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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.
Douglas Lecomte most probably agrees that between 1998 and 2001_____.
选项 A、the number of hurricanes of the western U.S. soared
B、it was the first time when La Nina affected the U.S.
C、the rainfall of the western U.S. greatly reduced
D、it was the longest La Nina period in history
答案C
解析 事实细节题。根据人名Douglas Lecomte可定位至倒数第三段。该段提到了美国西部地区遭受严重干旱，将“干旱”与第五段提到的“拉尼娜现象会影响降雨和气温”结合起来，就可以推断当时美国的干旱应与降雨量减少有关，因此选C项。
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