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A massive pool of warm ocean water is causing changes in the atmosphere that could produce unusual weather around ihc world in the next few months. the US National Weather Service reported on Monday.

As a result of this phenomenon. known as El Nino, more rainfall than normal is likely this winter across some areas of the United States, with unusually warm or cold weather in other parts of the country.

Currently the phenomenon is marked by a warm pool of water along the equator extending from the International Date Line nearly to the coast of South America. That water is nearly 4. degrees Fahrenheit above normal. explained Vernon Kousky of the climate center.

This warm water "spreads almost a quarter of the way around the globe. So it's massive and it has an impact on our weather. It has a global influence... because it disturbs the atmosphere", said Dave Rodenhuis. director of the climate center.

"E1 Nino is probably the most important climate event beyond the annual cycle of seasons", he added.

Because the changes tended to be first noticed around Christmas, the phenomenon was given che name El Nino, which is Spanish for child, a term often used to refer to the baby Jesus.

The phenomenon occurs every three to five years, sometimes in a mild form and sometimes strongly affecting weather patterns worldwide. Details of its cause are not fully understood, but when it occurs. unusually warm air can be pumped into Canada. Alaska and the northern United States. At the same time, conditions tend to be wetter than normal along the US Southeast Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. And the Atlantic and Caribbean hurricane season tends to be milder than usual.

The strong El Nino of 1982-1983 was blamed for worsening the devastating drought in Africa, causing a series or severe winter storms to come ashore in California, spawning the first typhoon to strike French Polynesia m 75 years-followed by five more in Five months-deluging Peru and Ecuador with torrential rains and promoting the worst drought in two centuries in Australia.

Overall damage was estimated at between $2 billion and $8 billion by a United Nations analysis and the death toll topped l,500 worldwide.

参考译文

美国全国气象局在星期一发表报道称，[1]大量温暖的海水正在引起大气变化，这可能会导致全球天气在未来几个月内出现异常。

[1]这就是所谓“厄尔尼诺”现象造成的结果，它可能会在今年冬天给美国一些地区带来超常多的降雨，而在这个国家其他地方则会有异常温暖或异常寒冷的天气。

目前这一现象的一个标志是，沿赤道一带从国际日期变更线附近伸展到南美海岸的大范围内出现温暖的海水。气候中心的Vernon Kousky解释道，水温比正常约高出华氏4度。

[2]这些暖水“几乎伸展到环绕地球四分一的地方。其容积巨大，会对气候产生影响。其影响是全球性的……因为它扰乱了大气”，气候中心主任Dave Rodenhuis如是说。

“厄尔尼诺现象也许是除每年的季节变化之外最重要的气候现象，”他补充道。

[3]因为水温变化常常先在圣诞节前后引起人们的注意，所以这一现象被命名为“厄尔尼诺”，“厄尔尼诺”是西班牙语“孩子”的意思，通常用来指“圣婴”。

这种现象每隔三到五年出现，有的时候来得比较温和，有的时候则会强烈影响全球的天气模式。[4]人们至今还未完全了解这一现象的成因，但它出现时，异常温暖的空气会被吹送到加拿大、阿拉斯加和美国北部。同时，美国东南海岸和墨西哥湾沿岸会有超常的降水。而大西洋和加勒比海的飓风会变得相较温和。

[5]1982-1983年的强厄尔尼诺现象是许多自然灾害的罪魁祸首；它使非洲毁灭性的干旱进一步恶化，造成一系列强烈冬季风暴侵袭加州海岸，生成75年来首次吹袭法属玻利尼西亚的台风——随后在五个月内再有五次——还为秘鲁和厄瓜多尔带来多场豪雨造成泛滥，并在澳大利亚促成两个世纪来最严重的干旱。

据联各国的一项分析表明，当时造成的总损失在20亿到80亿美元之间，全世界的死亡人数则高达l500人以上。

测试题

1.El Nino can best be described as_________________.

A) unusually long period of hot or cold weather

B) unusual changes of weather around the world

C) atmospheric change caused by warm ocean water

D) rising temperature of the ocean water and atmosphere

2.The warm water is affecting the weather globally because____________.

A) its temperature is too much above normal

B) it covers a vast area in the world

C) it is one of the most important climate events

D) its influence begins from the equator

3.Which of the following is true about the naming, of El Nino?

A) The name had something to do with Christianity.

B) The name was given by a religious researcher.

C) The name indicates that El Nino most usually happens around Christmas.

D) The name implies that the first phenomenon of El Nino appeared in Spain.

4.What is least known about El Nino. according to the passage?

A) The climate changes caused by El Nino.

B) The areas influenced by El Nino.

C) How often El Nino happens.

D) How El Nino is formed.

5.What does the author warns to tell us about El Nino by the last two paragraphs?

A) The UN’s concern about it.

B) The measures taken against it.

C) Its intensity.

D) Its frequency.

选项翻译与答案详解

1.对厄尔尼诺的最佳描述是______________。

A)异乎寻常的长时间段的热冷天气

B）世界各地异常的天气变化

C)由温暖海水引起的大气变化

D）海水和大气的升温

[C]第2段首句开头表明this phenomenon就是E1 Nino，而this phenomenon指的是前段提及的“大量温暖的海水引起大气变化”这一现象，由此可见，选顶C是对厄尔尼诺现象最恰当的描述。

2.温暖海水影响着全球的天气，因为________________。

A)它的温度大大超出标准

B）它在世界上占据了很大面积

C)它是最重要的气候事件之一

D) 它的影响从赤道开始

[B]原文第4段第2句开头的it's massive and_表明暖水对全球气候产生影响是因为it's massive，由此可见，选项B为本题答案。第3段末句提及水温比正常高了4度，但作者没有说明这4度是否too much above normal，因此选项A不正确；选项C没有在原文提及。

3.关于厄尔尼诺的命名，下列哪项是正确的？

A)名字与基督教有一定关联。

B)名字是由一位宗教研究人员取的。

C)名字暗示了厄尔尼诺通常在圣诞节前后发生。

D)名字暗示了第一次厄尔尼诺现象出现在西班牙。

[D]原文第6段中的Christmas和baby Jesus都表明厄尔尼诺的命名与基督教有关，因此选项A为本题答案。选项B中的religious researcher,选项C中的most usually happens around Christmas和选项D中的the first... in Spain均难以从原文得到证实。

4.根据文章，人们对厄尔尼诺了解最少的是_____________。

A)气候变化导致厄尔尼诺（发生）

B)厄尔尼诺影响到的地区

C)厄尔尼诺隔多久发生

D)厄尔尼诺是怎样形成的

[D]原文第7段第2句开头的分句表明厄尔尼诺现象的成因仍不明了，因此选项D为本题答案。选项A在文章开头有讨论到，选项B在第7段有讨论到，在讨论这两点信息的时候，作者并未提及对它们了解甚少，因此这两个选项不是本题答案；第7段首句有提及这种现象每隔三到五年出现，故选项C也不正确。

5.在文章最后两段，关于厄尔尼诺作者想要告诉我们的是__________。

A)联合国对厄尔尼诺的关心

B)对厄尔尼诺采取的应对措施

C)厄尔尼诺的强度

D)厄尔尼诺发生的频率

[C]从原文倒数第2段开头的was blamed for...和这两段的用词及数字可以知道，这两段主要陈述了厄尔尼诺现象对全球气候的破坏，即它的破坏力，选项C的intensity意为“强度，剧烈的程度”，与两段的主题内容最接近，因此为本题答案。