Warmer temperatures are the new normal
Hotter weather appears to be here to stay,El Nino or not.That's according to the U.N. weather agency.It warned that the Paris climate accord（协定）last year shouldn't give way to complacency（自满）about global warming.
The World Meteorological Organization issued（公布）its annual climate report following a record-hot 2015.It drew people's attention to records already announced by different countries' weather agencies.The agency pointed out that 2015 was breaking records on the surface.It also broke records hundreds of meters deep in the ocean.
And the first two months of 2016 were even hotter.These months are so unusual that they "have sent shockwaves around the climate science community."That's according to David Carlson of the World Climate Research Program.
Climate scientists blame record high temperatures last year and this year so far on a combination of a super-sized El Nino.It is a natural warming of pans of the Pacific that changes weather worldwide.Another factor is a long-term global warming trend from the burning of fossil fuels（化石燃料）.
NASA said last month was 1.35 degrees Celsius (2.43 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than average.Of that,0.8 degrees (1.44 degrees Fahrenheit) comes from the long-term warming.And 0.25 degrees (0.45 degrees Fahrenheit) comes from El Nino.The rest is from unexplained results.This was calculated by climate scientist Stefan Rahmstorf of the Potsdam Institute in Germany and the University of New South Wales.
Even after the El Nino phenomenon becomes less strong in coming months,way above normal temperatures won't exactly go away,Carlson and others said.
"We're on a slope; sometimes the slope goes very steep,sometimes it's a little bit more shallow,but we're going upward,"Carlson said in a news conference."So the normal is going to be increases: It's going to be increased temperature,increased ocean heat content,loss of ice,we know all of these things."
Katharine Hayhoe is a Texas Tech climate scientist who wasn't part of the WMO team.But she agreed:"These records vividly show the destructive power of an El Nino on climate changes."
The WMO predicts warmer weather accompanied by pockets of both drier and wetter conditions,depending on the region,around the world.
WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas told reporters in Geneva that many people believe the climate issue is "solved...since we reached a nice agreement in Paris."But,he said,"We haven't changed our behavior yet."
1. The author wrote Paragraph 1 to_______.| A．introduce something about El Nino |
| B．explain the causes of hotter weather |
| C．warn the world of global warming |
| D．introduce the main topic of the passage |
| A．The Paris climate accord last year has made a big difference to global warming. |
| B．The high temperature only increases on the surface of the earth. |
| C．The records of high temperature in the first two months of 2016 made climate scientists shocked and worried. |
| D．the high temperature was mainly caused by El Nino. |
| A．the high temperature will result in natural disasters around the world according to WMO |
| B．The problem of high temperature will be solved with the disappearance of El Nino |
| C．Scientists have different opinions on the causes of high temperature of the earth |
| D．Since we reached a nice agreement in Paris,we needn't worry about the increase of temperature |
| A．By making comparisons. |
| B．By analyzing the results and causes. |
| C．By providing examples. |
| D．By following the order of time. |
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【推荐1】Zologial Sociey of London(ZSL), which runs London Zoo, brought together 16 scientists from different organizations to make a full “heath heck” on 215 miles of the Thames. The results of the first-ever State of the Thames Report have been shown to the public and there’s both good and bad news for London’s main waterway.
First up, since the Thames was pronounced “biologically(生物学地)dead” in1957, the number of animals and plants growing in and around the river has increased greatly. Natural habitats(栖息地)are also on the increase, some of which can help in the fight against climate(气候)change.
It’s not all good news though—like everywhere else, the Thames is influenced by climate change, mainly through changes in water temperature and sea levels. The Thames is increasing in temperature at an average(平均数)of 0. 2℃ each year, changing the natural environment.
Water levels are also rising in the Thames—at Silvertown. There has been an average increase of 4. 26 mm per year since 1990, which makes London more likely to be flooded.
As with pretty much everywhere on Earth, the Thames needs climate change to be stopped in order to make itself a living river in the future.
The Environment Agency has put together the Thames Estuary 2100 Plan which sets out a long-term plan for dealing with the influence of rising sea levels for the rest of this century, in order to protect London from floods.
James Brand, Thames Estuary 2100 Advisor at the Environment Agency said, “We are glad to support the State of the Thames Report. If we are going to stop climate change, nature needs to be at the heart of our activities, both in slowing the pace of future change and dealing with the changes that we are already seeing.”
