Background introduction: weather and climate

Human beings’ daily lives can not continue without proper weather and climate. Weather can have both beneficial and harmful effects. Extremes in weather, such as tornadoes or hurricanes andcyclones, can expend large amounts of energy along their paths, and produce devastation. Surface vegetation has evolved a dependence on the seasonal variation of the weather, and sudden changes lasting only a few years can have a dramatic effect, both on the vegetation and on the animals which depend on its growth for their food. Climate is a measure of the long-term trends in the weather. Various factors are known to influence the climate, including ocean currents, surface albedo, greenhouse gases, variations in the solar luminosity, and changes to the Earth's orbit. Based on historical records, the Earth is known to have undergone drastic climate changes in the past, including ice ages.The climate of a region depends on a number of factors, especially latitude. A latitudinal band of the surface with similar climatic attributes forms a climate region. There are a number of such regions, ranging from the tropical climate at the equator to the polar climate in the northern and southern extremes. 

Para. 1

1.biometeorologists: a combination of the prefix bio- and the word meteorologist. Bio- means “life, living or biological”. It is active in word formation, such as biodata, which refer to the basic information of a person in his or her resume.

2.Punctuation marks—quotation mark and parentheses.

The two used in this paragraph are clues for readers to find the definitions. Words within the quotation marks or parentheses are definitions or explanations for the word before the punctuation marks. The other clue for finding definitions in context used in this paragraph is verbal clues, as shown by words and expressions like mean, be, and be a definition of.

3.moisture: wetness 潮湿

It often indicates the wetness contained or felt in something, like the atmosphere or the skin. So this word appear in cosmetics as seen in the labels— “moisturizer”.

4.Influence: a power affecting a person, thing, or course of events影响

5.Effect: the power to produce an outcome or achieve a result 效果，作用

6.Affect: to have an influence on 影响

7.Personality: qualities and traits that are peculiar to a specific person. 人格

8.Humid: containing a high amount of water or water vapor潮湿的

Now answer the following questions in your own words.

Q1: What are biometeorologists?

Biometeorologists are the experts in weather research. They can work out the relationship between people’s health or emotions and atmospheric conditions. In other words, they can know how the weather affects people.

Q2: What does weather refer to?

Weather refers to atmospheric conditions at a time or place. And the weather conditions are sun, wind, rain, snow, humidity, air pressure and so on.

Para. 2

1.down from: 二重介词。指由两个单一的介词并列，作为一个介词使用并表达一个完整意思的介词。常见的二重介词有：from among，from behind，from under，until／till after等。

  E.g. He jumped from behind the tree.

  He ran along from the place he was.

2.Powerful, strong & forceful are similar in meaning to describe wind with higher speed and greater force. The effects the strong wind has on human health in the three countries have something to do with their geographical locations.

3.Russia Northern Russian extends into the Arctic Circle. Russia has many mountain areas, most of which are along the edges. The Ural Mountains 乌拉尔山脉 cover 2,500 miles of eastern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains 高加索山脉cross the southern part of Russia, from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. From the western boarder to the Ural Mountains is the North European Plain. This is a large rolling plain with rich soil and grasslands. Three quarters of the Russian population lives in the cities and towns of western Russia.

When the wind comes down to the plains from the high mountains, it greatly changes the air pressure on the plain with the cold air it brings along. This change will directly affect people’s blood pressure. People who have high or low blood pressure will react more violently than normal healthy people.

4.Italy Three sides of Italy, that is, the east, west, and south, are surrounded by seas, while the north side verges on the Alps which serve as the dividing line between several countries.

When the southern wind blows north, the warm and humid sea wind brings moisture with it. As it goes northward, the temperature gradually drops. The body reacts to cold by constricting the blood vessels in your skin. So, the heart has to work harder to squeeze blood through the narrow vessels. This may be too much for a sick heart. With the low air pressure it creates, it increases the burden on the heart and causes heart problems and high blood pressure.

5.Japan Surrounded by the oceans and seas all around, Japan is an island country.

When forceful wind comes, it blows across the whole country with a heavy amount of moisture from the ocean. Humidity has an important impact on human body since it influences the body’s ability to cool itself by perspiration. The heavy humidity together with changes in air pressure creates breathing problems as the blood transmission in human bodies is influenced by the air pressure. The lack of enough oxygen may cause headaches, high blood pressure, lung disorder, or some other diseases.

6.blood vessel: 血管. There are two major types: vein 静脉and artery 动脉.

7.disorder: a lack of order 混乱

Q: How do the winds affect people’s health?

Different regions will have different situations. The winds from the mountains in Russia may increase the risk of strokes. The southern winds in Italy will cause more cases of heart attacks. Besides, some kinds of winds will make people have headaches and asthma attacks.

Para. 3

1.flu: the clipping form of influenza, meaning colds.

2.pneumonia: a lung disease often caused by aggravation of flu, and in serious conditions may turn into tuberculosis. In the past, it is an incurable disease. Since it is contagious, people who has the disease will be put in isolation ward or section and die quietly. Many talented or famous English writers died of this disease, like Charlotte Bronte.

3.Blood pressure falls (goes down)in warm weather.

This phenomenon has something to do with the air pressure. In sunny, warm weather, the air is dry and has a higher density, thus, the air pressure is high. Under this condition, the supply of oxygen is adequate, and so people feel energetic. When the weather turns cloudy or windy, the humidity of the air is high and the density of air is low, so the air pressure is low, which will further reduce the pressure of oxygen. People generally will feel lack of oxygen, difficult breathing and fast heartbeat. The blood vessels expand, and the blood transmission increases. The amount of blood in circulation greatly increases; as a result, the blood pressure goes up.

4.But some people have lower blood pressure in the cool or cold times of the year.

This is because in winter the air pressure is higher than that in summer.

5.Humid: containing a high amount of water or water vapor潮湿的

Q:How does the other kinds of weather influence people’s physical health?

Sudden temperature changes in winter are often coming with colds or flu. And also cold weather will make people more likely to have pneumonia and the diseases of the blood and heart attacks.

Para. 4

Q: What is Seasonal Affective Disorder?

In winter, many people are nervous and irritable and can not work. This is Seasonal Affective Disorder and the cause of this mood disorder may be lack of light. For them, they may feel better on brighter days.

1.mood: a state of mind or emotion 心态

a state of mind or feeling, often used with preposition in in phrases in a/no mood for/to do sth.

E.g. Being defeated in the football game, Jerry now is in no mood to hold the celebration party.

2. winter in the northern regions causes long periods of darkness.       Due to its altitude and latitude, areas near the northern regions enjoy a short period of sunlight in the winter following the rules in earth’s revolution of the sun. As winter approaches, the sunshine moves southward. Naturally, the northern regions get little sunlight. There are longer periods of darkness during the season compared to the other reasons.

3.Depressing: in low mood情绪低落的，忧郁的

4.Nervous: uneasy or jumpy 紧张的

5.Irritable: easily annoyed 易怒的

Para. 5

Q: What is the function of the last paragraph?

The tone of the last paragraph is humorous. It gives a conclusion of the effects on people’s health and emotions. People may feel tired or depressed and have more health problems because of the change of weather. And the final sentence tells that the major cause may be atmosphere.

Moody: sullen, gloomy闷闷不乐的