时间:2019-02-02 作者:英语课 分类:VOA常速英语2007年(十一月)


英语课
By Paul Sisco
Washington
02 November 2007
 


In the wake of the devastating 1 Southern California wildfires last month, climate scientists Thursday linked such events to global warming.


While scientists say no single calamity 2 can be attributed to climate change, most of the scientific community agrees large wildfires could well become more frequent and intense as global temperatures increase. Paul Sisco reports.


California's wildfires sent millions of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. University of Colorado researchers report that from October 19th to the 26th, an estimated 8.7 million tons of the global warming gas were released.


Armed with that report, a key U.S. House committee on energy and warming sought answers from a panel of scientists.


Committee Chairman Edward Markey wondered about global warming's impact on wildfires and public safety.


Professor of Ecology Steven Running described the trend. "We see the current acceleration 3 of wildfires and the current acceleration of people building homes in fire prone 4 areas. It just all adds up to this issue getting bigger and bigger."


Climate scientist Michael Medler agreed. He said, "Most of the models and many of our predictions indicate we are going to be seeing increased fire behavior, fire severity."


Representative Markey asked, "Because of global warming?"


Medler responded, "I would be able to say that."


Researchers have established the fire season in America's west is, on average, 78 days longer annually 5 than it was in the 1980s.


Running added, "That's on the order of 20 to 30 percent increase in number of days and we expect another 20 or 30 percent increase with the climate model projections 6 for the future, and so. We are in the middle of a trend that has been progressing for 30 to 40 years and there is no reason to suggest it is going to slow down with any of the climate projections we see."


By the time of the hearing, the wildfires that swept through southern California were mostly under control. But weather forecasters expected more hot, dry and windy weather.




adj.毁灭性的,令人震惊的,强有力的
  • It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
  • Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。
n.灾害,祸患,不幸事件
  • Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
  • The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。
n.加速,加速度
  • All spacemen must be able to bear acceleration.所有太空人都应能承受加速度。
  • He has also called for an acceleration of political reforms.他同时呼吁加快政治改革的步伐。
adj.(to)易于…的,很可能…的;俯卧的
  • Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
  • He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。
adv.一年一次,每年
  • Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
  • They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。
预测( projection的名词复数 ); 投影; 投掷; 突起物
  • Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
  • The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。
学英语单词
a gemini
Addtl
aligning microscope
appoximate continuity
Arderone
auxiliary firing
body search
bonibells
bubble dancer
bus duct work
bustiers
cancelled ballot ticket
chip shell
coalign
cotton gatherer
crest angle
cronje
cubango
cut-off interval
cycloses
depilators
dip coating process
distance correcting mechanism of range-finder
DMZ hosts
dryhanded
dryness-moistening and phlegm-resolving prescription
Fergusonite-trihydrate
filament emission
fine and microstructure of ocean
galactaric acid
good-times
granados
half-duplex
hyaline cell
hydroxyphenylarsonic acid
inferior carotid ganglia
integrated sounding system (iss)
interface description language
invisible runners
kakortokite
keep your eye on the ball
Koch's node
larch bark extract
line-sequential color-television
liquid breakdown
liquidation statement
long summer
machine-readable texts
maintenance team
matako
mazurek
mesoporous molecular sieve catalyst
monascus
multirelation
Nea Dimmata
night-creams
Nocardiophage
nomo-
nonerupted deciduous teeth
nonreconstructive inversion
nuplex
Ojo de Laguna
Ollantaitambo
operating losses
palilalias
parturiates
party-man
pashminas
payment of royalty
pendulous axis
phylosopher
pickled
population distribution
position modulation
prediction accuracy
purified helium product cooler
repaneled
ruddys
Runamycin
serve the turn
shatterindex
side draw tray
skew pupils
sputtering deposition
stereoscopic rangefinder
sulfatidate
Szabo
tampulbolon
tautomerizm
telc
tilting prevention device
Timpas
to keep your eyes peeled
unchampioned
Uniloy
universal-joint journal
vaccary
Vsign
water-sop
Whitworth standard screw thread
young Turks