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Directions: Climate change has already made considerable impacts on our environment. Now scientists have concurred in the prediction that human activity is the primary cause. How is each of the following affected by climate change: oceans, polar regions, and extreme weather events?//海洋、极地和极端天气是如何受气候变化影响的?Read the text and you may gain some insights into the challenges we face that are caused by climate change. Climate change 101 1 Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed journals //同行评议期刊show that 97% of scientists agree that the effects of climate change are due to human activity. Yet in a recent survey conducted by a research center, less than 50% of US adults agree with the scientific consensus. So is this half of the population justifiably skeptical or does the research support the experts? To help you decide for yourself, we've used the latest evidence to address the big questions. Q1 Is there any evidence for global warming? 2 In short, yes. Since global temperature records began in the late 19th century, the planet's average surface temperature has risen by approximately 2.0°F (1.1°C), with 16 of the 17 hottest years on record occurring over the last 35 years. //有记录以来最热的17个年份中有16个发生在过去的35年里。Eighty percent of this additional heat is absorbed by the world's oceans, the surface of which has increased in temperature by 0.13°F per decade since 1901 (NASA, n.d.). Q2 Hasn't the Earth's climate always fluctuated? 3 Yes. Changes in the Earth's climate are a natural and frequent phenomenon. Ice ages—driven by slow variations in the Earth's orbit that alter the distribution of the Sun's energy—have occurred, on average, every 100,000 years. //由于地球轨道的缓慢变化改变了太阳能量的分布，冰河时代平均每10万年发生一次。These climatic events have led to mass extinction, the migration of populations, and dramatic changes in the landscape, so why is modern climate change such an issue? While ice ages are cyclical//周期的；循环的, the pace at which the planet has warmed since the end of the last ice age is unprecedented—making adaptation virtually impossible. //自上一个冰河时代结束以来，地球变暖的速度是前所未有的，这使得适应气候变化几乎是不可能的。According to the Royal Society, the increase in the Earth's temperature over the 7,000–18,000-year period since the end of the last ice age is approximately 4°C, 25% of which occurred in the last 200 years. Q3 Is human activity the primary cause? 4 A blanket of greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide//一氧化氮, and methane—in the Earth's atmosphere absorb heat and warm the planet's surface, a natural phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect. Measurements of the atmosphere and air in ice indicate a 40% increase in CO2 levels in the 200-year period to 2012 (The Royal Society and the US National Academy of Sciences, 2014). This rapid increase is almost certainly a consequence of human activity. Over the last century, burning of finite resources such as coal and oil, deforestation for agriculture, and industrial expansion have all greatly increased the concentration of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere. Increased levels of other greenhouse gases are also directly attributable to human activity. The cultivation of domestic livestock//家畜 and the expansion of landfills//垃圾填埋场 have increased levels of methane, while nitrous oxide is largely generated by soil cultivation. The bottom line is//最重要的是 that while the greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon, its expansion (and global warming by extension) is largely due to human activity. Q4 How does climate change affect our oceans? 5 The Earth's oceans absorb about 80% of the additional heat generated by global warming. When water heats up, it expands, causing sea levels to rise. Over the past century, global sea levels have risen by four to eight inches (10 to 20 centimeters), and approximately 50% of this increase is directly attributable to thermal expansion//热膨胀. As with the greenhouse effect, this is a natural phenomenon. However, recent data suggests that over the past 20 years, sea levels have risen by 0.13 inches (3.3 millimeters) a year—roughly twice the speed of the preceding 80 years. Such a rapid increase can have devastating consequences for coastal inhabitants such as erosion, flooding, and soil contamination//土壤污染. Not only are sea levels rising, but the ocean's chemical composition is also changing. Carbon dioxide is not only released into the Earth's atmosphere, but also dissolved into our oceans, causing higher levels of acidity. Since the early 1800s, ocean acidity has increased by around 25%, depressing the metabolic rates//代谢速率 of some species, lowering the immune//免疫 responses of others, destabilizing marine ecosystems, and causing the bleaching, and possibly the eventual death, of the world's coral reefs//珊瑚礁. Q5 How have the polar ice caps been affected? 6 Data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (n.d.) shows Greenland and Antarctica//南极洲 lost a combined 300 to 450 cubic kilometers//立方公里 of ice annually between 2002 and 2006. One hundred and eighteen billion metric tons//公吨 of ice is lost from Antarctica alone each year. Over the past 20 years, Arctic sea ice has declined rapidly. Glaciers//冰川 from the Andes to the Alps lose approximately 400 billion tons of ice every year. Events that typically happen in geologic time//地质时期 are happening in the human lifespan. The disappearance of Himalayan glaciers is forecast within the next two decades. Not only do global ice sheets//冰川 help to counteract//抵消 the greenhouse effect, but their disappearance is also a primary contributor to rising sea levels. Q6 Can it be blamed for the rise in extreme weather events? //气候变化能被归咎于极端天气事件的增多吗? 