惡劣的天氣

寧夏 王燕寧

近年來，由惡劣天氣導致的災難頻出，這引起了全球的關注。

文章詞數 5 分鐘272 難度 ★★★ 建議用時

In late June 2018, the weather forecast for western Japan predicted heavy rain, but no one was prepared for what was to come. By mid-July, large areas were flooded. Some areas received over 100 centimeters of rain. Cars and trucks floated down the streets. Whole buildings were washed away. At least 225 people died, and millions had to leave their homes.

Changing weather

The weather is changing. Over the last few years, heavy rain has caused floods in many parts of the world. There have been droughts in Brazil and Australia. Heat waves in Europe have killed thousands. There have been more hurricanes and tornadoes, and they struck with more power than ever before. In 2017 alone, the financial cost from weather events around the world was 340 billion dollars.

Warmer and wetter

As more wild weather events happen, people are asking questions: What is happening with the weather? And why? Is this natural, or are we to blame?

The answer seems to be a little of both. Wild weather is natural. But most scientists agree human activity has made the Earth warmer. This global warming makes heat waves more likely. The higher temperatures also cause more water to enter the air. This causes heavier and more frequent rain. Many scientists also believe global warming makes hurricanes and other storms stronger.

This means we're likely to see more wild weather. “But we don't have to just stand there and take it,” says scientist Michael Oppenheimer. He and other experts say we need to stop the Earth from getting warmer. We also need to be prepared to do things that will help save lives.

Reading Check

Choose the best answer for each question.

1. What is the main idea of the reading passage?

A. There was a deadly flood in Japan.

B. In 2011, there were many wild weather events.

C. Global warming is causing wilder weather events.

D. Man is taking measures to fight against natural disasters.

2. What is the purpose of paragraph 2?

A. To explain the impacts of climate change.

B. To give examples of recent wild weather events.

C. To describe a serious flood that happened in 2017.

D. To predict how the weather will change in a few years.

3. In paragraph 3, what does the underlined word “this” refer to?

A. A worried world.

B. A changing environment.

C. Loss caused by wild weather.

D. The increase in wild weather.

4. Which of the following statements would Oppenheimer probably agree with?

A. It is too late to stop global warming.

B. Nature itself is worsening at a surprising rate.

C. Extreme weather is not caused by global warming.

D. Stop global warming, and the weather will get better.

Language Study

Complete the information using the words in the box. One is extra.

at least financial float forecast large temperature

In recent years, Australia has seen a lot of wild weather. In 2018, heat waves affected much of the country, with 1. __________in some places nearing 50 degrees Celsius. In the same year, forest fires destroyed 2. __________areas of land. In early 2019—after years of drought—Queensland suffered from heavy flooding. The 3. __________cost of these weather events is huge. Estimates suggest that over the last 10 years, damage from wild weather has cost Australia 4. __________25 billion dollars. Because of this, more scientists are studying its weather patterns to see if they can help make better weather 5. __________.