7月成有记录以来最热月份

近日，世界气象组织发布数据显示，7月前3周是有气象记录以来最热的3周，整个7月预计也将成为有记录以来最热月份。

🤔️小作业：

A. Increased solar activity

B. Deforestation and other changes in land use

C. Human-induced greenhouse gas emissions

D. Changes in ocean currents

A. El Niño has been the primary driver of the heatwaves.

B. El Niño's effects on North America have not yet fully manifested.

C. The effects of El Niño have been unusually mild this year.

D. El Niño has been displaced by other factors as the leading cause of heatwaves.

无注释原文：

This Looks Like Earth's Warmest Month. Hotter Ones Appear to Be in Store.

From: The New York Times

Weeks of scorching summer heat in North America, Europe, Asia and elsewhere are putting July on track to be Earth's warmest month on record, the European Union climate monitor said on Thursday, the latest milestone in what is emerging as an extraordinary year for global temperatures.

Last month, the planet experienced its hottest June since records began in 1850. July 6 was its hottest day. And the odds are rising that 2023 will end up displacing 2016 as the hottest year. At the moment, the eight warmest years on the books are the past eight.

“The extreme weather which has affected many millions of people in July is unfortunately the harsh reality of climate change and a foretaste of the future,” Petteri Taalas, the secretary general of the World Meteorological Organization, said in a statement. “The need to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions is more urgent than ever before.”

The world has entered what forecasters warn could be a multiyear period of exceptional warmth, one in which the warming effects of humankind's continuing emissions of heat-trapping gases are compounded by El Niño, the recurring climate pattern typically associated with hotter conditions in many regions.

Even so, when global average temperatures shatter records by such large margins, as they have been doing since early June, it raises questions about whether the climate is also being shaped by other factors, said Karen A. McKinnon, a climate scientist and statistician at the University of California, Los Angeles. These elements might be less-well understood than global warming and El Niño.

“Do we expect, given those two factors, the record to be broken by this much? Or is this a case where we don't expect it?” Dr. McKinnon said. “Is there some other factor that we're seeing come into play?”

Many parts of the world are continuing to swelter this week as July enters its final days. In the United States, a dangerous heat wave was taking shape on Thursday in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, the National Weather Service said, and high temperatures remained a concern in the Southwest and Central States. It's been scorching in parts of North Africa, Southeastern Europe and Turkey. Wildfires, amplified by heat and dryness, have raged in Canada and around the Mediterranean.

Researchers who analyzed this month's punishing heat waves in the Southwestern United States, northern Mexico and Southern Europe said this week that the temperatures observed in those regions, over a span of so many days, would have been “virtually impossible” without the influence of human-driven climate change.

Still, scientists will need to investigate further to fully understand the “alarming” extent to which the entire surface of the planet has, on average, been hotter than usual this summer, said Emily Becker, a climate scientist at the University of Miami.

Fossil-fuel emissions, which cause heat to build up near Earth's surface, are certainly playing a role. Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have pumped 1.6 trillion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This has caused the world to be about 1.2 degrees Celsius, or 2.2 Fahrenheit, warmer than it was in the second half of the 19th century.

But the way this extra heat is distributed around the globe is still shaped by a complex brew of factors spanning land, sea and air, plus a certain amount of random chance. Which is why untangling the specific factors behind this summer's severe heat will take time, Dr. Becker said. “There's going to need to be quite a lot of research to understand it, and understand if we're going to be seeing this again next year or 10 years from now.”

One factor that probably hasn't been very important so far this summer, at least not in North America, is El Niño, Dr. Becker said. The cyclical phenomenon emerges when the surface of the central tropical Pacific is hotter than normal. Its arrival, which this year occurred in late spring, triggers a cascade of changes to wind patterns and rainfall around the globe. But its most immediate effects are felt in the tropical and far western Pacific, in places like Indonesia.

“In terms of North America, this El Niño is really just getting started,” said Dr. Becker, who contributes to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's El Niño and La Niña forecasts. Winter is when North America experiences El Niño's most prominent effects, including wetter conditions in the Southern United States.

This summer's record heat could still affect the way this El Niño plays out later this year and into 2024, Dr. Becker said. Large areas of the planet's oceans have been warmer than average. If this continues into fall and winter, it could lead to even stronger storms, with even heavier rain, in places that typically receive more storms during El Niño, Dr. Becker said.