1. What did the 16 scientists do with the Thames?| A．They did an examination of it. | B．They gave an introduction to it. |
| C．They brought new animals to it. | D．They organized a clean-up of it. |
| A．The way animals are raised. | B．The development of natural habitats. |
| C．The meaning of “biologically dead”. | D．The welcome changes to the Thames. |
| A．It has caused many floods. |
| B．Its temperature has been rising. |
| C．Its plants have become fewer and fewer. |
| D．It is home to a smaller number of animals. |
| A．To record the rising sea levels. | B．To help rebuild London. |
| C．To explain the importance of nature. | D．To fight against climate change. |
| A．In a storybook. | B．In a health magazine. |
| C．In a research paper. | D．In a geography textbook. |
【推荐2】Australia is no stranger to wildfires. The hot and dry weather leads to fires in the wild now and then. However, one that started in September 2019 continued to burn till July 2020, and it might not be natural at all. The fire burned 73,000 square kilometers of land, killing at least 28 people and burning up more than 3,000 homes, reported the Telegraph. Scientists said that man-made climate change played a role in the fire’s creation and duration (持续时间).
According to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, the country’s temperatures have risen by more than 1℃ since 1920. The spring of 2019 was Australia’s driest in 120 years. In December, the country saw its hottest day ever, with an average temperature of 41.9 ℃.
“Due to evaporation (蒸发) in warmer temperatures, the plants and the soils dry out more quickly,” Stefan Rahmstorf, an author of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fourth Assessment Report, told Times.
Even worse, “Wildfires like this might become ‘normal conditions’ in the future,” the researchers at Britain Bureau of Meteorology said to BBC, “We have looked at 57 research papers published since 2013, which examined the relationship between climate change and the risk of wildfires, and have found that the link between the two has already been observed in many parts of the world, including the western US, Canada, southern Europe, and even Siberia.”
“These are effects we are seeing for 1℃ of global climate change. The effects will get worse if we don’t do something with the world’s climate,” Corinne Le Quere, a professor from the University of East Anglia in Britain, told the BBC. “What we are seeing in Australia is not the ‘new normal’. It’s a sign to worse effects. We must take some effective action now. We can’t wait any longer.”
1. From Paragraph 1, what do we know about the wildfire starting last September?| A．It followed the law of nature. | B．It is still burning now. |
| C．It caused the greatest damage. | D．It was related to man. |
| A．More wildfires are likely to break out in the future. |
| B．Any climate change will increase the risk of wildfires. |
| C．Australia is the only country that suffers from wildfires. |
| D．Wildfires will not break out in cold countries or areas. |
| A．The climate in Australia in the future. | B．Solutions to stopping climate change. |
| C．Necessity of fighting climate change. | D．Worse effects of global climate change. |
| A．The effective action we can take. |
| B．Other serious wildfires in Australia. |
| C．Other scientists’ views on global warming. |
| D．More findings about climate change. |
【推荐3】Connie Monroe clicks a button, flicks her wrist and watches as her neighborhood floods. The shorelines are first to go. Then, the baseball fields at Fleming Park. By the time seawater reaches the senior center, it has flooded streets and over a dozen brick homes. Monroe moves her head up and down, side to side, taking in the simulated (仿真的) view. This is what could happen to Turner Station, a historic African American community southeast of Baltimore, as sea levels rise.
Climate change presents many challenges to coastal communities and to those trying to prepare for its impacts, but one of the most basic is also one of the most vexing: How do you show people and convince them of a possible future?
Communicating the realness and immediacy of the climate threat is hugely important to climate researchers and those aiming to lessen its causes. But it's also the most important to communities faced with coming changes that are already unavoidable. These projects need public support and input. That's why Monroe and other residents (居民) are being directed to sit in metal chairs, put on virtual reality headsets and watch their homes flood.
Turner Station, a community which gets flooded easily, is trying to prepare. It has partnered with the Port of Baltimore, a few nonprofits and a local landscape architecture firm to adopt a range of tools and ways to communicate climate change to the public, because every person is different and every place is different.
The virtual reality program is only the most recent, and perhaps the most effective step. Virtual reality is an immersive experience that can trick the human brain into thinking it's real. But tricking people is not the goal of the sea level rise simulation being used at Turner Station, says Juiano Calil, one of the program's developers. ''The goal, '' he says, ''is to start a conversation and help folks visualize the impacts of climate change and the solutions, and also discuss the trade-offs between them. ''
1. Who is Monroe?| A．A coastal community citizen. | B．A climate researcher. |
| C．An architect. | D．AVR program developer. |
| A．Bothersome. | B．Dramatic. |
| C．Original. | D．Convincing. |
| A．It can cut down the risks of climate change. |
| B．It can show severe results of climate change. |
| C．It can introduce technology to the residents. |
| D．It can predict the climate change accurately. |
| A．To trick more people to believe. |
| B．To win the residents’cooperation. |
| C．To advocate the application of VR. |
| D．To inform the residents of the solutions. |