7 According to research conducted at the University of Illinois, a rise in sea level of 5–10 centimeters could double the frequency and intensity//频率和强度 of coastal flooding, potentially having devastating effects on major global cities//全球主要城市. In addition, rising temperatures have increased the amount of water vapor in the Earth's lower atmosphere, creating favorable conditions for more intense rain and snowstorms, both of which have been occurring with greater regularity in the US over the past 50 years. Other extreme weather events, such as drought, are caused by changes in planetary waves—patterns of wind that encircle//围绕 the northern hemisphere from the tropics to the poles//从热带到两级. Under certain temperature conditions, movement of the wave can be halted, effectively prolonging periods of hot weather that may result in drought. However, while scientists have long suspected these events are a direct result of increased emissions of greenhouse gases, their relative infrequency makes it difficult for the scientists to evaluate reliably and we therefore cannot conclusively state that climate change is the cause. Q7 Can we reverse the damage? 8 Unfortunately, no. Although the recent resolution reached in Paris is hugely significant, many claim it is too little, too late. Even if legislation were introduced to immediately stop the emission of greenhouse gases, the CO2 that has already been absorbed by the atmosphere and oceans would take thousands of years to be reabsorbed by deep ocean sediments//沉积物. Sea levels would continue to rise, ice caps would continue to melt, and extreme weather would occur at an increasingly devastating rate. The damage to our planet is irreparable//不可挽回的. The only question is: Can we adapt?1. Why does the author mention the survey results in Para. 1? 答案解析 你的答案： in order to introduce the main question of this article: whether human activity should take responsibilities for the effects of climate change or not . 小题解析： The author mentions the survey results to stress the point that there remain a large number of people who do not believe that human activity causes climate change, although researchers seem to have reached a scientific consensus. This further convinces readers that this article is of great significance and necessity, thus inviting readers to continue reading. 2. Is modern climate change naturally occurring? Why or why not? 答案解析 你的答案： yes.Changes in the Earth's climate are a natural and frequent phenomenon 小题解析： Based on the text, I don't think so. Our Earth does have natural and frequent climate fluctuation; however, this change normally takes place in a slow and gradual manner. For example, ice ages occur, on average, every 100,000 years. The climate change we are experiencing now is unprecedented, with 25% of the temperature increase over the 7,000–18,000-year period since the end of the last ice age occurring in the last 200 years. This rapid change in temperature does not conform with the way the Earth's climate fluctuates. There should be a correlation between frequent human activity in the last 200 years and modern climate change. 3. How does human activity cause the increases of greenhouse gases? 答案解析 你的答案： burning of finite resources such as coal and oil, deforestation for agriculture, and industrial expansion have all greatly increased the concentration of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere. The cultivation of domestic livestock and the expansion of landfills have increased levels of methane, while nitrous oxide is largely generated by soil cultivation. 小题解析： Human activity causes the increases of greenhouse gases in multiple ways. Burning of finite resources, deforestation for agriculture, and industrial expansion have all increased the concentration of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere; the cultivation of domestic livestock and the expansion of landfills have increased the level of methane; soil cultivation has increased nitrous oxide. 4. What is the relationship between climate change and extreme weather events? 答案解析 你的答案： rising temperatures have increased the amount of water vapor in the Earth's lower atmosphere, creating favorable conditions for more intense rain and snowstorms 小题解析： The relationship between climate change and extreme weather events remains unclear. People suspect that a rise in the sea levels could increase the frequency and intensity of coastal flooding and a rise in the temperature could create favorable conditions for more intense rain and snowstorms. Droughts are caused by changes in planetary waves, which are influenced by certain temperature conditions. However, the infrequency of extreme weather events means that there is a lack of reliable evaluation, making the relationship inconclusive. 5. This text adopts a question & answer writing format. What do you think are the advantages of it? 答案解析 你的答案： make it very specific and pertinent 小题解析： There are multiple advantages of adopting the question & answer writing format. First, under this format, the information is divided into smaller chunks, which are more digestible, and it makes the content of the text less formidable to readers. Second, this question & answer writing format uses a conversational tone, like a discussion between two people, so it makes the text more interactive and interesting. 6. Is this text more likely to be published in a magazine or in an academic journal? Why? 答案解析 你的答案： academic journal，for it more like an argumentation 小题解析： This text is more likely to be published in a magazine. By reading the text's title and its content, we can realize that it is an introductory piece, which provides fundamental and basic knowledge about climate change rather than an in-depth analysis of it. Normally, in texts of this type, breadth is preferred as opposed to depth. Thus, it is more likely to be published in a magazine, whose readers are the general public. Readers of academic journals are normally scholars and researchers who need more in-depth and focused discussion on the latest research topics concerning climate change. |
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