1 . Newcastle University research is helping to prepare for and relieve storm damage before extreme weather occurs. Climate experts and engineers have created a new model to predict the damage caused by extreme weather. This new framework for “consequence forecasting” enables first responders to effectively target resources before an extreme weather event comes, such as Storm Eunice.
The pre-event decision-making model works by first developing relationships between wind speed and faults on the electricity network. The relationships are then used to estimate faults of electricity networks and potential customer interruptions. This model can be used as early as 24 hours before extreme weather events.
Published in the journal Climate Risk Management, the study findings can enable effective first response to manage infrastructure (基础设施) systems smitten by dangerous weather. Having the forecasting tools to predict and prepare for storm damage will reduce the social consequences of extreme weather, including power loss for customers and fines for electrical distribution companies.
Dr Wilkinson said, “Our model has the potential to change the way we manage weather and climate risks to our infrastructure networks. While electricity network operators already prepare extra resources when a storm approaches, predicting how many power lines may be blown down and where these are likely to be located will allow them to better target the necessary resources to more quickly repair any damage. This is likely to become even more important in the future as our changed climate is predicted to produce more frequent and more intense storms and some of these may be beyond the experience of the people tasked to deal with them.”
Study co-author, Professor Hayley Fowler, of Newcastle University’s School of Engineering, added, “This consequence forecasting is so important for planning emergency response in fast-evolving storms like Eunice. Our model could be used to regularly update energy companies and other infrastructure operators on the potential consequences of approaching storms as forecasts are updated in real-time.”
1. What can the new framework do?| A．Prevent extreme weather from happening. |
| B．Help rescuers effectively find resources before extreme weather. |
| C．Rid people of the possible extreme weather. |
| D．Help climate engineers create more models. |
| A．Attracted. | B．Inspected. |
| C．Attacked. | D．Impressed. |
| A．The significance of the model. | B．The potential risks of the model. |
| C．The downsides of the model. | D．The working principle of the model. |
| A．Prevent extreme weather occurring frequently |
| B．Provide electricity network operators extra resources |
| C．Update energy companies and other infrastructure operators |
| D．Predict and prepare for the impact of approaching storms |
On the basis of a new report by the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP), environment pollution remains the largest threat to human
The GAHP said that more than 90 percent of the pollution-related deaths occur in developing countries. The report noted that such deaths remain a “neglected”(被忽视的）issue,
In addition , the report has shown that pollution raises the risk of heart disease, cancer, lung disease, and other condition. It also said pollution brings
Rachael Kupka, GAHP’s acting director ,says the good news is that controls already exist to help reduce the harmful effects
3 . As the effects of climate change become more disastrous, well-known research institutions and government agencies are focusing new money and attention on an idea: artificially cooling the planet, in the hopes of buying humanity more time to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
That strategy, called solar climate intervention (干预) or solar geoengineering, involves reflecting more of the sun’s energy back into space — abruptly reducing global temperatures in a way that imitates the effects of ash clouds flowing out from the volcanic eruptions. The idea has been considered as a dangerous and fancied solution, one that would encourage people to keep burning fossil fuels while exposing the planet to unexpected and potentially threatening side effects, producing more destructive hurricanes, wildfires floods and other disasters.
But. as global warming continues, producing more destructive hurricanes, wildfires floods and other disasters, some researchers and policy experts say that concerns about geoengineering should be outweighed by the imperative to better understand it, in case the consequence of climate change become so terrible that the world can’t wait for better solutions.
One way to cool the earth is by injecting aerosols (气溶胶) into the upper layer of the atmosphere. where those particles reflect sunlight away from the earth. That process works, according to Douglas MacMartin, a researcher at Cornell University.
“We know with 100% certainty that we can cool the planet,” he said in an interview. What’s still unclear, he added, is what happens next. Temperature, MacMartin said, is an indicator for a lot of climate effects. “What does it do to the strength of hurricanes?” he asked, “What does it do to agriculture production? What does it do to the risk of forest fires?”
Another institution funded by the National Science Foundation will analyze hundreds of simulations of aerosol injection, testing the effects on weather extremes around the world. One goal of the research is to look for a sweet spot: the amount of artificial cooling that can reduce extreme weather events without causing broader changes in regional rainfall patterns or similar impacts.
1. Why do researchers and government agencies work on cooling the earth?| A．To prevent natural disasters. | B．To win more time to reduce gas emissions. |
| C．To imitate volcanic eruptions. | D．To encourage more people to bur fossil fuels. |
| A．More volcanoes will throw out. |
| B．More solar energy will go into space. |
| C．More disasters will endanger the future of the world. |
| D．People will keep burning fossil fuels to keep warm. |
| A．He thinks more research remains to be done. |
| B．He is optimistic about the effect of cooling the earth. |
| C．He is concerned about the reduction in agriculture production. |
| D．He disapproves of the practice of solar climate intervention. |
| A．The rainfall pattern of a region. |
| B．The modest drop in temperature. |
| C．The number of extreme weather events. |
| D．The injection amount of aerosol. |
4 . As a basic food in the Asian diet， soybeans（大豆） have been used to make tofu and soy milk for hundreds of years． But now， they are also being turned into an alternative to plastic wrap．
William Chen， a professor of food science and technology at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University， invented the environmentally﹣friendly food wrap． It's made of cellulose（纤维素），a form of fiber， obtained from the waste generated by soy bean product producers． The beans are pressed to squeeze out juice that's used to make tofu and soy milk． And what's left is usually thrown away， but Chen takes the waste and puts it through a fermentation（发酵） process， during which cellulose is produced．
Cellulose﹣based plastic wraps have been on the market for a few years， but Chen says that most are made from wood or corn， grown for that purpose． By contrast， his wrap is made from a waste product， which doesn't compete with other crops for land and is more sustainable． Chen's technology could help to solve two problems at once： cutting plastic production and reducing the amount of food waste．"In Singapore， the amount of food waste generated every year could fill up 15，000 Olympic﹣sized swimming pools，" Chen says．
F&N， a soy﹣based drinks producer， has partnered with Chen's lab and provides the product， straight from the factory． The company is conducting a study to assess whether the food wrap could complete commercially with conventional products． Chen adds，"The soy﹣based wrap costs almost nothing to make in the lab because the raw materials are free． Commercial production would involve additional expenses， such as storage and quality control， however， we have not calculated those costs yet．"
Chen hopes neighboring soy﹣loving countries will be inspired by Singapore to adopt his innovation． "My dream is that our technology， which is cheap and simple， will cut plastic and food waste and create a cleaner environment，" Chen says．
1. What is the second paragraph mainly about？| A．The introduction to William Chen． |
| B．The process of producing soy milk． |
| C．The way to make soy﹣based wrap． |
| D．The benefit of eating soy products． |
| A．It saves land for industry． |
| B．It's more easily broken down． |
| C．It is made from the food waste． |
| D．It has been put into practice for many years． |
| A．A lack of competitiveness． |
| B．Poor quality of the wraps． |
| C．A shortage of raw material． |
| D．An increase in production costs． |
| A．A personal diary． |
| B．A travel guide． |
| C．A book review． |
| D．A scientific magazine． |
