Questions 61 to 65 are based on the following passage.
Small increases in temperature found to add power to storms in the Atlantic.
Hurricanes that form in the Atlantic Ocean are expected to gain considerable strength asthe global temperature continues to rise, a new study has found.
Using modeling data focused on the conditions in which hurricanes form, a group ofinternational researchers based at Beijing Normal University found that for every 1.8°F ( 1℃ )rise of the Earth's temperature, the number of hurricanes in the Atlantic that are as strong orstronger than Hurricane Katrina will increase twofold to sevenfold.
Hurricane strength is directly related to the heat of the water where the storm forms. Morewater vapor in the air from evaporating ocean water adds fuel to hurricanes that build strengthand head toward land.
Hurricane Katrina is widely considered the measure for a destructive storm, holding themaximum Category 5 designation for a full 24 hours in late August 2005. It lost strength as itpassed over the Florida peninsula, but gained destructive power fight before colliding withNew Orleans, killing more than 200 people and causing $ 80 billion in damage.
The study points to a gradual increase of Katrina-like events. The warming experiencedover the 20th century doubled the number of such debilitating(将人类摧垮的)storms. But theongoing warming of the planet into the 21st century could increase the frequency of theworst kinds of storms by 700 percent, threatening coastlines along the Atlantic Ocean withmuitiple Category 5 storms every year.
"Our results support the idea that changes in regional sea surface temperatures is theprimary cause of hurricane variability," said Aslak Girnstead, a researcher with the Center forIce and Climate at the University of Copenhagen. The large impact of small sea-surfacetemperature increases was more than Girustead and his colleagues had anticipated. Theentire study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Global temperatures have steadily increased, making the past decade the warmest onrecord. Earlier this year, climate researchers reported that the Earth's temperatures have risenfaster in the last century than at any point since the last ice age, 11,300 years ago. Theprimary cause, a couseusus of scientists has said, is the rising emissions of greenhousegases like carbon dioxide and methane.
Past hurricanes have supported the study's finding that global temperature rise is linkedto more destructive storms. According to the National Center for Atmospheric Research, whilethe frequency of storms doesn't appear to have increased, the percentage of strong ones hasrisen sharply over the past few decades. The trend may be similar further back in time, butcomprehensive hurricane data doesn't exist.
61. According to the team of international researchers based at Beijing Normal University,the rise of the Earth's temperature is likely to cause
A.the coming of ice age
C.more Katrina-like or worse hurricanes
B.less intense hurricanes
D.more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere
62. The ocean water in the region where the storm forms
A.is heating the hurricanes
B.evaporates and becomes fuel
C.heads toward land
D.turns into water vapor that makes hurricanes stronger
63. Which of the following statement is TRUE about Hurricane Katrina?
A.It did not lose its strength as it moved.
B.It claimed over 200 people's lives.
C.It caused 80 billion dollars loss for Florida peninsula.
D.It lasted for full 24 hours.
64. What result can regional sea surface temperature changes produce?
A.Hurricane changes.
C.Global warming.
B.Increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
D.Destructive hurricanes.
65. It can be inferred from the passage that
A.there is no link between greenhouse gas emissions and destructive storms
B.reduction of greenhouse gas emissions may reduce destructive storms
C.the higher percentage of strong ones rose as more hurricanes appeared
D.past records on hurricanes included everything needed