When it comes to factors besides global warming that may also be worsening heat waves, scientists have been examining potential changes in the jet streams, the rivers of air that influence weather systems around the planet.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the differences in temperature between the Arctic and the Equator keep the subtropical jet stream moving. As humans warm the planet, those temperature differences are narrowing, which could be causing the jet stream to weaken and hot spells to last longer.

So far, though, the evidence for this is inconclusive, said Tim Woollings, a professor of physical climate science at the University of Oxford. “It's really not clear that the jet has been getting weaker,” he said.

In a study published in April, Dr. Woollings and four other scientists found that human-caused warming might have shifted the jet streams in both hemispheres toward the poles in recent decades. More research is needed to understand this potential shift, he said. But if it continues, it could make subtropical regions susceptible to greater heat and drought, he said.

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为纽约时报官方译文，仅供参考

含注释全文：

This Looks Like Earth's Warmest Month. Hotter Ones Appear to Be in Store.

From: The New York Times

Weeks of scorching summer heat in North America, Europe, Asia and elsewhere are putting July on track to be Earth's warmest month on record, the European Union climate monitor said on Thursday, the latest milestone in what is emerging as an extraordinary year for global temperatures.

欧盟气候监测机构周四表示，北美、欧洲、亚洲和其他地区持续数周的酷暑使7月可能成为地球有记录以来最热的一个月，这将成为这个全球气温异常之年的最新里程碑。

scorching /ˈskɔː.tʃɪŋ/ 表示“灼热的（地）；极热的（地）”，英文解释为“very hot”如：a scorching summer day 炎热的夏日。

表示“监视；检查；跟踪调查”，英文解释为“to watch and check sth over a period of time in order to see how it develops, so that you can make any necessary changes”举个🌰：Each student's progress is closely monitored. 每一位同学的学习情况都受到密切的关注。

表示“里程碑；重大事件；转折点”，英文解释为“an important event in the development or history of something or in someone's life”举个🌰：He felt that moving out of his parents' home was a real milestone in his life. 他感到搬出父母家是他一生中一个真正的转折点。

extraordinary /ɪkˈstrɔː.dɪn.ər.i/ 表示“非凡的；特别的；意想不到的；令人惊奇的”，英文解释为“very unusual, special, unexpected, or strange”举个🌰：He told the extraordinary story of his escape. 他讲述了他离奇的逃亡经历。

Last month, the planet experienced its hottest June since records began in 1850. July 6 was its hottest day. And the odds are rising that 2023 will end up displacing 2016 as the hottest year. At the moment, the eight warmest years on the books are the past eight.

上个月，地球经历了自1850年有记录以来最热的6月。7月6日是最热的一天。2023年取代2016年成为最热年份的可能性正在上升。目前，记录上最热的八年正是过去的八年。

1）表示“可能性，机会；几率，概率”，英文解释为“the probability (= how likely it is) that a particular thing will or will not happen”举个🌰：The overall odds of winning a lottery prize are 1 in 10. 抽中彩票的几率是1/10。

2）表示“不利条件；掣肘的事情；逆境”，英文解释为“something that makes it seem impossible to do or achieve sth”举个🌰：They secured a victory in the face of overwhelming odds. 尽管情况非常不利，他们仍得到了胜利。

📍奥巴马卸任后首次重返白宫 和拜登互开玩笑文中提到，奥巴马讲话：“Despite great odds, Joe and I were determined, because we met too many people on the campaign trail who shared their stories, and our own families had been touched by illness.”“尽管困难重重，乔和我还是下定决心，因为我们在竞选路上遇到了太多分享他们故事的人，我们自己的家庭也被疾病所影响。”

📍great odds 表示“困难重重，困难诸多”，相当于a lot of difficulties，举个🌰：We believe that, despite great odds, we can achieve a peaceful settlement. 我们相信，尽管困难重重，我们还是能够实现和平解决。

1）表示“取代；替代；置换”，英文解释为“to take the place of sb/sth”举个🌰：Gradually factory workers have been displaced by machines. 工厂的工人已逐渐被机器取代。

2）表示“迫使…离开常居地（或原位）”，英文解释为“to force something or someone out of its usual or original position”举个🌰：The building of a new dam will displace thousands of people who live in this area. 建造新水坝将迫使居住在这一地区的数千人迁往别处。

🎬电影《米尔克》（Milk）中的台词提到：And these are kids that would be displaced from families. 住在里面的都是些离家出走的孩子。

“The extreme weather which has affected many millions of people in July is unfortunately the harsh reality of climate change and a foretaste of the future,” Petteri Taalas, the secretary general of the World Meteorological Organization, said in a statement. “The need to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions is more urgent than ever before.”

