The little ice age
The second article of the second set of topics for the second set of IELTS 8 reading is about the Little Ice Age/Little Ice Age. The article is divided into six paragraphs, which respectively introduce the history of climate change and human response, the definition and role of the Little Ice Age, the method to determine the past climate conditions, the climate conditions between AD 900 and 1200, the impact of the Little Ice Age on Europe, and the impact of human activities on climate. The following is the translation of each paragraph.
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Part A
This book will provide a detailed examination of the Little Ice Age and other climatic shifts, but, before I embark on that, let me provide a historical context. We tend to think of climate – as opposed to weather – as something unchanging, yet humanity has been at the mercy of climate change for its entire existence, with at least eight glacial episodes in the past 730, 000 years. Our ancestors adapted to the universal but irregular global warming since the end of the last great Ice Age, around 10, 000years ago, with dazzling opportunism. They developed strategies for surviving harsh drought cycles, decades of heavy rainfall or unaccustomed cold; adopted agriculture and stock-raising, which revolutionised human life; and founded the world’s first pre-industrial civilisations in Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Americas. But the price of sudden climate change, in famine, disease and suffering, was often high.
This book will discuss the Little Ice Age and other climate changes in detail, but before I begin to discuss them, let me first describe the historical background. We tend to regard climate (as opposed to weather) as something constant, but human beings have been dominated by climate change throughout their life. There have been at least eight glacial events in the past 730000 years. Since the end of the last Great Ice Age about 100000 years ago, our ancestors have adapted to universal but irregular global warming with dazzling opportunism. They have formulated strategies to deal with severe drought, decades of rainstorm or uncomfortable cold; The adoption of agriculture and animal husbandry has completely changed human life; And in Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Americas, the world's first batch of pre industrial civilizations were established. But the costs of sudden climate change (famine, disease and suffering) are often high.
Part B
The Little Ice Age lasted from roughly 1300 until the middle of the nineteenth century. Only two centuries ago, Europe experienced a cycle of bitterly cold winters; mountain glaciers in the Swiss Alps were the lowest in recorded memory, and pack ice surrounded Iceland for much of the year. The climatic events of the Little Ice Age did more than help shape the modern world. They are the deeply important context for the current unprecedented global warming. The Little Ice Age was far from a deep freeze, however; rather an irregular seesaw of rapid climatic shifts, few lasting more than a quarter-century, driven by complex and still little understood interactions between the atmosphere and the ocean. The seesaw brought cycles of intensely cold winters and easterly winds, then switched abruptly to years of heavy spring and early summer rains, mild winters, and frequent Atlantic storms, or to periods of droughts, light northeasterly winds, and summer heat waves.
The Little Ice Age lasted from about 1300 to the middle of the 19th century. Only two centuries ago, Europe experienced a severe winter. The alpine glaciers in the Swiss Alps are at the lowest point on record, and the ice from the old roast duck IELTS has surrounded Iceland for most of the year. The climate events of the Little Ice Age not only helped shape the modern world. They are also the extremely important background of the unprecedented global warming. However, the Little Ice Age was not extremely cold, but an irregular and interactive rapid climate change. They rarely last more than a quarter century and are driven by complex interactions between the atmosphere and the ocean that we know little about. It brings periodic cold winters and easterlies, and then suddenly changes into years of long spring, early summer rainfall, mild winter and frequent Atlantic storms, or into drought, northeast wind and summer heat waves.
Part C
Reconstructing the climate changes of the past is extremely difficult, because systematic weather observations began only a few centuries ago, in Europe and North America. Records from India and tropical Africa are even more recent. For the time before records began, we have only ‘proxy records’ reconstructed largely from tree rings and ice cores, supplemented by a few incomplete written accounts. We now have hundreds of tree-ring records from throughout the northern hemisphere, and many from south of the equator, too, amplified with a growing body of temperature data from ice cores drilled in Antarctica, Greenland, the Peruvian Andes, and other locations. We are close to a knowledge of annual summer and winter temperature variations over much of the northern hemisphere going back 600 years.
Reconstructing past climate change is extremely difficult because systematic weather observations began only a few centuries ago in Europe and North America. The records from India and tropical Africa are even closer. In the time before recording, we can only reconstruct "proxy records" from growth rings and ice cores, supplemented by some incomplete written records. Now, we have hundreds of tree ring records from all over the Northern Hemisphere, and also many tree ring records from south of the equator. They are growing along with ice core temperature data from Antarctica, Greenland, the Andes of Peru and other regions. We will soon know the annual temperature changes in summer and winter in the Northern Hemisphere over the past 600 years.
