Question

Weather experts said this year could be one of the strongest EL Nino events in recorded history. El Nino means severe weather conditions in parts of the world. In eastern Africa, for example, Kenya and Uganda are preparing for possible flooding. Yet South Africa and Malawi are already dealing with extremely dry weather.

El Nino is Spanish for “the child”. It usually begins in December, near the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. In fact, the weather event was named in his honor. El Nino develops when winds off the west coast of South America weaken. This permits warm water in the western Pacific to expand toward the east and the Americas. At the same time, clouds and rain over the warm water move east, too. El Nio conditions normally appear only about twice every 10 years. Usually, El Nino conditions continue for about 12 to 18 months. They bring warm weather to some areas. These areas become wetter than normal, while others become drier.

The United Nations Children’s Fund warns that many people are at risk from hunger, disease and water shortages resulting from El Nino. In the east and southern Africa up to 11 million children could be affected. East African countries usually experience heavy rainfall during the El Nino. Southern Africa usually has little rainfall which may lead to wildfires or drought(干旱).

Weather changes caused by El Nino depend on the strength of the condition. In the early 1980s, strong El Nino was linked to dry weather in Australia and Asia, rain and flooding in South America and high temperatures in many parts of the U.S. The years later, smaller El Nino caused trouble in parts of the U.S. It caused severe floods in the Southeast and the Middle West. Tom Di Leberto is a meteorologist(气象学家) at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington, D.C. He said this year could be the third strongest El Nino on record. But we will not know for sure until all the weather records are examined.

1.The author writes the text to tell us_________.

A. many countries are preparing for the coming floods

B. Africa will probably suffer a lot form this year’s El Nino

C. this year could be one of the strongest El Nino on record

D. 11 million children could be affected by this year’s El Nino

2.The second paragraph is mainly about ____________.

A. what El Nino actually means

B. how El Nino comes into being

C. when El Nino will occur next time

D. why El Nino causes weather changes

3.Which of the following countries often suffers from flooding caused by El Nino?

A. Kenya    B. Malawi

C. Australia    D. South Africa

4.The author mentioned the 1980s’ El Nino and the 1990s’ El Nino to ______ .

A. explain why so many countries were affected by El Nino

B. prove weather changes caused by El Nino depend on its strength

C. argue that El Nino conditions usually appear about twice every 10 years

D. show scientists doubt whether this year will have the strongest El Nino

Answer

1.C

2.B

3.A

4.B

【解析】本文是一篇说明文。介绍了厄尔尼诺现象，它的特征以及它所带来的影响。

1.细节理解题。根据第一段中“Weather experts said this year could be one of the strongest EL Nino events in recorded history.”可知，作者是为了告知我们今年可能是厄尔尼诺现象最强烈的一年。故C选项正确。

2.细节理解题。根据第二段中“El Nino is Spanish for “the child”. It usually begins in December, near the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.”可知，本段讲述的是厄尔尼诺的来源，故B选项正确。

3.细节理解题。根据第一段中“Kenya and Uganda are preparing for possible flooding.”可知，经常反生厄尔尼诺现象的国家包括肯尼亚，故A选项正确。

4.推理判断题。根据最后一段中“Weather changes caused by El Nino depend on the strength of the condition.”可知，天气变化取决于其强度。故B选项正确。

【名师点睛】

所谓细节理解题，是指原文提到了某事物、现象或理论，题干针对原文具体叙述本身发问。细节事实理解题主要考查考生对文章中某一些特定细节或文章的重要实事的理解能力。它一般包括直接理解题和语义理解题两种。直接理解题的答案与原文直接挂钩，从阅读材料中可以找到。这种题难度低，只要学生读懂文章，就能得分，属于低层题。而语义理解题须将题目信息与原文相关信息进行语义上的转换才能得出结论。这类题目要求考生能理解原文中某个短语或句子的含义，从而找到与答案意思相同的词语和句子。

以第3小题为例，题干中需要找到的是厄尔尼诺现象经常发生在哪些国家，这就需要带着问题在原文中找到答案，根据第一段中“Kenya and Uganda are preparing for possible flooding.”可知，经常反生厄尔尼诺现象的国家包括肯尼亚，故A选项正确。