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  3. The Climate of Japan P1: Meteorological features in Japan are mainly shaped by two factors. On one hand, tropical cyclone activi

The Climate of Japan P1: Meteorological features in Japan are mainly shaped by two factors. On one hand, tropical cyclone activi

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问题 The Climate of Japan
P1: Meteorological features in Japan are mainly shaped by two factors. On one hand, tropical cyclone activity peaks in the late summer, when the difference between temperatures aloft and sea surface temperatures is the greatest. On the other hand, during winter months heavy masses of cold air from Siberia dictate the weather around Japan. Persistent cold winds skim across the Sea of Japan from the northwest, picking up moisture that they deposit as several feet of snow on the western side of the mountain ranges on Honshu Island. As the cold air drops its moisture, it flows over high ridges and down eastern slopes to bring cold, relatively dry weather to valleys, coastal plains, and cities.
P2: In spring, the Siberian air mass warms and loses density, enabling atmospheric currents over the Pacific to steer warmer air into northeast Asia. This warm, moisture-laden air covers most of southern Japan during June and July. The resulting late spring rains then give way to a drier summer that is sufficiently hot and muggy, despite the island chain’s northerly latitude, to allow widespread rice cultivation. In addition to the rain and sweltering temperatures of summer, the months of August and early September are also considered typhoon season, when high pressure systems formed in the tropical areas of the western Pacific Ocean occasionally strike Japan’s southern regions, inflicting torrential rain and strong wind. The arrival of autumn in late September usually brings drier conditions and a drop in temperatures.
P3: Each season has its own characteristics, with the highest precipitation in most areas falling during the rainy season, when temperatures can soar into the high 90’s daily with almost 100% humidity. While the moisture fosters an exceptionally abundant forest, the combination of precipitous slopes and heavy rainfall also gives the islands one of the world’s highest rates of natural erosion, intensified by both human activity and the natural shocks of earthquakes and volcanism. These factors have in turn contributed to mountainsides that are extremely susceptible to erosion and landslides, and hence generally unsuitable for agricultural manipulation.
P4: The climate of Japan is predominantly temperate, but varies greatly from north to south and Japan’s geographical features divide it into six principal climatic zones. Generally sunny winters along the Pacific seaboard have made habitation there relatively pleasant. Along the Sea of Japan, on the other hand, cold, snowy winters have discouraged settlement. Furthermore, the combination of warm waters and monsoons results in strong evaporation of the relatively high annual precipitation, leaving little moisture for farming.
P5: In the summer, the region of Honshu is cooler than the Pacific area, though it sometimes experiences extremely hot temperatures because of the foehn. This has also discouraged agriculture. The area is subject to the yamase effect, when cool air from the north sometimes lowers temperatures sharply and damages farm production. As the the rice grown in Japan requires a mean summer temperature of 20°C or higher, a drop of 2°C -3°C can lead to a 30-50 percent drop in rice yield, and the yamase effect is capable of exceeding that level. This yamase effect does not, however, extend very far south, where most precipitation comes in the form of rain rather than snow and the bulk of it in spring, summer, and fall, when most useful for cultivation. Even the autumn typhoons, which deposit most of their moisture along the southern seaboard, are beneficial because they promote the start of the winter crops that for centuries have been grown in southern Japan.
P6: To conclude, meteorological factors, including both climate on a large scale and precipitation patterns, have forced the Japanese to cluster their settlements along the southern coast, most densely along the sheltered Inland Sea, moving out of the northeast in the past two millennia. There the limits that topography imposed on production have been tightened by climate, with the result that agricultural output has been more modest and less reliable, making the risk of crop failure and hardship greater.
P3: ■ Each season has its own characteristics, with the highest precipitation in most areas falling during the rainy season, when temperatures can soar into the high 90’s daily with almost 100% humidity. ■ While the moisture fosters an exceptionally abundant forest, the combination of precipitous slopes and heavy rainfall also gives the islands one of the world’s highest rates of natural erosion, intensified by both human activity and the natural shocks of earthquakes and volcanism. ■ These factors have in turn contributed to mountainsides that are extremely susceptible to erosion and landslides, and hence generally unsuitable for agricultural manipulation.■
An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some answer choices do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points. Drag your choices to the spaces where they belong. To review the passage, click on View Text.
Japan’s yearly weather cycle influences settlement patterns and agriculture across the islands.
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Answer Choices
A Cold, westerly winds from Siberia and cyclonic airflows from the Pacific Ocean provide ample rainfall for farming but contribute to high rates of erosion.
B Settlements are most concentrated along the Pacific seaboard to the south, where climate and topography are more suitable for crop cultivation.
C The yamase effect has a great impact on rice growing in northern Japan but does not affect cultivation in southern Japan, where precipitation comes in the form of rain rather than snow.
D Japan’s yearly weather cycle makes farming possible only in the summer, as the effects of the Siberian air mass result in winters that are too cold and snowy for agriculture.
E Agricultural practices that stabilize sediments have reduced erosion and landslides and allowed the growth of lush forests in Japan.
F Climate changes during the last two millennia have caused the Japanese to move their settlements toward the northeast, where the climate is more favorable to agriculture.
选项
答案A，B，C
解析 【文章总结题】本文主要讲了日本的气候特征以及对农耕和人口分布的影响。来自西伯利亚的寒冷西风和来自太平洋的旋风气流带来了大量降雨，但同时也导致了大范围的土地侵蚀；南部沿海降水充足，温度也适宜农业发展，所以人们大多定居在那里；山背效应降低了日本北部的气温，影响了农业种植，但是南方却不受影响。因此涉及日本气候的A、B、C选项正确。D、E、F三个选项与文章内容不一致。
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