Part D
This book is a narrative history of climatic shifts during the past ten centuries, and some of the ways in which people in Europe adapted to them. Part One describes the Medieval Warm Period, roughly 900 to 1200. During these three centuries, Norse voyagers from Northern Europe explored northern seas, settled Greenland, and visited North America. It was not a time of uniform warmth, for then, as always since the Great Ice Age, there were constant shifts in rainfall and temperature. Mean European temperatures were about the same as today, perhaps slightly cooler.
This book is a narrative history of climate change and European ways of adapting to climate change in the past ten centuries. The first part describes the warm period of the Middle Ages from about 900 to 1200. During these three centuries, Norwegian navigators from northern Europe explored the North Sea, settled in Greenland, and visited North America. It was not a warm period. Rainfall and temperature have been changing since the Great Ice Age. The average temperature in Europe is roughly the same as today, and may be slightly lower.
Part E
It is known that the Little Ice Age cooling began in Greenland and the Arctic in about 1200. As the Arctic ice pack spread southward, Norse voyages to the west were rerouted into the open Atlantic, then ended altogether. Storminess increased in the North Atlantic and North Sea. Colder, much wetter weather descended on Europe between 1315 and 1319, when thousands perished in a continent-wide famine. By 1400, the weather had become decidedly more unpredictable and stormier, with sudden shifts and lower temperatures that culminated in the cold decades of the late sixteenth century. Fish were a vital commodity in growing towns and cities, where food supplies were a constant concern. Dried cod and herring were already the staples of the European fish trade, but changes in water temperatures forced fishing fleets to work further offshore. The Basques, Dutch, and English developed the first offshore fishing boats adapted to a colder and stormier Atlantic. A gradual agricultural revolution in northern Europe stemmed from concerns over food supplies at a time of rising populations. The revolution involved intensive commercial farming and the growing of animal fodder on land not previously used for crops. The increased productivity from farmland made some countries self-sufficient in grain and livestock and offered effective protection against famine.
It is understood that the Little Ice Age began in Greenland and the Arctic in about 1200. With the spread of Arctic ice to the south, the westward route from Norway has been diverted to the open Atlantic Ocean, and then completely ended. Storms increased in the North Atlantic and North Sea. From 1315 to 1319, Europe experienced colder and wetter weather, and thousands of people died of famine on the whole continent. By 1400, the weather had become more unpredictable and violent, and sudden changes and lower temperatures eventually led to severe cold in the late 16th century. Fish is a vital commodity in the growing cities and towns, where food supply has always been a concern. Cod and dried herring have become the mainstream of European fish trade, but changes in water temperature have forced fishing fleets further away from the coast. Basques, Dutch and British invented the first offshore fishing boats that could adapt to the colder and more violent Atlantic Ocean. The gradual agricultural revolution in northern Europe originated from people's concern about food supply during the period of population growth. The revolution involved intensive commercial farming and the planting of animal feed on land that had not previously been used to grow crops. The improvement of farmland productivity has made some countries self-sufficient in food and livestock, and has provided effective means of protection against famine.
Part F
Global temperatures began to rise slowly after 1850, with the beginning of the Modern Warm Period. There was a vast migration from Europe by land-hungry farmers and others, to which the famine caused by the Irish potato blight contributed, to North America, Australia, New Zealand, and southern Africa. Millions of hectares of forest and woodland fell before the newcomers’ axes between 1850 and 1890, as intensive European farming methods expanded across the world. The unprecedented land clearance released vast quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, triggering for the first time humanly caused global warming. Temperatures climbed more rapidly in the twentieth century as the use of fossil fuels proliferated and greenhouse gas levels continued to soar. The rise has been even steeper since the early 1980s. The Little Ice Age has given way to a new climatic regime, marked by prolonged and steady warming. At the same time, extreme weather events like Category 5 hurricanes are becoming more frequent.
With the beginning of the modern warm period, the global temperature began to rise slowly after 1850. Due to the famine caused by the Irish potato epidemic, farmers and other people eager for land migrated from Europe to North America, Australia, New Zealand and southern Africa in large numbers. Between 1850 and 1890, with the spread of intensive European farming methods worldwide, millions of hectares of forests and woodlands fell under the axe of new immigrants. The unprecedented land clearing will release a large amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is the first time that human beings have caused global warming. With the soaring use of fossil fuels and the continuous soaring level of greenhouse gases in the 20th century, the temperature has risen faster. Since the early 1980s, the increase has been even greater. The Little Ice Age has given way to a new climate system characterized by continuous and stable warming. At the same time, extreme weather events such as Category 5 hurricanes are becoming more and more frequent.
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