篇章阅读27：气候研究
The direct raya of the sun touch the equator and strike northward toward the Tropic of Cancer. In the Southern hemisphere winter has begun, and it is summer north of the equator. The sea and air grow warmer; the polar air of winter begins its gradual retreat.
The northward shift of the sun also brings the season of tropical cyclones to the northern hemisphere, a season that is ending for the Pacific and India Oceans south of the equator. Along our coasts and those of Asia. it is time to look seaward. to guard against the seasons storms. Over the Pacific, the tropical cyclone season is never quite over. but varies in intensity. Every year. conditions east of the Philippines send a score of violent storms howling toward Asia, but it is worst from June through October. Southwest of Mexico. a few Pacific hurricanes will grow during spring and summer. but most will die at sea or perish over the desert or the lower California coast as squalls.
Along our Atlantic and Gulf coasts. the hurricane season is from June to November. In an average year, there are fewer than ten tropical cyclones and six of them will develop into hurricanes. These will kill 50 to 100 persons between Texas and Maine and cause property damage of more than $100 million. If the year is worse than average, we will suffer several hundred deaths,and property damage will run to billions of dollars.
Tornadoes, floods, and severe storms are in season elsewhere on the continent. Now, to these destructive forces must be added the hazard of the hurricane. From the National Hurricane Center in Miami. a radar fence reaches westward to Texas and northward to New England. It provides a 200-mile look into offshore disturbances. In Maryland. che giant computers of the National Meteorological Center digest the myriad bits of data-atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity, surface winds. and winds aloft-received from weather stations and ships monitoring the atmospheric setting each hour, every day. Cloud photographs from spacecraft orbiting the earth are received in Maryland and are studied for che telltale spiral on the warming sea. The crew of United States aircraft over the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and Atlantic watch the sky and wait for the storm that will bear a persons name. The machinery of early warning vibrates with new urgency as the season of great storms begins.
参考译文
太阳直射光线接近赤道并向北回归线移动。南半球冬季开始了，而赤道北面则是夏季。海洋和天空变得温暖，冬天的极地气团开始逐渐减弱。
太阳北移也为北半球带来了热带气旋季节，而太平洋和印度洋的赤道以南部分却是这个季节的结束。沿着我国和亚洲的海岸，又到了监视海洋、提防夏季暴风的时候了。在整个太平洋上空热带气旋季节从来就不会完全过去，只是强度会有所不同。每年菲律宾东部一带会生成20个暴风咆哮刮向亚洲，但从6月直到整个10月是最糟糕的日子。/在墨西哥西南部，春季和夏季会生成几个太平洋飓风，但是大多数会在海上消亡，或者成为暴风雨而在沙漠的上空或加利福尼亚南部海岸消逝。
在我国的太西洋和海湾沿岸，飕风季节从6月到11月。在一般的年份，热带气旋少于10个，有6个会发展成飓风。从得克萨斯州到缅因州，这些飓风令导致50到100人丧生，造成超过1亿美元的财产损失。如果是比一般年份更糟，就会有几百人丧生和高达几十亿美元的财产损失。
此时大陆的其他地方正是龙卷风、洪水和猛烈暴风的季节。现在，除了这些破坏性的天气以外，还得加上飓风的危险。在迈阿密的国家飓风中心，西至得克萨斯州，北至新英格兰建起了一道雷达防护栏。它可以对离岸200英里的大气扰动进行监视。在马里兰州，国家气象中心巨型计算机对巨量的数据进行整理，这些数据包括从每时每日监测着大气状况的各个气象观测站台和观测船只接收到的大气压力、温度、湿度、表面风和高空风等等数据。马里兰州还接收从在地球轨道飞行的太空船发回的云图，研究在温暖海洋上空的那些先兆性气旋。在墨西哥湾、加勒比海和大西洋上空飞行的美国飞机上的机务人员监视着无空，等待着以一个人的名字书名的暴风到来。随着巨大暴风季节的开始，早期预警机制会对新的紧急状况迅速发出警报。
测试题
1.The cyclone season of the Southern hemisphere__________________.
