ChatGPT教英语India: Extreme flooding causing climate fears - BBC Ne

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DiDFzXnDXY

Well, you're live with BBC News. Let's turn to another really important story today, because the beginning of July was the hottest week on record on this planet. Around the world, a series of extreme weather events have intensified concerns about runaway climate change. And nowhere illustrates that better than North America. The southern and western United States is struggling under what's called a heat dome. Texas has suffered a record number of 100 degree days. But further north in Vermont, flooding has caused President Biden to declare a state of emergency. In southern Europe, yet another heat wave is building. In Italy, temperatures have risen above 40 degrees Celsius and could go higher still in Greece and Spain. In India, one of the most climate vulnerable regions, deaths are reported to have spiked as a result of sustained high temperatures. And it's sweltering, too. In China, Beijing has issued its highest level heat alert for northern parts of the country. In all, it amounts to a worrying pattern of extreme weather caused in part by climate change. Well, let's show you a little more on two of what we've just been looking at. In a minute, we'll go to India. But first, we start in Vermont, where two months of rain have dumped on the state in just a matter of days. I want to show you where we are right now. We are in It's about 20 minutes south of the state capital, and the damage is everywhere. Down Main Street, there's extensive flooding. Right here, as you can see, the road has completely crumbled. This is a car dealership behind me. And take a look where you can see the concrete buckled. And it's just holding on to that Jeep from falling into the river below. Scenes like this are playing out statewide. It happened so fast. And there have been so many comparisons between this storm and Hurricane Irene in 2011, which completely devastated Vermont. And so many residents have told us this was far worse. I'm in Solon district of the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, which is the worst affected state in the region because of heavy rains since the last weekend. Authorities say that in Himachal Pradesh, 31 people were killed till Tuesday. Nearly 1300 roads were closed due to landslides and flash floods, and 40 major bridges damaged in the last three days. A lot of tourists flocked to this state, but for many, their holiday has turned into a nightmare. Many people have been stranded because of landslides and flash floods. Officials claim that as many as 2,000 tourists stranded in Kullu district owing to incessant rain have been safely evacuated. Several parts of the state and also that of the neighboring states of Punjab and Haryana continue to be flooded. Since Tuesday, weather has been largely clear in most parts, bringing relief to the residents. The authorities have stepped up relief measures in the region. Well, that's just a glimpse of what is happening. Let's go live to Dr Federica Otto, a senior lecturer in climate science at Imperial University and author of Angry Weather, Heat Waves, Flood Storms and the New Science of Climate Change. Doctor, thanks so much for being here on the program. So not just angry weather, but deadly weather. Is this happening faster than expected or what you anticipated? The weather is not changing faster than expected. What is changing very, very fast and is continuing to change very fast is emissions. We are continuing to burn fossil fuels and emissions are continuing to rise. And as long as we are burning fossil fuels, we will see more and more of these extreme events. That's not unexpected. It's exactly as expected. We're seeing floods, but we are principally concerned and talking about heat. How hot is it likely to get and are we likely to see these records keep tumbling? Yes. So this year we have on top of the increasing global temperatures because of the burning of fossil fuels, we have some natural phenomena that also lead to high temperatures. So the most famous of them is El Nino, which leads to higher ocean temperatures. We have seen that particularly also around the UK, but that means that we have climate change plus naturally conducive weather to heat waves. So this year we will see more heat records being broken than if there was no El Nino event. But as long as I say as long as we are burning fossil fuels, we will see heat records being broken again and again and again. And it's not just about trying to slow climate change. I mean, that's pretty obvious. And we know about the very well publicised route maps to actually doing that. But I suppose it's also now having to address the here and now for governments to come up with plans to protect their own publics. We know that Greece are having to formulate emergency plans. That is going to have to change how we're dealing with this now, isn't it? Well, both has to change. A lot of the plans to reduce emissions are actually also measures that will help us to adapt to extreme heat. So we need to insulate homes to lower emissions. But of course, that also helps people not to die in a heat wave if your homes are better insulated and you're kept cool. Greener cities and cities without cars and too much asphalt will be cities with lower emissions overall, but also cities that can deal with heat better because they won't get as hot. But also, of course, that can withstand flooding much better if the ground is able to take up the water and is not going into houses. A twin final question then. Geographically, is there any part of the world that's not seeing exactly the impacts you're talking about? And in terms of climate change, we have at the moment the El Nino effect, as you were talking about kicking in and making everything worse. Will there be periods where when that is not happening, it's not going to be as extreme as this? It will not always be as extreme as this, but it will never be as it used to be 10 years ago. And as long as we keep burning fossil fuels, it will just get worse. There is no place that's safe. But of course, the really mean impact of climate change is that those that have least done to the problem are those that suffer most. So the poor people in every country in the world, the most vulnerable living in poor housing are the ones who pay often with their lives for the profits of fossil fuel companies. Dr. Roto, we have to leave it there, but thanks so much for being here on the programme. Thanks for your time. Bye.

