USING PRIOR SEA-SURFACE TEMPERATURES. THE RESULTS WERE REPORTED...

1857, using prior sea-surface temperatures. The results were reported in the latest issue of the journalNature. The researchers say their method is not perfect, but Bryan Weare, a meteorologist at theUniversity of California, Davis, who was not involved in the work, said it “suggests El Nino is indeedpredictable.” “This will probably convince others to search around more for even better methods,” headded. The new method “makes it possible to predict El Nino at long lead times,” said lead authorDake Chen of Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. “Other models also usesea-surface temperatures, but they have not looked as far back because they need other data, which isonly available for recent decades,” Chen said.The ability to predict the warming and cooling of the Pacific is of immense importance. The1997 El Nino, for example, caused an estimated $20 billion in damage worldwide, offset bybeneficial effects in other areas, said David Anderson, of the European Centre for Medium-RangeWeather Forecasts in Reading, England. The 1877 El Nino, meanwhile, coincided with a failure ofthe Indian monsoon and a famine that killed perhaps 40 million in India and China, prompting thedevelopment of seasonal forecasting, Anderson said.When El Nino hit in 1991 and 1997, 200 million people were affected by flooding in Chinaalone, according to a 2002 United Nations report. While predicting smaller El Nino events remainstricky, the ability to predict larger ones should be increased to at least a year if the new method isconfirmed, Anderson wrote in an accompanying commentary. El Nino tends to develop betweenApril and June and reaches its peak between December and February. The warming tends to lastbetween 9 and 12 months and occurs every two to seven years. Chen said the new forecasting methoddoes not predict any major El Nino events in the next two years, although a weak warming towardthe end of this year is possible.(Source:www.nbcnews.com)Question 43: The Columbia University researchers studied the relationship between the past EI Ninooccurrences and _______.A. the droughts and heavy rainfall B. some forecasting methodsC. wind direction and ocean current D. sea-surface temperaturesQuestion 44: The word“a boon”in paragraph 1 probably means ______.A. new information B. living condition C. good news D. scientific evidenceQuestion 45: It is stated in the passage that Bryan Weare ______.A. worked at the California University, but he used to live at the Columbia University.B. didn’t do research on El Nino with researchers.C. had set up a special institute in America to study El Nino.D. made a contribution to predicting El Nino, which was highly praised by other meteorologists.Question 46: The word“immense”in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.A. main B. enormous C. essential D. specialQuestion 47: According to the passage, it takes about ______ for El Nino to reach its peak.A. less than 3 months B. 4 months C. 8 months D. 9 to 12 monthsQuestion 48: The word“tricky”in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to ______.A. cunning B. difficult C. normal D. commonQuestion 49: Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?A. The method used by the Columbia University researchers can predict El Nino a few monthsin advance.B. According to a 2002 United Nations report, the flooding in China caused by El Nino in 1991and 1997 affected 200 million Chinese people.C. The 1877 El Nino happened at the same time as a failure of the Indian monsoon and a faminekilled perhaps 40 million in India and China.D. Due to the severe damage El Nino can cause to human life and property, many researchershave devoted themselves to El Nino-related research.Question 50: Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?A. Study: El Nino can be predicted B. El Nino: Millions of people threatened withhungerC. Evidence: Effects of El Nino on humanlives D. Research: How Does the El Nino Develop?________THE END_________BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀOKỲ THI KIỂM TRA CHUYÊN ĐỀ CHUẨN BỊTẠOCHOKỲ THI THPT QUỐC GIA NĂM 2017