世界气象组织秘书长佩蒂里·塔拉斯在声明中表示：“不幸的是，7月对成百上千万人造成影响的极端天气是气候变化的残酷现实，也是未来的预兆。减少温室气体排放的需求比以往任何时候都更加迫切。”

1）表示“令人不快的；严酷的；（无端地）严厉的”，英文解释为“unpleasant, unkind, cruel, or more severe than is necessary”如：harsh criticism 严厉的批评。

2）表示“刺眼的；刺耳的；过于强烈的”，英文解释为“too strong, bright, loud, etc.”如：harsh lighting 刺眼的光线。

foretaste /ˈfɔː.teɪst/ 表示“预先的体验；预示；征象”，英文解释为“something that gives you an idea of what something else is like by allowing you to experience a small example of it before it happens”如：a foretaste of spring 春天的气息。

meteorological /ˌmiː.ti.ə.rəˈlɒdʒ.ɪ.kəl/ 表示“气象的”，英文解释为“relating to weather conditions”举个🌰：Accurate meteorological records began 100 years ago. 准确的气象记录始于100年前。

The world has entered what forecasters warn could be a multiyear period of exceptional warmth, one in which the warming effects of humankind's continuing emissions of heat-trapping gases are compounded by El Niño, the recurring climate pattern typically associated with hotter conditions in many regions.

气象预报界警告称，世界已经进入了一个可能持续多年的异常变暖期，在此期间，人类持续排放温室气体的变暖效应与厄尔尼诺现象相结合，这种反复出现的气候模式通常与许多地区的高温天气有关。

1）表示“异常的；特别的；罕见的”，英文解释为“very unusual”举个🌰：This deadline will be extended only in exceptional circumstances . 只有在特殊情况下才会延长最后期限。

2）表示“（尤指在技能、才智、品质等方面）卓越的，杰出的，不同凡响的”，英文解释为“much greater than usual, especially in skill, intelligence, quality, etc.”如：an exceptional student 出类拔萃的学生。

compound /ˈkɒm.paʊnd/ 作名词，1）表示“化合物，复合物，混合物”，英文解释为“a chemical that combines two or more elements”举个🌰：Salt is a compound of sodium and chlorine. 盐是钠和氯的化合物。

2）表示“（围起来的）场地，楼群，院落”，英文解释为“an area surrounded by fences or walls that contains a group of buildings”举个🌰：They marched into the compound. 他们进入大院。

作动词，表示“使加重，使加剧，使恶化”，英文解释为“to make a problem or difficult situation worse”举个🌰：Her terror was compounded by the feeling that she was being watched. 她有种被人监视的感觉，这加剧了她的恐惧感。

🎬电影《盗梦空间》（Inception）中的台词提到：And when you enter a dream within that dream, the effect is compounded. 当你进入梦中梦，效果会更强。

Even so, when global average temperatures shatter records by such large margins, as they have been doing since early June, it raises questions about whether the climate is also being shaped by other factors, said Karen A. McKinnon, a climate scientist and statistician at the University of California, Los Angeles. These elements might be less-well understood than global warming and El Niño.

