El Nino
While some forecasting methods had limited success predicting the 1997 El Nino a few months in advance1, the Columbia University researchers say their method can predict large El Nino events up to two years in advance. That would be good news for governments, farmers and others seeking to plan for the droughts and heavy rainfall that El Nino can produce in various parts of the world.
Using a computer, the researchers matched sea-surface temperatures to later El Nino occurrences between 1980 and 2000 and were then able to anticipate El Nino events dating back to 1857, using prior sea-surface temperatures. The results were reported in the latest issue of the journal Nature.
The researchers say their method is not perfect, but Bryan C Weare, a meteorologist at the University of California, Davis, who was not involved in the work, said it “suggests2 El Nino is indeed predictable.”
“This will probably convince others to search around more for even better methods,” said Weare. He added that the new method “makes it possible to predict El Nino at long lead times3.” Other models also use sea-surface temperatures, but they have not looked as far back because they need other data, which is only available for recent decades, Weare said.
The ability to predict the wanning and cooling of the Pacific is of immense importance4. The 1997 El Nino, for example, caused an estimated $20 billion in damage worldwide, offset by beneficial effects in other areas, said David Anderson, of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts in Reading, England. The 1877 El Nino, meanwhile, coincided with a failure of the Indian monsoon and a famine that killed perhaps 40 million in India and China, prompting the development of seasonal forecasting, Anderson said.
When El Nino hit in 1991 and 1997, 200 million people were affected by flooding in China alone, according to a 2002 United Nations report.
While predicting smaller El Nino events remains tricky, the ability to predict larger ones should be increased to at least a year if the new method is confirmed.
El Nino tends to develop between April and June and reaches its peak between December and February. The warming tends to last between 9 and 12 months and occurs every two to seven years.
The new forecasting method does not predict any major El Nino events in the next two years, although a weak warming toward the end of this year is possible.
练习：
1.The method used by the Columbia University researchers can predict El Nino a few months in advance.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
2.The Columbia University researchers studied the relationship between the past El Nino occurrences and sea-surface temperatures.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
3.The Columbia University researchers are the first to use sea-surface temperatures to match the past El Nino occurrences.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
4.Weare’s contribution in predicting El Nino was highly praised by other meteorologists.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
5.According to a Chinese report, the flooding in China caused by El Nino in 1991 and 1997 affected 200 million Chinese people.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
6.It takes about eight months for El Nino to reach its peak.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
7.A special institute has been set up in America to study El Nino.
A Right B Wrong C Not mentioned
答案与题解：
1.B 文章第一段第一句说，哥伦比亚大学的方法can predict large El Nino events up to two years in advance，而不是几个月。
2.A 本题给出的信息是正确的，根据是第二段的第一句。
3.C 第四段说到其他一些预测El Nino的方法也有涉及sea-surface temperatures这一因素的，但是文章没有提到是谁首先用sea-surface temperatures测定法预测El Nino的。
4.C 文章中提到Weare的地方是第三段、第四段，但都没有说到气象学家髙度评价Weare在预测El Nino方面做出的贡献。
5.B 第六段说到，关于中国受灾的数据是根据一份2002年的United Nations report作出的。
6.A 第八段说，El Nino一般开始于4月与6月之间，到12月与2月之间达到高峰，从发生到高峰经历的时间约为8个月。
7.C 通篇文章没有提到美国成立了一个El Nino研究所。