Scientiststodayaremakinggreaterefforttostudyoceancurrents(洋流).Mostdoitusingsatellitesandotherhigh-techequipment.HoweveroceanexpertCurtisEbbesmeyerdoesitinaspecialway--bystudyingmovementsofrandomfloat
Scientiststodayaremakinggreaterefforttostudyoceancurrents(洋流).Mostdoitusingsatellitesandotherhigh-techequipment.HoweveroceanexpertCurtisEbbesmeyerdoesitinaspecialway--bystudyingmovementsofrandomfloatinggarbage.Ascientistwithmanyyears’experiencehestartedthistypeofresearchintheearly1990swhenheheardabouthundredsofathleticshoeswashingupontheshoresofthenorthwestcoastoftheUnitedStates.Thereweresomanyshoesthatpeopleweresettingupswapmeetstotryandmatchleftandrightshoestosellorwear.
Ebbesmeyerfoundoutinhisresearchesthattheshoes—about60000intotal—fellintotheoceaninashippingaccident.Hephonedtheshoecompanyandaskediftheywantedtheshoesback.Asexpectedthecompanytoldhimthattheydidn't.Ebbesmeyerrealizedthiscouldbeagreatexperiment.Ifhelearnedwhenandwheretheshoeswentintothewaterandtrackedwheretheylandedhecouldlearnalotaboutthepatternsofoceancurrents.
ThePacificNorthwestisoneoftheworld'sbestareasforbeachcombing(海滩搜寻)becausewindsandcurrentsjoinhereandasaresultthereisagroupofseriousbeachcombersinthearea.Ebbesmeyergottoknowalotofthemandaskedfortheirhelpincollectinginformationaboutwheretheshoeslanded.Inayearhecollectedreliableinformationon1600shoes.Withthisdataheandacolleaguewereabletotestandimproveacomputerprogramdesignedtomodeloceancurrentsandpublishthefindingsoftheirstudy.
AstheresultofhisworkEbbesmeyerhasbecomeknownasthescientisttocallwithquestionsaboutanyunusualobjectsfoundfloatingintheocean.Hehasevenstartedanassociationofbeachcombersandoceanexpertswith500subscribersfromWestAfricatoNewZealand.Theyhaverecordedalllostobjectsrangingfrompotatoestogolfgloves.
【小题1】TheunderlinedphraseswapmeetsinParagraph1isclosestinmeaningto______________.
A.fittingroomsB.tradingfairsC.businesstalksD.groupmeetings【小题2】Ebbesmeyerphonedtheshoecompanytofindout_____________.A.whatcausedtheshippingaccidentB.whenandwheretheshoeswentmissing