托福阅读之地理学文章精析.docx

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托福阅读之地理学文章精析
摘要： 托福考试词汇量大，专业性强，是很多考生在考前最关注的项目。下面就托福地理学阅读文章精析，希望在大家准备托福阅读的时候能有些指引。

托福 阅读之地理学文章如何做题?本文就一篇来源于国家地理的文章实例，在阅读过程中小编加入了自己的阅读记号，帮大家理清思路，希望对大家在今后遇到有关地理学阅读文章的时候有所帮助。

词汇是基础，首先带着大家熟悉本篇 托福阅读 文章中的疑难词，方便全文阅读(学霸略过此部分)。

疑难词：

Snowpack[水文]积雪场

capsule n. 胶囊;太空舱adj. 压缩的vt. 压缩

replenish vt. 补充，再装满;把…装满

persistent adj. 固执的;持久的

harsh ;刺耳的;粗糙的

scarce adj. 缺乏的adv. 仅仅

desiccatevt. 使干

Deplet vt. 耗尽

Lucrative adj. 有利可图的

underscore vt. 强调

熟悉了相关词汇，就进入文章的阅读。

Lack of Snow Leaves California's 'Water Tower' Running Low

少雪导致的加州给水量下降

Snowpack—which essentially serves as a water tower for the western United States—produces vital meltwater that flows off the mountains each spring. Like a time-release capsule, snowpack refills streams and reservoirs and waters crops and cities through the dry summer in this largely semiarid region.

Snowpack作用：融化水慢慢供给农业、城市用水。

But the snowpack is becoming more like a snow gap, as temperatures in the Cascades and Sierra Nevada become too warm for the snow that replenishes the ecosystem each winter. Temperatures in the West are rising, and winter storms—which have been in infrequent for years—are bringing more rain and less snow.

现如今，积雪越来越少。

As a result, the water tower of stored mountain snow—which typically provides one-third of California's water—is no longer refilling each winter, leaving a gap in summer water supplies. California now faces a fourth year of severe surface water shortages, and there isn't a broad plan to deal with the scarcity of water that's being created by persistent shortfalls of snow. Groundwater has served as a Band-Aid by compensating for the lost water, but aquifers are being pumped faster than they can replenish, and like snowmelt,