【推荐1】The record-breaking 2020 Atlantic hurricane season is still setting records. Zeta was a late-season hurricane that hit Cocodrie, Louisiana, on October 28, 2020, highlighting a season that already made southern Louisiana suffer. The National Hurricane Center (NHC),that week, published a report for Hurricane Zeta. After analyzing the data in the report, experts have upgraded Zeta from a Category 2 to a “major” Category 3 hurricane.

The experts said Zeta’s force was more difficult to forecast(预测) than for atypical Atlantic hurricane. Because it grew strong rapidly and interacted(互相作用) with land closely. The plane gathering data from Zeta did the last complete flight through the hurricane two hours before landfall. The NHC said, “Because of the fast-moving and rapidly growing nature of the hurricane, by the time the plane returned to the storm, Zeta’s northern eyewall already made landfall.”

After analyzing the data, the experts said Zeta’s winds were 115 mph at landfall, upgrading it to Category 3 and making it the season’s seventh major hurricane. That matches the record set in 2005 for the most major hurricanes Category 3 and higher) in a single season. It also sets a record for the latest U.S. landfall of a major hurricane. The previous one was the Tampa Bay Hurricane of 1921.

2020 was the most active Atlantic hurricane year. There were 30 named storms. There were so many of them that the list of 21 traditional names was exhausted and the Greek alphabet(字母表) was used for only the second time.

The NHC said Zeta’s 115 mph winds were experienced over a small area and that upgrading the hurricane to Category 3 “is of little practical significance in terms of the impacts related to the storm”. Zeta caused $4.4 billion in damage in the U.S., mostly in Louisiana.

【推荐2】Turkmenistan is a country in Central Asia, near Afghanistan and Iran. In Darvaza, one of its villages, there is a very interesting feature. It is a massive hole in the ground-about 20 metres (65 feet) deep and 60 metres (196 feet) across. The enormous pit has been on fire for more than 50 years.

Why is the crater on fire? The most popular theory is that in 1971, a team of geologists from the then-Soviet Union were drilling in the country’s Karakum Desert to try to find gas. The ground under the drill collapsed and methane (甲烷) gas began to escape into the air. The geologists decided the safest thing to do was to burn off the gas by lighting it on fire. They thought the fire would burn for only a few weeks. However, it has been burning steadily for more than 50 years.

According to a BBC article, Canadian explorer George Kourounis discovered in 2013 that “no one actually knows how this… inferno came to be.” But, now the crater may finally be extinguished.

Turkmenistan’s president, Mr. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, has asked scientists in the country to figure out how to put out the burning crater. He went on the country’s state-run television station on January 8 to encourage experts to find a way to stop the fire.

One of the reasons he wants the crater to be put out is that the country can collect the gas that fuels it. Gas is a very important and valuable resource and can be used for many purposes. If it’s just burning off, the gas cannot be used or sold. According to the website Vice.com, the crater sits on the fourth largest reserve of natural gas in the world. Another reason the president may want the crater put out is to stop the harmful effects, to humans and the environment, of the burning gas.

【推荐3】How to Prepare for and Survive a Flood

Flooding is a common natural disaster around the world.     1     If so, quickly review these flood safety guidelines to increase your chances of survival and protect your possession.

Pay close attention to the radio, television, community announcements or your cellphone for official flooding updates.     2     A flood watch means a flood is possible in your area. A flood warning means flooding is already occurring or will occur soon—and you should be prepared to leave the flood area.

    3     Put at least three days of supplies for everyone in it, including water (one gallon per person per day), non-perishable (不需要保质期的) food, a flashlight, battery-powered radio, solar-powered phone chargers, extra batteries, a 7-day supply of medications.

If you have time before you leave, secure your home. Bring in outdoor furniture. Move necessary items to the highest part of the upper floor of your home. Turn off all the appliances (家电) like TV, refrigerator, washing machine, air-conditioner.     4    

Do not walk through moving water. Six inches of moving water can sweep you off your feet. If you have to walk in water, walk where the water is not moving.     5     If you come upon a flowing stream where water is above your ankles, stop, turn around and go another way. People underestimate (低估) the force and power of water.

【推荐2】We’re all familiar with the idea of climate change and how our planet is warming. Extremes in temperature have become more commonplace, making parts of the world difficult to live in. But one place where extreme heat is making life very uncomfortable is our cities. Luckily, innovation might be keeping it under control.

As thermometers(温度计) record temperatures, sometimes above 50 degrees Celsius, solutions are being sought to cool the air in our cities. In India, for example, heatwaves and rapid urbanization have led to a big rise in the use of air-conditioning units, adding to CO2 emissions. So, architects, looking for a sustainable cooling solution, are copying an ancient lattice (框架) design, used in old buildings like the Taj Mahal, to construct comfortable,low-carbon buildings. Yatin Pandya told the BBC: “Traditional architectural forms have proven their performance in combating environmental conditions.”

In America, about 80% of the population lives in cities, and it’s these cities that suffer from an urban heat island effect, caused by factors such as trapped waste heat, concrete structures and pavements absorbing the sun and tall buildings blocking the wind. Residents and developers have tried to cool these places by planting large trees that offer shade and putting plants and gardens on top of roofs to help trap heat. And in Los Angeles, there’s a experiment to cover street s with light-coloured material that reflects rather than absorbs the sun and so they remain cooler than typical black roads.

But it’s satellites in space that are really giving us the best picture of our over-heated cities. Glynn Hulley, who is leading an image-capturing project, called the Land Surface Temperature Monitoring mission, told the BBC: “The data can be used to identify hot spots, weak regions, and assess the cooling impacts of heat mitigation (缓解) approaches.” It’s already found how green spaces, white roads and water features, have helped prevent our cities from boiling over. But with extreme heat still posing a threat to our lives, more solutions are still needed.