加州大学洛杉矶分校的气候科学家、统计学家卡伦·麦金农说，即便如此，当全球平均气温像6月初以来那样，以如此大的幅度打破记录时，还会引发气候是否也受到其他因素影响的问题，这些因素可能没有全球变暖和厄尔尼诺现象那么容易理解。

shatter /ˈʃæt.ər/ 1）表示“终结；严重破坏”，英文解释为“to end or severely damage something”举个🌰：The book shattered all her illusions about the Romans. 这本书击碎了她对罗马人的一切幻想。

2）表示“ （使感情、希望或信念等）粉碎，破灭；被粉碎；被破坏”，英文解释为“to destroy sth completely, especially sb's feelings, hopes or beliefs; to be destroyed in this way”举个🌰：Her self-confidence had been completely shattered. 她的自信心彻底崩溃了。

🎬电影《飞鹰艾迪》（Eddie the Eagle）中的台词提到：The most shattering physical and emotional experience of your life, 你这辈子身心都受到巨大冲击的体验，

margin /ˈmɑː.dʒɪn/ 1）表示“差数，差额”，英文解释为“the amount by which one thing is different from another”

2）表示“边，缘，边沿，边缘”，英文解释为“the outer edge of an area”举个🌰：The plant tends to grow in the lighter margins of woodland areas. 这种植物往往生长在植被较稀疏的林地边缘。

“Do we expect, given those two factors, the record to be broken by this much? Or is this a case where we don't expect it?” Dr. McKinnon said. “Is there some other factor that we're seeing come into play?”

“即便在把这两个因素考虑进去之后，我们预计到记录会被打破这么多吗？抑或这是我们预料之外的情况？”麦金农说。“是否还有其他因素在起作用？”

Many parts of the world are continuing to swelter this week as July enters its final days. In the United States, a dangerous heat wave was taking shape on Thursday in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, the National Weather Service said, and high temperatures remained a concern in the Southwest and Central States. It's been scorching in parts of North Africa, Southeastern Europe and Turkey. Wildfires, amplified by heat and dryness, have raged in Canada and around the Mediterranean.

随着7月进入最后几天，本周世界许多地方依然酷热。美国国家气象局表示，周四，一股危险的热浪正在美国东北部和大西洋中部形成，西南部和中部各州的高温仍令人担忧。北非、东南欧和土耳其的部分地区持续炎热。高温和干燥加剧了野火在加拿大和地中海周围的肆虐。

swelter /ˈswel.tər/ 表示“（人）感觉热极了，热得要命”，英文解释为“(of a person) to feel very hot”举个🌰：The soldiers were sweltering in their uniforms. 士兵们穿着制服，热得要命。

表示“增强，放大”，英文解释为“To amplify something means to increase its strength or intensity.”举个🌰：These stories only amplified her fears. 这些故事徒增了她的恐惧感。

rage作动词，表示“肆虐；迅速蔓延；快速扩散”，英文解释为“You say that something powerful or unpleasant rages when it continues with great force or violence.”举个🌰：Train service was halted as the fire raged for more than four hours. 火车停运了，因为大火肆虐了四个多小时。

作名词，表示“（一阵）盛怒；（一阵）狂怒；（一阵）暴怒”，英文解释为“(a period of) extreme or violent anger”举个🌰：Her sudden towering rages were terrifying. 她突然暴跳如雷，很吓人。

短语：

📍be (all) the rage表示“风靡一时，非常时兴，十分流行”（to be very popular at a particular time），此前在印度新婚夫妇在自家厕所自拍可获政府奖励？文中就提到Pre-wedding toilet selfies are becoming all the rage in Madhya Pradesh. 印度人婚前在厕所自拍非常盛行，再举个🌰：Long hair for men was all the rage in the 70s. 在70年代，男人留长发风靡一时。

📍rageful，rage+ful，构成形容词，相当于full of anger or rage，表示“狂怒的；怒不可遏的”。

Researchers who analyzed this month's punishing heat waves in the Southwestern United States, northern Mexico and Southern Europe said this week that the temperatures observed in those regions, over a span of so many days, would have been “virtually impossible” without the influence of human-driven climate change.

研究人员分析了本月发生在美国西南部、墨西哥北部和南欧的热浪，他们本周表示，如果没有人为造成的气候变化影响，这些地区在这么多天内观察到的气温“几乎是不可能的”。

punishing /ˈpʌn.ɪ.ʃɪŋ/ 表示“繁重的，使人疲惫不堪的，累人的”，英文解释为“very difficult and making you feel tired”举个🌰：Currently she has a punishing schedule of five presentations a day. 目前她的日程安排很繁重，一天要演出5场。

Still, scientists will need to investigate further to fully understand the “alarming” extent to which the entire surface of the planet has, on average, been hotter than usual this summer, said Emily Becker, a climate scientist at the University of Miami.

