北半球7月气温创记录新高

 　　Fridays are awesome¹.

　　It seems I have said that before.

　　I'm Carl Azuz for commercial-free CNN STUDENT NEWS.

　　It is month and one day until the official end of summer in the northern hemisphere.

　　But scientists say, worldwide, July was the warmest month since 1880

　　when researchers started reporting global temperatures.

　　It's according to U.S. and Japanese government agencies.

　　How much warmer?

　　In Fahrenheit², scientists say July 2015 was 0.36 of 1 degree warmer

　　than the previous record set in July 2011.

　　This was a worldwide measurement.

　　Summer in the U.S. alone had pretty normal temperatures.

　　CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's now official --

　　July 2015 is the warmest month on record.

　　The biggest driver of this I think is El Nino.

　　It's always warm when we have an El Nino year.

　　It's that warm water that sets off the Pacific coast of South America, getting blown across the Pacific.

　　It's warm pool of air and it keeps the atmosphere warmer because it is so warm.

　　We also have greenhouse gases, the highest concentrations that we've ever measured.

　　So, where do these measurements come from? Thermometers on land.

　　Satellite measurements, looking down at the Earth measuring temperatures remotely.

　　And also, ships at seas taking measurements as they cross the globe.

　　Now, there are smaller circulations across the globe, too.

　　There are patterns across the Pacific Northwest.

　　This thing called "The Blob" out there,

　　an area of warm water that has really drastically change

　　the climate for Seattle and Portland and for most of California in a very big drought.

　　All of this part of the warmest month on record.

　　AZUZ: It's a mystery that started on March 8th of 2014.

　　After taking off from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, heading to Beijing, China,

　　Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished with 239 people onboard.

　　Investigators³ believe the plane dramatically changed course during its flight

　　and eventually went down somewhere in the Indian Ocean, far off the western coast of Australia.

　　A possible clue emerged late last month on Reunion Island.

　　This is a French territory located east of Madagascar,

　　in the western Indian Ocean, where debris⁴ from the plane might have drifted.

　　A beach-cleaning crew found part of an airplane wing.

　　Malaysian officials say it's from Flight 370, but it's still being investigated.

　　And investigators still don't know what happened to the plane or where any other wreckage⁵ might be.

　　Veteran oceanographers tell CNN this could be the new front line of the search for MH370,

　　which is why search teams are now looking off not only Reunion Island but nearby Madagascar,

　　the Seychelles Islands, Mauritius, Mozambique, and off the east coast of South Africa.

　　The reason? A powerful stream of currents circulating in the Indian Ocean, called a gyre.

　　It is a permanent circulation pattern in the Indian Ocean

　　that runs counter clockwise starts off the coast of Australia

　　and the west of Australian current,

　　moves north and then picks up in the southern equatorial current,

　　moving east to west across the Indian Ocean basin before it turns south and then returns.

　　TODD: Former U.S. Navy oceanographer, Van Gurley,

　　says other parts of MH370 that could be found,

　　seats or other objects with foam⁶ inserts or closed air pockets,

　　characters which could cause something to float.

　　Experts say that may be why this apparent piece made it to Reunion Island.

　　But Gurley says if the missing plane is in the area off Australia where scientists think it went down,

　　objects could also be found in the other direction, on the other side of Australia.

　　GURLEY: Looking at the overall current patterns, at the end of 18 to 24 months,

　　the red area, some debris could end up over here where we're talking now, but others could end up down here.

1 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

2 Fahrenheit   

n./adj.华氏温度；华氏温度计(的)

参考例句：

• He was asked for the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit.他被问到水的沸点是华氏多少度。
• The thermometer reads 80 degrees Fahrenheit.寒暑表指出华氏80度。

3 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

5 wreckage   

n.（失事飞机等的）残骸，破坏，毁坏

参考例句：

• They hauled him clear of the wreckage.他们把他从形骸中拖出来。
• New states were born out of the wreckage of old colonial empires.新生国家从老殖民帝国的废墟中诞生。

6 foam   

v./n.泡沫，起泡沫

参考例句：

• The glass of beer was mostly foam.这杯啤酒大部分是泡沫。
• The surface of the water is full of foam.水面都是泡沫。