Under the influence of the recent EL Nino,     1     is reported that the average global temperature in 2023 has set the record, making it the warmest year since 1850. The temperatures in most     2     (region) of China from this winter to next spring will be above the long-term average. This winter the     3     (combine) of EL Nino and global warming raised the chances of natural disasters     4     (cause) by extreme weather. The EL Nino is predicted to cause the sea surface temperature to reach its     5     (high) point between November 2023 and January 2024. EL Nino is     6     naturally occurring climate phenomenon that starts with unusually warm surface water in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, which then goes on to affect the weather worldwide. On average, it     7     (occur) every two to seven years, and one episode     8     (typical) lasts nine to twelve months. Since May, an EL Nino system has heated the atmosphere in the tropical Pacific,     9     (lead) to a rise in global temperatures. Research indicates that a mild EL Nino event can increase the global annual average surface temperature     10     about 0. 1℃, even 0. 22℃.

2 . In recent years, extreme weather has been on the rise. From wildfires in California, US to record-breaking rainfall in northern China this summer and most recently the flood in Libya which claimed thousands of lives, Earth seems to be whipped by extreme climate and weather patterns.

Climate whiplash (气候鞭打), or weather whiplash, refers to a quick change from one extreme weather pattern to another. It is caused by global warming. A warmer atmosphere can hold more steam. As the Earth gets warmer, more water is contained in the atmosphere. Once the temperature gets colder, it often rains more heavily. This explains why a drought is often followed by extremely heavy rain.

The region hit hardest by climate whiplash is California. Over the past decade, California has experienced lasting droughts, wildfires, heavy rainfalls, and floods. It seems that the state is either on fire or in flooding with little in between. Researchers estimate that by the end of this century, the frequency of climate whiplash will jump by 25 percent in northern California as Earth continues to become warmer.

Apart from wildfires and floods, studies showed that climate whiplash also has an impact on water quality. During dry days, the fertilizer (肥料) farmers use for plants cannot be absorbed by thirsty and dying plants. Then the following heavy rain washes the remaining fertilizer into rivers, polluting the water.

How can we deal with climate whiplash? The key lies in fighting global warming. That is to say, humans have to largely reduce the use of fossil fuels (化石燃料). Climate whiplash would happen more frequently in the future, should we fail to fight global warming effectively. Therefore, it is urgent that nations around the world double down on efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the World Meteorological (气候的) Organization, El Nino is a naturally occurring climate phenomenon. It starts with unusually warm surface water in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean,    1    then goes on to affect the weather worldwide. On average, it occurs every two to seven years, lasting 9 to 12    2    (month).

The center said the combination of El Nino and global warming would increase the chances of meteorological disasters     3    (cause) by extreme weather. The El Nino event is projected to cause sea surface temperature to peak between November 2023 and January 2024. Since May, an El Nino system    4    (build) up along the equator (赤道) in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Research     5    (suggest) that every 1℃ increase in temperature in the equatorial eastern Pacific can raise the global annual average temperature by 0.12℃. A moderate or strong El Nino event     6    (usual) rises the global average surface temperature by about 0.1℃ to 0.22℃, the center added.

Speaking of the effect     7    China, the center said that an El Nino event tends to bring more rainfall to the southern regions and    8    (warm) temperatures in the north of the country. Since the 1990s, every El Nino event has been followed by two consecutive summers of above normal precipitation (降水) in China.

Jia Xiaolong, vice director of the center, said at     9    news conference in early November that statistics show that in the context of El Nino events, temperatures fluctuate greatly in winter, and the number of cold spells affecting China is often more than usual. The center recently released the climate trend forecast. It is expected    10    (face) snow disasters and increased demand for heating compared with the past, leading to temporary energy consumption peaks.

5 . Global surface temperatures last month were 2.25 degrees warmer than the 20th century average of 60.1 degrees, breaking previous records, from August 2016, by more than half a degree, according to NOAA researchers. “That to me is a really huge _______ from one record to the next,” said Ellen Bartow, a physical scientist with NOAA’S National Centers for Environmental Information.