不过，迈阿密大学气候科学家艾米丽·贝克尔表示，科学家们还需要进一步调查，以充分了解今年夏天整个地球表面的平均气温比往年高到了何等“惊人”的程度。

Fossil-fuel emissions, which cause heat to build up near Earth's surface, are certainly playing a role. Since the Industrial Revolution, humans have pumped 1.6 trillion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This has caused the world to be about 1.2 degrees Celsius, or 2.2 Fahrenheit, warmer than it was in the second half of the 19th century.

化石燃料的排放导致地球表面附近的热量积聚，这肯定是一个原因。自工业革命以来，人类已经向大气中排放了1.6万亿吨二氧化碳。这导致全球气温比19世纪下半叶升高了1.2摄氏度。

fossil fuel /ˈfɒs.əl ˌfjʊəl/ 表示“矿物燃料”，英文解释为“fuels, such as gas, coal, and oil, that were formed underground from plant and animal remains millions of years ago”

1）表示“抽送；用泵（或泵样器官等）输送”，英文解释为“To pump a liquid or gas in a particular direction means to force it to flow in that direction using a pump.”举个🌰：The money raised will be used to dig bore holes to pump water into the dried-up lake. 筹到的钱款将用来挖井眼，再将水抽入干涸的湖中。

2）表示“洗胃”，英文解释为“If someone has their stomach pumped, doctors remove the contents of their stomach, for example, because they have swallowed poison or drugs.”举个🌰：One woman was rushed to the emergency room to have her stomach pumped. 一名妇女被紧急送进急诊室去洗胃。

But the way this extra heat is distributed around the globe is still shaped by a complex brew of factors spanning land, sea and air, plus a certain amount of random chance. Which is why untangling the specific factors behind this summer's severe heat will take time, Dr. Becker said. “There's going to need to be quite a lot of research to understand it, and understand if we're going to be seeing this again next year or 10 years from now.”

但是，这些额外的热量在全球范围内的分布方式仍然受到陆地、海洋和空气等复杂因素的影响，再加上一定的随机因素。贝克尔说，这就是为什么要弄清今夏酷热天气背后的具体因素需要时间。“需要进行大量的研究来理解它，并了解我们是否会在明年或10年后再次看到这种情况。”

brew /bruː/ 作动词，1）表示“（坏事或暴风雨）即将来临，酝酿”，英文解释为“If an unpleasant situation or a storm is brewing, you feel that it is about to happen.”举个🌰：It was too quiet - I felt that trouble was brewing. 太安静了——我觉得要出事了。At home a crisis was brewing. 家里一场危机正在酝酿着。

2）表示“泡（茶）；煮（咖啡）；（茶）冲泡；（咖啡）煮”，英文解释为“If you brew tea or coffee, you add boiling water to it to make a hot drink, and if it brews, it gradually develops flavour in the container in which it was made.”举个🌰：He brewed us some coffee./He brewed some coffee for us. 他给我们煮了些咖啡。

作名词，1）表示“混合物”，英文解释为“a mixture of several things”举个🌰：They gave her a strange brew to drink. 他们让她喝一种奇怪的混合饮料。

2）表示“一杯茶;一份啤酒”，英文解释为“a drink of tea or a drink of beer”举个🌰：Make us a brew. 给我们泡杯茶吧。

1）untangle /ʌnˈtæŋ.ɡəl/ 表示“解开，松开（缠结的线绳、金属线等）”，英文解释为“to remove the knots from an untidy mass of string, wire, etc. and separate the different threads”

2）表示“整理，理清（复杂问题）”，英文解释为“to make a complicated subject or problem, or its different parts, clear and able to be understood”举个🌰：It took years to untangle the legal complexities of the case. 理清该案牵涉到的复杂法律问题花了很多年的时间。

One factor that probably hasn't been very important so far this summer, at least not in North America, is El Niño, Dr. Becker said. The cyclical phenomenon emerges when the surface of the central tropical Pacific is hotter than normal. Its arrival, which this year occurred in late spring, triggers a cascade of changes to wind patterns and rainfall around the globe. But its most immediate effects are felt in the tropical and far western Pacific, in places like Indonesia.

