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  3. On the heels of El Nino, its opposite, La Nina may soon arrive. In a Weekly Update, scientists at the NOAA Climate Prediction Ce

On the heels of El Nino, its opposite, La Nina may soon arrive. In a Weekly Update, scientists at the NOAA Climate Prediction Ce

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问题    On the heels of El Nino, its opposite, La Nina may soon arrive. In a Weekly Update, scientists at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center reported that as the 2006-2007 El Nino faded, surface and subsurface ocean temperature have rapidly decreased. Recently, cooler-than-normal water temperatures have developed at the surface in the east-central equatorial Pacific, indicating a possible transition to La Nina conditions.
   Typically, during the U.S. spring and summer months, La Nina conditions do not significantly impact overall inland temperature and precipitation patterns, however, La Nina episodes often do have an effect on Atlantic and Pacific hurricane activity.
   "Although other scientific factors affect the hurricanes, there tends to be a greater-than-normal number of Atlantic hurricanes and fewer-than-normal number of eastern Pacific hurricanes during La Nina events," said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "During the winter, usual La Nina impacts include drier and warmer-than-average conditions over the southern United States."
   "NOAA’s ability to detect and monitor the formation, duration and strength of El Nino and La Nina events is enhanced by continuous improvements in satellite and buoy observations in the equatorial Pacific," Lautenbacher added. "These observing systems include the TAO/TRITON moored and Argo drift buoys, as well as NOAA’s polar orbiting satellites."
   La Nina conditions occur when ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific become cooler than normal. These changes affect tropical rainfall patterns and atmospheric winds over the Pacific Ocean, which influence the patterns of rainfall and temperatures in many areas worldwide.
   "La Nina events sometimes follow on the heels of El Nino conditions," said Vernon Kousky, research meteorologist at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center. "It is a naturally occurring phenomenon that can last up to three years. La Nina episodes tend to develop during March-June, reach peak intensity during December-February, and then weaken during the following March-May."
   "The last lengthy La Nifta event was 1998-2001, which contributed to serious drought conditions in many sections of the western United States," said Douglas Lecomte, drought specialist at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center.
   NOAA will issue the U.S. Spring Outlook on March 15, and its Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook in May. Both outlooks will reflect the most current La Nifta forecast.
   "While the status of El Nino/La Nina is of vital importance to our seasonal forecasts, it is but one measure we use when making actual temperature and precipitation forecasts," said Kousky.
It can be inferred from the text that the equatorial Pacific is usually _____.
选项 A、the area most seriously hit by La Nina
B、the first area influenced by La Nina
C、the only area monitored by satellites
D、the biggest area with a complex climate
答案B
解析 推理判断题。第五段第一句表明，拉尼娜现象生成于赤道附近太平洋地区。最后一句的定语从句表明拉尼娜现象首先影响太平洋地区的气候，进而影响全世界其他地区的气候，因此B项正确。
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