.heads toward land
D.turns into water vapor that makes hurricanes stronger
63. Which of the following statement is TRUE about Hurricane Katrina?
A.It did not lose its strength as it moved.
B.It claimed over 200 people's lives.
C.It caused 80 billion dollars loss for Florida peninsula.
D.It lasted for full 24 hours.
64. What result can regional sea surface temperature changes produce?
A.Hurricane changes.
C.Global warming.
B.Increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
D.Destructive hurricanes.
65. It can be inferred from the passage that
A.there is no link between greenhouse gas emissions and destructive storms
B.reduction of greenhouse gas emissions may reduce destructive storms
C.the higher percentage of strong ones rose as more hurricanes appeared
D.past records on hurricanes included everything needed
參考答案:
61.C)。本題考查地球溫度上升帶來(lái)的變化。定位句提到“地球溫度每上升l.8華氏度(1攝 氏度),那么大西洋中強(qiáng)度可匹敵甚至勝過(guò)卡特里娜颶風(fēng)的颶風(fēng)數(shù)量會(huì)增加兩倍乃至七倍”,故C)“更多像卡 特里娜那樣或是更糟糕的颶風(fēng)”為答案。
62.D)。本題考查對(duì)颶風(fēng)形成的區(qū)域中海水情況的理解。定位句提到“從海洋中蒸發(fā)到空氣中的水分越多,那么颶風(fēng)的威力就越強(qiáng),然后會(huì)直撲陸地”,故D)“蒸發(fā)成水蒸氣,使得風(fēng)暴威力增強(qiáng)”為答案。
68.B)。本題考查颶風(fēng)卡特里娜的細(xì)節(jié)。定位句提到“卡特里娜颶風(fēng)在抵達(dá)新奧爾良州之前 威力大增,其巨大的破壞力致使200余人喪生,并造成了800億美元的經(jīng)濟(jì)損失”,故答案為B)。
64.A)。本題考查局域海面溫度的變化對(duì)颶風(fēng)造成的影響。根據(jù)定位句,局域海面溫度的變
化是颶風(fēng)變化的主要原因,故答案為A)。
65.B)。由倒數(shù)第二段最后一句和最后一段的第一句可知,全球變暖是由溫室氣體大量排放引起的,而全球變暖和破壞性風(fēng)暴頻率變高之間存在聯(lián)系,由此可推知,減少溫室氣體排放,或可緩解全球變暖的趨勢(shì),從而減少破壞性風(fēng)暴的發(fā)生頻率,故答案為B)。
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