Did Columbus Contribute to the Little Ice Age

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Columbus and his crew set sail in 1492. Historians have documented how Columbus and the wave of explorers that followed him across the Atlantic forever altered the landscape and population of the Americas.

Now research shows that the explorers' influence might have reached to the skies. By connecting different studies like puzzle pieces, scientists have linked the explorers' arrival to a period of cold temperatures called the little ice age. Scientists say that during the Little Ice Age, which lasted from the 16th century until the 19th century, temperatures dropped and large, slow-moving rivers of ice, called glaciers, formed in northern Europe.

After Columbus and other explorers arrived in the Americas, some native Americans fled, but most died from new diseases, like smallpox, introduced by the Europeans. The native people left behind large patches of land cleared to create fields. Over time, trees grew back.

Scientists found that the trees that grew on the previously cleared land covered an area at least the size of California. They say since the trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen they could have removed between 2 billion and 17 billion tons of carbon dioxide gas from the air.

Carbon dioxide traps heat and helps the atmosphere stay warm, so a massive withdrawal of carbon dioxide could cause a drop in temperature. Scientists found that the carbon dioxide taken in by North America's new trees could have lowered the temperature.

哥伦布和他的船员们是在1492年扬帆远行的。历史学家们记录下了哥伦布和他之后的大批穿越大西洋的探险者怎样永久性地改变了美洲的地形地貌和住在那里的人民。

现在的研究表明，这些探险者的影响有可能涉及到了天空。科学家们把各种研究成果像拼图那样拼了起来，就把这些探险者的到来和一段叫做小冰川期的低温期联系到了一起。科学家们说，在16世纪延续到19世纪的小冰川期间，气温下降而且在北欧形成了大块的缓慢流动着冰川的冰河。

哥伦布和其他探险者到达美洲后，美洲的有些原住民逃走了，但大多数原住民则死于欧洲人带去的一些新传染病（如天花）。原住民留下了大块的、原先清理出来供耕种的土地。随着时间推移，这些土地上又长出了树木。

科学家们发现，在原先清理出来的耕地上生长的树木所覆盖的面积至少有加利福尼亚州那么大。他们认为因为树木吸收二氧化碳并放出氧气，这些树木有可能从空气中吸收掉了20亿到170亿吨的二氧化碳气体。

二氧化碳捕获热量，有助于使大气保持暖和，因此二氧化碳的大量流失就会使气温下降。科学家们发现，北美洲新长出来的树木带走的二氧化碳很可能造成了气温的降低。

（翻译时请注意斜体字的译法）

How Much Higher

How Much Faster

Since the early years of the 20th century, when the International Athletic Federation began keeping records, there has been a steady improvement in how fast (A) a

run, how high they jump and how far they are able to hurl massive objects through space. For the so-called power events, that require a relatively brief, explosive release of (B) e, like the 100-metre sprint and the long jump, times and distances have improved 10 to 20 (C) p. In the endurance events the results have been more dramatic. At the 1908 Olympics, John Hayes of the US team ran a marathon in a time of 2:55:18 while in 1999, Morocco's Khalid Khannouchi set new world(D) r of 2:05:42, almost 30 percent faster.

No one theory can explain improvements in performance, but the most important (1) f has been genetics. However, identifying genetically talented individuals is only the first step. It is believed that genetics only determines about one third of what an athlete can do. It should be reinforced by focused (E) t. With the right training, talented athletes can go much further with that one third than they have been going.

Revolutionary ideas also come from the athletes themselves. For (2) e, during the 1968 Olympics, a relatively unknown high jumper named Dick Fosbury won the (3) g by going over the bar backwards, in complete contradiction of all the received high-jumping wisdom, a move instantly dubbed the Fosbury flop. Fosbury himself did not know what he was doing. His unique way of performance was later analyzed in depth by biomechanics (4) s.

In fact, athletics is a very (F) cissue. So many variables enter into the equation, and our understanding in many cases is only fundamental. We've got a long way to go.

(A, B, C, D, E, F FOR CROSS, 1, 2, 3, 4 FOR DOWN. The first letters of the absents were given)

To protect his country a king decided to build a wall made out of stone along the border. The wall had to be 3 meters thick and 5 meters high. The border of the country has a length of 500 kilometers. Assuming that one cubic meter of stone weights about 3000 kg, how much heavier becomes the earth by building this wall?

上期Reading Comprehension答案

1. B2. A3. C4. D

上期Crossword答案

1. bomb2. function3. technology4. purposes

5. placeA. controlB. weaponsC. countries

D. scienceE. people

上期Illation答案

The driver removed some air from his tyres.