A) is brought by the polar air of winter
B) ends when winter comes to the Southern hemisphere
C) virtually lasts throughout the year
D) begins when the sun rays strike the Tropic of Cancer
2.What is true about the storms howling towards Asia?
A) They originate over the Pacific.
B) They influence Southeast Asia most violently.
C) They mainly grow during spring and summer.
D) They usually perish off coast.
3.When the Pacific hurricanes reach the lower California. most of them will_____________.
A) reduce their intensity B) increase their intensity
C) cause much property damage D) result in great rain and floods
4.What can we leam about the National Hurricane Center in Miami?
A) It mainly provides protection against hurricanes to Texas and New England.
B) It warns the whole country against tornadoes, severe storms and hurricanes.
C) It consists of radars along the coast of the west and the north of U.S.
D) It supervises the coastal areas stretching from Texas to New England.
5.The passage discusses most clearly about_______________.
A) the factors that cause hurricanes
B) the most risky areas that suffer hurricanes
C) the early warning system against hurricanes
D) the remedies for property damage by hurricanes
选项翻译与答案详解
1.南半球的热带气旋季节_________________。
A)是由冬季的极地空气所带来的
B)在南半球冬季到来的时候就结束了
C)实际上全年都存在
D)在太阳光照射到北回归线的时候就开始了
从首段和第2段首句的描述可以知道，南北半球的气候相反，当南半球进入冬季、热带气旋季节结束的时候，北半球却是夏季、热带气旋季节开始的时候，辨清了这些事实，就不难判断选项B为本题答案。
2.下列关于刮向亚洲的风暴的说法那一点是正确的?
A)风暴产生干太平洋。 B)风暴对于东南亚的影响最巨大。
C)风暴主要在春夏两季产生。 D)风暴通常在海岸边上消亡。
第2段第3-5句说的是太平洋沿岸热带气旋的形成和影响，而且，如果稍有地理知识的话，就知道菲律宾东部也在太平洋上，结合第3、4句的内容就可以推断选项A为正确的说法。选项B没有原文依据;选项C和D都是第2段第5句提到的内容，是关于墨西哥西南部的飕风的，与亚洲的暴风无关。
3.A西洋飓风到达下加州的时候大部分的罴塞基p鼍;agI
A)减弱强度
c)造成重大财产损失 D)导致暴雨和洪水
从第2段末旬中C die和perisb可以知道，多数太平洋踺风的强度会减弱并最终
消逝，虽然句 yjsqualls-词为超纲间，但这不影响对垒句的p解，而且，从
die和perish也可推断，squalls应该是强度不lihurricarles的暴风，由此可见，选
项A为正确的说法。
4.对于迈阿密的国家飕风中心，我们了解到什么情况?
A)该中心主要为得克萨斯州和新英格兰地区遭飓风袭击时提供保护。
B)该中心对于龙卷凤，强烈暴风和飓风提出全国警报。
C)该中心在美国的西部和北部海岸都设有雷达。
D)该中心管理从得克萨斯到新英格兰的海岸地区。
从末段第3句可以知道国家飓风中心的监测范围，第4句指出国家飓风中心主要监测的是海面的情况，结合这两句，即可知道选项D正确。选项A所表示的范围过小了，而选项B正好相反，范围过大;选项C中的the west and the north of U.S.(美国的西部和北部)与原文的westward to Texas and northward to New England所指的地点是不同的。
5.文章最清晰的讨论点是____。
A)导致飓风的因素 B)受飕风危害风险最大的地区
C)对于飕风的早期预警机制 D)解决由飓风造成的财产损失的方法
末段提到了国家飓风中心和国家气象中心，说明了美国为了预警飓风所采取的措施，由此可见，选项C在文中是有清楚说明的。