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Module 4 Sandstorms in Asia Sandstorms in Asia Sandstorms have been a major disaster for many Asian countries for centuries. Scientists have tried many ways to solve this problem and in China, a mass campaign has been started to help solve it. Sandstorms are strong, dry winds that carry sand. They are often so thick that you cannot see the sun, and the wind is sometimes strong enough to move sand dunes. The four main places in the world where there are sandstorms are Central Asia, North America, Central Africa and Australia. Ren JIanbo, from Inner Mongolia described a terrible sandstorm he experienced as a child in the desert. “To have been caught in a sandstorm was a terrible experience,” he said. “There was nothing to be done. It was the most frightening and the most dangerous situation I’ve ever been in. You just had to hope you’d survive. I thought I was going to disappear under the sand.” Northwest China is part of the sandstorm centre in Central Asia. Sandstorms begin in desert areas. Sandstorms in China appear to have increased in recent years as a result of “desertification”. This is a process that happens when land becomes desert because of climate changes and because people cut down trees and dig up grass. Sandstorms sometimes affect Beijing. Citizens wake up to an orange sky and strong winds that cover the city in a thick, brown-yellow dust. The storms sometimes continue all day and traffic moves very slowly because the thick dust makes it difficult to see. The Chinese Central Weather Station can forecast a sandstorm some weeks before it arrives in Beijing, but the strength of the storm sometimes surprises people. When a sandstorm arrives in the city, weather experts advise people not to go out. Huang Xiaomei, who lives in Beijing says, “To be cycling in a sandstorm is frightening. The winds are very strong. It’s difficult to breathe and the dust makes me ill. So if you want to go out, you’d better wear a mask.” The desert is only 250 kilometres away to the west of Beijing. To prevent it coming nearer, the government is planting trees. Already the government has planted more than 30 billion trees and plans to continue planting for the next five years. CULTURAL CORNER The Green Movement Some countries are better than others at looking after the environment. In Europe, Germany and the northern European countries work very hard to improve the environment. People in countries such as Germany put their garbage into different bags – paper in one bag, plastic in another bag, etc. the garbage is then taken away and, if possible, recycled. CFCs (chlorofluro-carbons), chemicals which are found in refrigerators and aerosol cans are not allowed. There are laws that do not allow people to burn too much coal. In the 1970s, as people learnt more about environmental problems, the “Green” movement began and soon spread all over Europe. The “Green” movement tries to get governments to think seriously about the environment and how to look after it. It collects information about how industry is damaging the environment and gives this information to newspapers. Module 4 亚洲的沙尘暴 几百年以来，沙尘暴一直是许多亚洲国家面临的主要灾难。科学家尝试过多种方法解决这个问题，在中国，也发动了群众运动来对付沙尘暴。 沙尘暴是夹带沙尘的强烈而干燥的风。沙尘暴夹带的沙尘含量常常很大，以致于可以遮天蔽日。风力强大时可以搬动沙丘。世界上沙尘暴发生的四个主要地区是中亚、北美、中非和澳大利亚。来自内蒙的任建波是这样来描述他小时候遭遇的一次沙尘暴的：“遇上沙尘暴是一种可怕的经历，”他说，“你一点办法也没有。那是我遭遇过的最可怕、最危险的境况。你只能祈求会活下来。那时候我觉得我会消失在沙尘下。” 中国的西北地区是中亚沙尘暴中心的一部分。沙尘暴发端于沙漠地区。因“荒漠化”越发严重，中国近年来发生沙尘暴的次数明显增加了。这是由于气候变化和人们伐树挖草，使土地变成荒漠后产生的一种作用。 沙尘暴有时候会影响北京。居民醒来时，看到昏黄的天空，狂风夹着黄沙在城里肆虐。暴风有时持续一整天，车辆开得很慢，因为浓浓的尘埃降低了能见度。 中国中央气象站能在沙尘暴到达北京前几周预报沙尘暴，但沙尘暴的力量有时很惊人。沙尘暴到来时，气象专家建议人们不要外出。家住北京的黄小梅说：“在沙尘暴中骑车真可怕。风力很强，呼吸困难，沙尘使人难受。所以要出门，最好带上口罩。” 沙漠离北京西境只有250公里。为阻止沙漠的逼近，政府已经开始植树。政府已经种了300亿棵树，并准备在未来的五年里继续种植。 |