The report _______ what millions of people have experienced in recent months, including record-breaking heatwaves that have touched almost every corner of the globe. Asia, Africa, North America and South America had their warmest August on record, as did the Arctic, Europe and Oceania — a region that _______ Australia - had their second-warmest August on record, the report said.

It wasn’t just the land that _______ : August set a record for the highest monthly sea surface temperature abnormally—1.85 degrees above average. The warming oceans _______experiencing its fourth continuous month with the _______ shrinking sea ice, with Antarctica sea ice extent on record. Globally, sea ice extent in August was about 550,000 square miles less than the previous record low, set in August 2019.

“We’ve seen unheard-of warmth in the global ocean, and that’s definitely alarming because its effects _______ beyond just the scope of the ocean,” Bartow-Gillies said. “Not only are you _______ marine habitats, but you’re affecting storm creation, you’re creating more instability in some areas, and you’re creating flooding events in other areas. There’s a whole host of _______ that come along with these warmer ocean surface temperatures that we’re seeing.”

In fact, the report comes after a series of severe natural ________ that span the globe. This week, a Mediterranean storm caused serious flooding in Libya, killing more than 11,000 people. In Canada, wildfires burned through more than 42 million acres of forests this summer, and several are still burning. ________ global warming was not the singular cause of any of these disasters, heating of the Earth continues to ________ the likelihood of extreme weather events and wildfire worldwide.

“The scientific evidence is ________ —we will continue to see more climate records and more intense and frequent extreme weather events impacting society and ecosystems, until we stop ________ greenhouse gases,” read a statement from Samantha Burgess, deputy director of the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, which also ________ that this summer was the hottest on record.

Shanghai, lying in the subtropical zone of monsoon (季风) climate in East Asia,     1     (enjoy) a humid weather with four     2     (remark) seasons in a year. April 1st marks the beginning of spring, lasting 65 days to end up     3     a rise in temperature in June. Summer calls on June 5th and finishes on the 22nd of September, while autumn falls every 23rd of September to wind up at the 26th day of November, totaling 65 days. Winter visits the land of Shanghai on November 27th, extending     4     period of 125 days to end on the last day of next March. So it features a shorter spring and autumn but a longer summer and winter. Though hot in summer and cooler in autumn, it is     5     (relative) cold in winter in Shanghai, but snow is rare. The continual monsoon rain,     6     comes in the middle of June, usually lasts 20 to 30 days to end in the middle of July,     7     (witness) an amount of rain of around 250 millimeters. Storms frequently occur between July and September, a season often     8     (affect) by typhoon activity. Shanghai     9     (locate) in the east coast of the mid-latitude land mass; therefore, warm and cold air-current is a frequent     10     (visit). So it features a changeable weather with drought and flood, influencing the agriculture and life of the people here.

9 . More than 40 percent of Antarctica’s ice shelves have reduced in the past 25 years, potentially accelerating sea level rise by allowing more landice to flow into the ocean.

    1     They play a critical role in slowing the flow of ice on land into the ocean by essentially acting as a wall and surround nearly the entire coastline of Antarctica. When ice shelves thin or retreat(消退), ice on the land can flow into the ocean more quickly and accelerate sea level rise.

Healthy ice shelves naturally retreat and grow over time. An ice shelf is continuously flowing and advancing but will also lose mass through melting or calving, which is when its front breaks off into the ocean.    2     But the large portion of steadily shrinking ice shelves shows this natural cycle is off.

In West Antarctica, the Getz Ice Shelf experienced some of the biggest ice losses, shedding 1.9 trillion tons of ice over the study period. Most ice shelves in East Antarctica however, increased in volume or stayed the same.     3     Region is protected by a band of cold water at the coast, which helps keep nearby warm water at bay. Even so, the study still showed pockets of shrinking ice shelves, and researchers are still investigating the reasons.     4    

The current ice shelf data set is not long enough for researchers to definitively make climate change connection yet, but it would be a ” remarkable coincidence if the natural variability in ice shelves were just that much larger.     5     But we don’t need to hit it before seeing an effect on the planet.