People in Florida recently had to escape from flash floods after two feet of rain fell in 26 hours. Heavy rains caused a hillside to break down and bury a community in Washington State earlier this year. Rainstorms and floods attacked Colorado last year, and sudden floods swept Atlanta in 2009, and Nashville in 2010.
In the National Climate Assessment, published last week, researchers in the United States reported that “large increases in heavy rains have occurred in the Northeast, Midwest and Great Plains, where heavy downpours have caused caused flooding events and other relevant disasters”.
In the United States the increase in water vapor has been on the order of 3 percent or 4 percent since the 1970s when most of the human-caused global warming has occurred since then. That may not sound like a big jump, but the effect is enormous. Two leading scientists, Kevin E. Trenberth at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and David R. Easterling at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, ran some calculations and agreed that the global warming has on average put more than a trillion gallons (加仓) of extra water into the air over the 48 states, probably closer to two trillion. That extra water has to fall as rain or snow if the condition is suitable.
“It rains harder than it used to,” said Dr. Trenberth, who could not resist adding: “When it rains, it pours.” So they suggested intensifying standards for the designs of dams, and hardening roads and culverts (涵洞) against the possibility of more flash floods
Society responded by ignoring them. For someone sitting in Pensacola, Fla. wondering why the roads were washed out the other day might be a good part of the answer. They didn’t want to face the truth.
The warming of the planet has slowed in recent years, but scientists think that is likely temporary. They expect it to get much, much warmer as this century progresses, and that can only mean that the rains will fall harder still.
8. Why did the author mention some floods in the first paragraph?
A.To lead to the topic. | B.To attract young readers. |
C.To show some evidence. | D.To show the latest events. |
9. What is the main idea of paragraph 3?
A.The condition o fain or snow. |
B.The reason of the rains and floods. |
C.The only effect of global warming. |
D.The exact amount of water in the air. |
10. What does the underlined word “intensifying” mean in paragraph 4?
A.Changing. | B.Adjusting. |
C.Strengthening. | D.Decreasing. |
11. What can we infer about the climate in the future?
A.The climate will be better soon. | B.The bad climate will disappear. |
C.The bad climate will be worse. | D.The climate will keep the same. |