贝克尔说，今年夏天到目前为止，有一个因素可能还不是很重要，至少在北美不是，那就是厄尔尼诺现象。当热带太平洋中部表面温度高于正常水平时，这种周期性现象就会出现。今年的厄尔尼诺现象发生在春末，引发了全球风场类型和降雨的一系列变化。但最直接的影响发生在热带和远西太平洋，比如印度尼西亚等地。

cyclical /ˈsaɪ.klɪ.kəl/ 表示“循环的；周期性的”，英文解释为“Cyclical events happen in a particular order, one following the other, and are often repeated.”举个🌰：Changes in the economy have followed a cyclical pattern. 经济呈周期性变化。

1）作动词，除了表示“发动；引起；触发”，英文解释为“to make sth happen suddenly”举个🌰：Nuts can trigger off a violent allergic reaction. 坚果可以引起严重的过敏反应。

2）作名词，表示“扳机”，英文解释为“The trigger of a gun is a small lever which you pull to fire it.”举个🌰：A man pointed a gun at them and pulled the trigger. 一个男人用枪指着他们，扣动了扳机。

类似的还有：

📍stir表示“激发，激起（强烈的感情）；引起（强烈的反应）”，英文解释为“to make someone have a strong feeling or reaction”，举个🌰：The poem succeeds in stirring the imagination. 这首诗能够激发起想象力。

📍provoke也表示“激起，引起”，英文解释为“to cause a reaction or feeling, especially a sudden one”，如：provoke debate/discussion 激起辩论/讨论。

📍spur 鼓动；激励；鞭策；刺激；鼓舞”，英文解释为“If one thing spurs you to do another, it encourages you to do it.”举个🌰：It's the money that spurs these fishermen to risk a long ocean journey in their flimsy boats. 是金钱驱使这些渔民驾驶单薄的小船冒险出海远航。

🎬电影《龙之心3：巫师的诅咒》（Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse）中的台词提到：To spur the clans to war. 激励部族发起战争。

cascade /kæsˈkeɪd/ 1）表示“如瀑布般下落；大量倾泻”，英文解释为“to fall quickly and in large amounts”举个🌰：Coins cascaded from/out of the fruit machine. 大量硬币从吃角子老虎机中倾泻而出。

2）表示“逐层传递；传播；传达”，英文解释为“to pass on information by giving it to just a few people, who then give it to more people; to be passed on in this way”举个🌰：Guest information is cascaded through employee shift briefings. 客人信息是在员工轮班简报时传达的。

表示“热带的；来自热带的；产于热带的”，英文解释为“coming from, found in or typical of the tropics”如：tropical fish 热带鱼。

“In terms of North America, this El Niño is really just getting started,” said Dr. Becker, who contributes to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's El Niño and La Niña forecasts. Winter is when North America experiences El Niño's most prominent effects, including wetter conditions in the Southern United States.

“就北美而言，厄尔尼诺其实才刚刚开始，”作为美国国家海洋和大气管理局厄尔尼诺和拉尼娜预报专家的贝克尔说。冬季是北美受厄尔尼诺影响最明显的季节，包括美国南部较潮湿的天气。

1）表示“重要的；著名的；杰出的”，英文解释为“important or well known”举个🌰：He played a prominent part in the campaign. 他在这次运动中发挥了重要作用。

2）表示“突出的，显眼的”，英文解释为“Something that is in a prominent position can easily be seen.”举个🌰：New books are displayed in a prominent position on tables at the front of the store. 新书陈列在商店前面桌子上的一个显眼位置。

This summer's record heat could still affect the way this El Niño plays out later this year and into 2024, Dr. Becker said. Large areas of the planet's oceans have been warmer than average. If this continues into fall and winter, it could lead to even stronger storms, with even heavier rain, in places that typically receive more storms during El Niño, Dr. Becker said.

贝克尔说，今年夏天创纪录的高温仍可能影响厄尔尼诺现象在今年晚些时候乃至2024年的发展。地球上大片海洋的温度已高于平均水平。贝克尔说，如果这种情况持续到秋冬季，在厄尔尼诺现象期间通常会出现更多风暴的地方，可能会出现更强的风暴，带来更大的降雨。

When it comes to factors besides global warming that may also be worsening heat waves, scientists have been examining potential changes in the jet streams, the rivers of air that influence weather systems around the planet.

