Florida Hit by Cold Air mass¡¡
In January, 2003£¬the eastern two£®thirds of the United States was at the mercy of a bitterly cold air mass that has endangered Florida¡¯s citrus trees£¬choked northern harbors with ice and left bewildered residents of North Carolina¡¯s Outer Banks digging out of up to a foot of snow£®
The ice chill deepened as temperatures fell to the single digits¡£in most of me¡£South,with all unfamiliar dip below the freezing mark as far south as parts of interior South Florida£®Temperatures in Florida plunged£¬with West Palm Beach dropping to a record low of 2 degrees£®
¡°We couldn¡¯t believe how cold it was£¬¡±said Martin King£¬who arrived this week in Orlando¡£from England£®¡°We brought shorts£¬T¡¤shirt£¬and I had to go out and buy another coat£®¡±
The temperature plunge posed a threat to Florida¡¯s US$9.1 billion-a-year citrus crop£®More of which is still on the trees£®Growers were hurrying to harvest as much of the fruit as possible before it was damaged by cold£®
¡°Time is of the essence¢óin getting fruit to the plant£¬¡±said Tom Rogers£¬a citrus grower who expected to see damage to oranges and grapefruit at that time£®
In Florida£¬Governor Jeb Bush signed an emergency order to eliminate the weight limit Oil trucks SO citrus growers could get as much fruit to market as possible£®
Casey Pace£¬a spokeswoman for Florida Citrus Mutual£¬said growers had sprayed trees with sprinklers¡£which created a layer of ice and helped maintain a temperature near freezing£®Citrus trees are considered in danger of damage if the temperature drops below minus 2 degrees Celsius for four hours or more£®Snow ranging from a dusting to up to 30 centimeters ¡°blanketed¡° the Carolinas£¬Tennessee and parts of Virginia£®
Á·Ï°£º
1.Which£®of the following statements is not meant in the first two paragraphs?
A)The cold air mass was a threat to Florida¡¯s citrus crop£®
B)The temperature in the United States except the South dropped below the freezing mark£®
C)The northern harbors were blocked with ice£®
D)The eastern two thirds of the United States was hit by cold air mass£®
2.According to the second paragraph£¬in which area(s)did the temperature fall below zero?
A)Most of the South£®
B)Parts of interior South Florida£®
C)West Palm Beach£®
D)All of the above£®
3.King¡¯s statement that ¡°we brought shorts£¬T-shirt£¬and I had to go out and buy another coat£®¡±shows that
A)he was caught by the sudden cold£®
B)he needed formal clothes£®
C)fashion in Florida is tempting£®
D)Florida is hot compared with England£®
4.Governor Jeb issue the emergency order because he
A)thought speed limit for trucks was unreasonable£®
B)tried to improve the traffic condition of the expressways£®
C)wanted to encourage trucks to transport as much fruit to market as possible
D)wanted to stop trucks from carrying too much fruit to market£®
5.Which statement is NOT true according to the last paragraph?
A)Sprinklers were used to protect citrus trees from being damaged£®
B)Citrus trees would be damaged if the temperature drops below minus 2~C for four hours£®
C)The Carolinas£¬Tennessee and parts of Virginia were covered with snow£®
D)Florida Citrus Mutual sprayed trees with sprinklers for citrus growers£®