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Beijing had its biggest snowfall since 1951. Britain is suffering through its longest cold snap (寒潮)
since 1981. And freezing weather is hitting the Deep South, including Florida's orange groves and beaches.
Whatever happened to global warming?
Such weather doesn't seem to fit with warnings from scientists that the Earth is warming because of
greenhouse gases. But experts say the cold snap doesn't contradict global warming at all - it's just a
temporary phenomenon in the long-term heating trend. "It's part of natural variability," said Gerald Meehl,
a senior scientist. With global warming, he said, "we'll still have record and cold temperatures. We'll just
have fewer of them."
Scientists say man-made climate change does have the potential to cause more frequent and more
severe weather extremes. But experts did not connect the current cold snap to climate change.
So what is going on?
"We basically have seen just a big outbreak of Arctic air over populated areas of the Northern
Hemisphere", Arndt said.
In the atmosphere, large rivers of air travel roughly west to east around the globe between the Arctic
and the tropics. This air flow acts like a fence to keep Arctic air restricted. But recently, this air flow has
become bent into a zigzag (之字形) pattern, wandering north and south. If you live in a place where it
brings air up from the south, you get warm weather. In fact, record highs were reported this week in
Washington state and Alaska.
But in the eastern United States, like some other unlucky parts of the globe, Arctic air is coming from
the north. And that's how you get a temperature of 3 degrees in Beijing, a reading of minus-42 in
mainland Norway, and 18 inches of snow in parts of Britain. The zigzag pattern arises naturally from time
to time, but it is not clear why it's so strong right now.
1. What is the main idea of the text?
A. Freezing weather is hitting the Deep South.
B. We'll still have record cold temperatures.
C. The air flow has become a zigzag pattern.
D. Cold snap doesn't contradict global warming.
2. With global warming, we will ____.
A. also meet with severe cold snap
B. have more hot temperatures forever
C. never experience cold temperatures
D. have more cold temperatures
3. Beijing had its biggest snowfall since 1951 because of ____.
A. a fence from the Arctic
B. a cooling trend in climate
C. a big outbreak of Arctic air
D. its large population
4. We can conclude that ____.
A. not all the parts of the Northern Hemisphere are cold in face of the cold snap
B. the zigzag pattern arises naturally accidentally
C. Beijing will get cold weather next year
D. Washington state and Alaska will not face cold weather next year.

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