Global warming causes earlier pollen season 全球變暖導(dǎo)致花粉季節(jié)提前

周艷霞

40 years ago， when Dr. Stanley Fineman started as an allergist（過(guò)敏癥專家）， he told patients to start taking medications and preparing for the pollen（花粉） season in the middle of March. Today， he tells them to start it around the middle of February because since 1990， the pollen season across the United States and Canada has been starting about 20 days earlier. The amount of pollen released by plants is 21 percent higher.

The main reason for this is global warming. Studies have shown that North Americas allergy season is getting longer and worse. But the new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America has the most complete information coming from 60 reporting stations. It is the first study to make scientific connections between an earlier and more intense pollen season with human?caused climate change. The study says the warmer the Earth gets， the earlier spring starts for animals and plants， especially plants that release pollen. Additionally， plants produce more pollen when they get carbon dioxide.

Bill Anderegg is the lead writer of the study. He said， “Climate change is here and its in every breath we take.” The University of Utah scientist told the Associated Press （AP）， “Clearly， warming temperatures and more carbon dioxide are putting more pollen in the air.”

Since 1990， about half of the earlier pollen season has been linked to climate change—mostly from warmer temperatures. But plant?feeding carbon dioxide， Anderegg said， played a part. However， since the 2000s， he said， about 65 percent of early pollen seasons can be blamed on warming. And about 8 percent of the increased pollen load can be blamed on climate change.

For Amir Sapkota， this is not just a matter of sneezing and watery eyes. There are more serious health concerns. The University of Maryland scientist said the pollen is a risk for other diseases including asthma（哮喘）. She told the AP， “Asthma costs the US economy an estimated $80 billion per year in terms of treatment and loss of productivity.” So， a longer pollen season is a threat to both “individuals suffering from allergies and the US economy”.

[Reading][Check]

1. What does the underlined word “it” in Para. 1 mean？

A. A pollen season.

B. The coming of March.

C. The amount of pollen released by plants.

D. Taking medications and preparing for the pollen season.

2. Which word can best describe the new study compared to other studies？

A. Latest. B. Original. C. Comprehensive. D. Research?based.

3. What does Bill Anderegg think of climate change？

A. Positive. B. Helpless. C. Indifferent. D. Concerned.

4. What does the last paragraph mainly focus on？

A. The current condition of Amir Sapkota.

B. The multiple effects of a pollen season.

C. The solution to a longer pollen season.

D. The huge influence of asthma.

[Language][Study]

Difficult sentence

1. But the new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America has the most complete information coming from 60 reporting stations. 但發(fā)表在《美國(guó)國(guó)家科學(xué)院院刊》上的新研究有來(lái)自60個(gè)報(bào)告站的最完整的信息。

【點(diǎn)石成金】句中published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America為過(guò)去分詞短語(yǔ)作后置定語(yǔ)，修飾名詞study; coming from 60 reporting stations為現(xiàn)在分詞短語(yǔ)作后置定語(yǔ)，修飾名詞information。

2. The study says the warmer the Earth gets， the earlier spring starts for animals and plants， especially plants that release pollen. 研究表明，地球越溫暖，動(dòng)植物的春天就越早開始，尤其是對(duì)于那些釋放花粉的植物。

【點(diǎn)石成金】本句使用的是“the+比較級(jí)……， the+比較級(jí)……”結(jié)構(gòu)，意為“越……，越……”。