Traffic police in Tokyo have to wear gas masks and take “oxygen breaks”—breathing occasionally from tanks of oxygen. Smog in Athens at times has forced factory closings and traffic restrictions. Acid rain in Canada is caused by air pollution in the United States, contributing to strained relationships between the two countries. Sydney, Rome, Tehran, Ankara, Mexico City, and most other major cities in the world have had frightening experiences of air pollution.

　　One of the two major types of smog—consisting of smoke, fog, sulfur dioxide, sulfuring acid (H2SO4), ash and soot—is called London smog. Indeed, the word smog is thought to have originated in England in 1905 as a contraction of the words “smoke” and “fog”.

　　Probably the worst case of smog in history started in London on Thursday, 4 December, 1952. A large cold air mass moved into the valley of the Thames River. A temperature inversion placed a blanket of warm air over the cold air. With nightfall, a dense fog and below-freezing temperatures caused the people of London to put coal into their small stoves. Millions of these fires burned throughout the night, pouring sulfur dioxide and smoke into the air. The next day, Friday, the people continued to burn coal when the temperature remained below freezing. The factories added their smoke and chemical fumes to the atmosphere.

　　Saturday was a day of darkness. For twenty miles around London, no light came through the smog. The air was cold and still. And the coal fires continued to burn throughout the weekend. On Monday, 8 December, more than one hundred people died of heart attacks while trying desperately to breathe. By the time a breeze cleared the air on Tuesday, 9 December, more than 4,000 deaths had been caused by the smog.

【2016届高考英语二轮复习阅读理解训练七十集之连载（14）】相关文章：

★ 湖南省汝城二中2014届高考英语一轮复习阅读训练 (71)

★ 四川省广安市2014高考英语一轮基础训练题（4）及答案

★ 2016届高考英语二轮复习阅读理解七十五十集之连载训练：（14）

★ 安徽省淮南市2014高考英语一轮单项选择及文章训练（10）及答案

★ 四川省2016届高考英语一轮复习课时作业（34） Module 4 Music 外研版选修6

★ 重庆市2014高考英语阅读理解一轮（精品）训练题（1）附答案

★ 2014届高考英语一轮复习课时作业(三十五)选修6Module 5《Cloning》（外研版）

★ 湖南省汝城二中2014届高考英语一轮复习阅读训练 (52)

★ 北京市2014高考英语一轮复习 练习手册（34）选修7 Unit 4 Sharing（含解析）新人教版

★ 【浙江专用】2014届高考英语一轮复习课时作业(三十)选修6Unit 5《The power of nature》