Today’s article

“NASA-Funded Studies Explain How Climate Is Changing Earth’s Rotation” — NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), July 19, 2024. The page does not list an individual author.

Original article: https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-funded-studies-explain-how-climate-is-changing-earths-rotation/

Free to read without login. This is a selected older article from July 19, 2024, not news published today. Read the full text at the source; the exercises below are original.

Suggested level: B2–C1 (editorial estimate) · Time: 12–15 minutes to read, plus 8–10 minutes for the questions.

Introduction

冰川融化不仅影响海平面，还会影响地球自转。今天重点练习：区分自然因素与人类影响，抓住数字对应的时间范围。先读全文，再回到原文定位依据。

Vocabulary

  1. redistribution — 重新分配
  2. aquifer — 含水层
  3. replenish — 补充；恢复储量
  4. oscillation — 振荡；周期性摆动
  5. depletion — 消耗；减少
  6. imperceptible — 难以察觉的
  7. decelerate — 减速
  8. linger — 持续存在

Reading comprehension

Answer questions 1–4 briefly in English. For question 5, choose TRUE, FALSE, or NOT GIVEN according to the original article.

1. Why can shrinking polar ice slow the planet’s spin?

Reference answer
Meltwater spreads toward the equator, changing how mass is distributed.

2. What percentage of recurring axis movements was linked to surface mass changes?

Reference answer
About 90%.

3. How quickly did ice and groundwater shifts lengthen days during 2000–2018?

Reference answer
By 1.33 milliseconds per century.

4. Why do tiny timing differences matter for navigation?

Reference answer
Satellite navigation depends on extremely accurate timekeeping.

5. The repeated axis changes were entirely human-caused.

Reference answer
FALSE. Natural climate variability strongly influenced twentieth-century oscillations.

Reading strategy

给每个数字标上“测量对象、时间范围、单位”。第 3 题的单位是“每世纪”，不是每天增加的量。还要分清周期性轴摆动与日长变化，不要把不同研究的结论混在一起。

Expression practice

be accounted for — 被考虑在内。

Original practice sentence (not a quotation from the article): Seasonal changes should be accounted for when comparing monthly electricity bills.

用 be accounted for 写一句话，说明比较两种学习方法时需要考虑哪个因素。