Section 1: Important Words

1. Planet - a celestial body that orbits around a star, such as the Earth

2. Extreme - very intense or severe

3. Intensify - to make something greater in degree or strength

4. Concern - a feeling of worry or interest in something important

5. Heat dome - a high-pressure system that traps hot air and causes prolonged heatwaves

6. Record - the highest, lowest, or best performance ever achieved

7. Suffer - to experience pain or hardship

8. Flooding - the overflowing of water onto normally dry land

9. Declare - to announce or make known

10. Emergency - a serious, unexpected situation requiring immediate action

11. Heat wave - a prolonged period of excessively hot weather

12. Vulnerable - easily harmed or affected by something

13. Spike - a sudden and significant increase

14. Sweltering - uncomfortably hot

15. Alert - a warning or announcement about a dangerous or critical situation

16. Worrying - causing anxiety or concern

17. Pattern - a repeated or regular way in which something happens or is done

18. Devastate - to cause severe and widespread damage or destruction

19. Stranded - left without the means to move or leave

20. Relief - a feeling of reassurance or relaxation after a period of discomfort or distress

Section 2: Important Grammars

1. Comparative form: used to compare two or more things

- Example: Texas has suffered a record number of 100 degree days.

2. Present perfect tense: used to talk about an action or event that happened at an indefinite time in the past or is connected to the present

- Example: Flooding has caused President Biden to declare a state of emergency.

3. Conditional sentences: used to express a condition and its result

- Example: If your homes are better insulated and you're kept cool, you won't die in a heat wave.

4. Superlative form: used to describe something as the highest, greatest, or best of its kind

- Example: This storm was far worse than Hurricane Irene in 2011.

5. Passive voice: used to emphasize the action rather than the subject

- Example: Many people have been stranded because of landslides and flash floods.

Section 3: Questions

1. What are some extreme weather events mentioned in the article?

2. How does the author describe the impact of climate change on vulnerable regions?

3. What measures can be taken to adapt to extreme heat and minimize its effects?

Section 4: Example Answers

1. Some extreme weather events mentioned in the article include heatwaves in the United States, flooding in Vermont, heatwaves in southern Europe, and heavy rains and flash floods in India.

2. The author describes the impact of climate change on vulnerable regions as having spiked deaths due to sustained high temperatures and causing significant damage and destruction.

3. Measures that can be taken to adapt to extreme heat and minimize its effects include insulating homes to lower emissions, creating greener cities with less asphalt and fewer cars, and improving infrastructure to withstand flooding.

