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Massive snowstorms and a blast of chilly air swept across northern China in the first week of November, leaving many people shaking in the freezing cold. At the same time, a global conference on climate change - COP 26 - was held in Glasgow, Scotland, where the key topic was how to control the trend of global warming.

So why are we experiencing such a freezing winter on a warming planet?

       The cold snap (寒潮) and global warming, two seemingly opposing forces, are not contradictory, Zhou Bing, chief expert at the China Meteorological Administration’s National Climate Center, told China Daily.

Global warming does not appear evenly, but causes more extreme heat and cold, Zhou explained. Against the backdrop of a warming planet, China has seen a growing average temperature in winter, which has increased by 0.41℃ every decade since 1961. But in some cases, the country has also experienced freezing cold - for instance, the icy weather that hit the country in early 2008.

Global warming has changed the patterns of Earth’s atmosphere circulation, affecting the local climate via sea-air or land-air interaction. In October, La Nina, the periodic cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial (赤道的) Pacific, started to affect China, bringing more cold air to the country, said the National Climate Center. Between 1951 and 2020, a total of 15 La Nina events occurred in China. Ten of them brought lower-than-average winter temperatures, according to the National Climate Center.

Another reason for the chilly weather is the warming Arctic. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as any other place on Earth, according to NPR. The polar vortex (涡流)- a rotating pool of cold, dense air - weakens as the temperature goes up, pushing the cold Arctic air southward.

So will this winter be particularly cold? Unlike a series of cold waves that cool down the nation gradually, people will experience the quick freeze effects several times, and a cold winter is likely, a Beijing-based climate expert told Global Times.

The official forecast also said that northern China will see more snow than average and southern China less rainfall than average.

1．What does the underlined word “contradictory” in paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．opposite

B．common

C．similar

D．connected

2．The author mentions the icy weather in China, in early 2008 to show that         .

A．freezing winters are rare in China

B．it is becoming warmer in winter

C．global warming is not as serious as we thought

D．global warming can cause extreme cold

3．What is the most common effect of a La Nina event in China according to the text?

A．A rise in temperature.	B．Less rainfall.
C．Colder winters.	D．Big storms.

4．What is the author’s main purpose in writing the article?

A．To describe the phenomena and causes of La Nina.

B．To explain the connection between the cold snap and global warming.

C．To predict if this winter will be particularly cold.

D．To discuss the importance of stopping global warming.