除了全球变暖之外，还有其他可能加剧热浪的因素，科学家们一直在研究高速气流的潜在变化，高速气流一种是影响全球天气系统的空气流。

jet stream /ˈdʒet ˌstriːm/ 表示“（地球高空自西向东的）急流”，英文解释为“a narrow current of strong winds high above the earth that move from west to east”

In the Northern Hemisphere, the differences in temperature between the Arctic and the Equator keep the subtropical jet stream moving. As humans warm the planet, those temperature differences are narrowing, which could be causing the jet stream to weaken and hot spells to last longer.

在北半球，北极和赤道之间的温差使亚热带高速气流保持移动。随着人类使地球变暖，这些温差正在缩小，这可能会导致高速气流减弱，热浪持续更长时间。

hemisphere /ˈhɛmɪˌsfɪə/ 表示“半球”，英文解释为“A hemisphere is one half of the earth.”如：the northern hemisphere 北半球，the southern hemisphere 南半球，the depletion of the ozone layer in the northern hemisphere 北半球臭氧层的消耗。

the Arctic /ˈɑːk.tɪk/表示“北极，北极地区”，英文解释为“the very cold area around the North Pole”举个🌰：Polar bears live in the Arctic. 北极熊生活在北极地区。

equator /ɪˈkweɪtə/ 表示“赤道”，英文解释为“The equator is an imaginary line around the middle of the earth at an equal distance from the North Pole and the South Pole.”

subtropical /ˌsʌbˈtrɒp.ɪ.kəl/ 表示“亚热带的，副热带的”，英文解释为“belonging to or relating to parts of the world that are immediately south or north of the tropics (= the hottest areas) and have very hot weather at some times of the year”如：a subtropical climate 亚热带气候。

霍格沃茨新生报到文中提到，spell 熟词僻义，1）表示“咒语，符咒；魔法；着魔”，英文解释为“spoken words that are thought to have magical power, or (the condition of being under) the influence or control of such words”举个🌰：The witch cast/put a spell on the prince and he turned into a frog. 女巫对王子施了魔法，把他变成了青蛙。

2）表示“（持续的）一段时间”，英文解释为“a period of time for which an activity or condition lasts continuously”举个🌰：I lived in Shanghai for a spell. 我在上海住过一阵子。

3）也表示“（特定天气的）一段短暂持续时间”，英文解释为“a short period of a particular type of weather”如：a spell of dry weather 一段天气干燥的日子。

4）作动词，spell disaster/trouble 表示“意味着灾难／会招致麻烦（等等）”，英文解释为“to cause something bad to happen in the future”举个🌰：This cold weather could spell trouble for gardeners. 这种寒冷的天气可能会为菜农带来灾难。

So far, though, the evidence for this is inconclusive, said Tim Woollings, a professor of physical climate science at the University of Oxford. “It's really not clear that the jet has been getting weaker,” he said.

不过，牛津大学物理气候科学教授蒂姆·伍林斯表示，到目前为止，这方面还没有确凿的证据。他说：“高速气流是否变得越来越弱，这一点确实还不清楚。”

inconclusive /ˌɪn.kəŋˈkluː.sɪv/ 表示“无结果的；无定论的”，英文解释为“not giving or having a result or decision”举个🌰：The evidence is inconclusive. 这项证据是没有说服力的。

In a study published in April, Dr. Woollings and four other scientists found that human-caused warming might have shifted the jet streams in both hemispheres toward the poles in recent decades. More research is needed to understand this potential shift, he said. But if it continues, it could make subtropical regions susceptible to greater heat and drought, he said.

在今年4月发表的一项研究中，伍林斯和其他四位科学家发现，近几十年来，人类活动引起的变暖可能使两个半球的高速气流向两极转移。他表示，需要更多的研究来了解这种潜在的转变。但他说，如果这种情况持续下去，可能会使亚热带地区更容易受到高温和干旱的影响。

susceptible /səˈseptəbl/ 表示“易受影响（或伤害等）；敏感；过敏”，英文解释为“very likely to be influenced, harmed or affected by sb/sth”举个🌰：Some of these plants are more susceptible to frost damage than others. 这些植物中有一些较其他的易受霜冻危害。

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