Section 5: Chinese Translation

嗯，您正在观看 BBC 新闻直播。我们来看看今天的另一个非常重要的新闻，因为七月初是地球上有记录以来最热的一周。全球范围内，一系列极端天气事件加剧了人们对失控的气候变化的担忧。没有哪个地方能比北美更好地说明这一点。美国南部和西部正面临着所谓的高温圈。得克萨斯州遭受了记录数量的100度的天气。但在佛蒙特州北部，洪水导致拜登总统宣布进入紧急状态。在南欧，又一次的热浪正在形成。在意大利，气温已经上升到40摄氏度以上，并且希腊和西班牙可能会更高。在印度，作为气候脆弱地区之一，因持续高温导致死亡人数激增。在中国也是热浪袭人。北京已经发布了该国北部地区的最高级别热浪警报。总之，这些极端天气现象构成了一种令人担忧的气候变化模式的一部分。接下来，我们将详细介绍我们刚刚关注的两个问题。一分钟后，我们将转到印度。但首先，我们来到佛蒙特州，州内已经降下了两个月的雨水，只用了几天时间。我想给你们展示一下我们现在所处的位置。我们位于州首府的南部约20分钟的地方，这里到处都是灾情。在主街上，洪水泛滥。就在这里，正如你们所见，道路已经完全坍塌。我身后是一家汽车经销商。看看混凝土的弯曲之处。它只是凭借着Jeep不掉入下面的河流。像这样的场景在整个州内都在上演。事情发生得太快了。很多人将这次风暴与2011年的艾琳飓风进行了比较，后者曾彻底摧毁了佛蒙特州。许多居民告诉我们，这次情况更糟。我现在身处喜马拉雅山脉的Solan地区，那是因为上周末的大雨而受灾最严重的地区。当局表示，在喜马拉雅邦，到周二为止，已有31人死亡。由于山体滑坡和山洪爆发，关闭了近1300条道路，造成40座重要桥梁受损。很多游客涌入这个州，但对于很多人来说，他们的假期已经变成了一场噩梦。由于山体滑坡和山洪爆发，许多人被困。官方称，由于持续的雨水，库卢县约有2000名游客被安全疏散。喜马拉雅邦以及旁边的旁遮普邦和哈里亚纳邦的一些地区仍然被洪水淹没。自周二以来，大部分地区的天气大部分晴朗，为居民带来了一些宽慰。当局已加强了该地区的救援措施。好的，这只是我们正在发生的一瞥。现在我们连线来到费德里卡•奥托博士，她是英帝国学院的气候科学高级讲师，也是《愤怒的天气：热浪、洪水和气候变化的新科学》一书的作者。博士，非常感谢您能在节目中出现。所以不仅是愤怒的天气，还是致命的天气。这是否比您预期的发展得更快？天气变化的速度不是比预期的更快。正在迅速变化和持续迅速变化的是气体排放。我们继续燃烧化石燃料，排放量也在不断增加。只要我们继续燃烧化石燃料，我们将看到越来越多这样的极端事件。这并不出乎意料。我们看到了洪水，但我们主要关注和谈论的是高温。温度可能会变得多热，我们是否会继续看到这些记录被打破？是的。今年我们除了因燃烧化石燃料导致全球气温上升外，还有一些自然现象导致气温升高。其中最著名的就是厄尔尼诺现象，它会导致海洋温度升高。我们在英国尤其明显，但这意味着我们既有气候变化又有自然有利于热浪的天气。所以今年我们会看到打破更多的高温记录，而如果没有厄尔尼诺事件，打破的高温记录会比较少。但只要我说我们继续燃烧化石燃料，我们将一次又一次地见到高温记录被打破。这不仅仅是试图减缓气候变化。这是相当明显的。我们都听说过为此制定的非常有名的路线图。但我想现在必须解决当下的问题，政府必须制定计划来保护自己的公众。我们知道希腊正在制定紧急计划。这将不得不改变我们目前在如何处理这个问题上的方法，对吗？两者都必须改变。实际上，减少排放的计划往往也是帮助我们应对高温的措施。我们需要绝热房屋以降低排放。但是，如果你的住房绝热效果更好，保持凉爽的话，这也将帮助人们在热浪中不至于死亡。更绿色且尽量减少沥青和汽车的城市总体排放量会更低，同时也可以更好地应对热浪，因为城市不会变得那么热。此外，如果地面能够吸收水并且不进入房屋，也能更好地抵御洪水。最后的问题，有地区没有看到你所谈论的影响吗？在气候变化方面，目前是否有厄尔尼诺效应启动并使一切变得更糟？不总是像现在这样极端，但永远不会再像10年前那样。只要我们继续燃烧化石燃料，情况只会变得更糟。没有一个地方是安全的。但是，气候变化的真正恶劣影响是那些为这个问题所付出最小努力的人反而承受了最大的痛苦。每个国家中的穷人，以及生活在贫困住房中的最脆弱人群，往往是为化石燃料公司的利润付出生命代价的人。奥托博士，我们不得不结束了，但非常感谢您能在节目中出现。谢谢您的时间。再见。