Venice—The Risk of the Disappearance of an Entire City

Venice is a stunning oddity. It is a city built atop around 120 islands, crisscrossed by 177 canals, and is best explored via the use of its 391 bridges. But the city is not well recently. Indeed, 【小题1】 drastic measures are taken, the city’s days could be numbered.

This is far from hyperbole(夸张): Venice is at very real risk of 【小题2】 (consume) by the sea. In worst-case scenario, the city could disappear beneath the waves by 2100. Meanwhile, many of its building are sinking 【小题3】 being damaged by the wakes of boats. It is also routinely overwhelmed by tourists, while its local population is in continual decline.

Globally, a lot of cities【小题4】 (hit) by similar problems of sinking land and rising sea levels in Venice. Low-lying Jakarta(雅加达), for example, is in such a terrible situation that it is being replaced 【小题5】 the capital city of Indonesia by Nusantara, a city not yet even built.

In November 2019, Venice suffered its second-worst flooding. It created headlines around the world, with onlookers 【小题6】 (astonish) by the incredible images of Saint Mark’s Square, one of the city’s lowest lying areas, covered in feet of water.

The tide reached a peak height of 187cm above sea level, 【小题7】 (result) in more than 80% of the city being under water. A state of emergency was declared, and there was an estimated €1bn euros worth of damage.

The worst ever flooding event, which happened in 1966, 【小题8】 (see) water levels rise to 194cm above sea level, and is thought 【小题9】 (damage) at least three quarters of the city’s shops, businesses and studios.

【小题10】 a gap of over 50 years separated these events, recent trends suggest that we won’t have to wait half a century to see another disastrous flood. Since water levels started being officially recorded in 1923, they have reached 150cm or more on only 10 occasions, but five of those have been in the last three years.

Earlier 2019,the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development published【小题1】most comprehensive analysis up to now of how climate change will affect the glaciers of the world,【小题2】(warn) that about 18,00 glaciers(冰川) will disappear by 2100.

This is a bad【小题3】(predict) for some 1.9 billion South Asians,【小题4】 use water from the glaciers not only for drinking but also for agriculture, hydroelectric power,and tourism. But the survey also looked at an immediate question: As the glaciers 【小题5】(rapid) melt, where will all the water—more than a quadrillion gallons of it, almost the amount【小题6】(contain) in Lake Huron—go?

The answer is that the Himalaya, for example, long defined by【小题7】(it) glaciers,is becoming a mountain range defined by lake. In fact, another study found that from 1990 to 2010, more than 900 new glaciers-fed lakes 【小题8】(form) across Asia's high mountain ranges.Because of those remote locations scientists must rely【小题9】satellites to count them ,and new lakes appear to be growing so quickly that it's difficult for scientific teams to agree on the precise number. I's all happening much【小题10】( fast) than we expected it to even five or ten years ago.

China's Worst Sandstorm

China's worst sandstorm in a decade caused mass disruptions on Monday as vast swathes (广大地区) of the country were thrown into a thick, orange haze of dust and sand, 【小题1】(force) authorities to cancel hundreds of flights, shutter roads and schools, and suspend outdoor activities.

In Beijing, poor visibility paralyzed traffic as residents posted photos of skyscrapers seemingly 【小题2】 (disappear) into the fog and compared images of the haze to scenes in the dystopian 1982 film Blade Runner.

Beijing and 23 other cities recorded “off the chart”levels of air pollution, according to state media. In Beijing, PM 10, a measure of tiny particles in the air often 【小题3】 (associate) with sandstorms, hit more than 9, 000 micrograms per cubic meter, or 180 times the level considered healthy by the World Health Organization. Some residents said they were wearing two masks even while indoors.

Officials in neighboring Mongolia, after the sandstorm 【小题4】 (emerge) before sweeping across northern China, were searching for more than 80 herders who had gone missing.

China's National Meteorological Center said it expected 12 provinces and municipalities — an area covering about 160, 000 square miles, about the size of California — 【小题5】 (affect) by the storm. The National Health Commission advised residents to stay indoors, seal windows and doors, and to use humidifiers and wet cloth 【小题6】 (deal) with any dust. 【小题7】 residents must go outside, they should wear a mask, a hat or scarf to protect their face.