Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.
There is nothing we can really do about the
weather. But, over the last few centuries
we have developed techniques that help
us to predict it. Weather forecasting is the
application of science and technology telling
us what the conditions will be like in the
atmosphere for a given location and time.
Human beings have actually been trying
to predict the weather for millennia and
what’s interesting about this is that our
ancestors used techniques similar to ours,
but in a primitive way. They looked for
patterns in atmospheric changes. However,
in the 19th century, we began to develop
instruments, to more accurately help our
understanding of the changes.
Weather forecasts are made by collecting
data about the current state of the atmosphere
at a given place and using our understanding
of what happens in the atmosphere to predict
how it will change. In the early days of
modern forecasting, we relied on detecting
changes in atmospheric pressure, current
weather conditions and sky condition.
Then people would do a lot of work and
calculations to try and figure out how it
might change. They were often wrong
too. However, now we have the help of
computers that use models taking even
more information about the atmosphere
into account. Even with the help of new
technologies, we can still make mistakes as
the atmosphere is very complicated.
This means that forecasts become less accurate
for days further into the future. They are
most accurate for days ahead rather than
weeks. Even if we developed a perfect model
of the atmosphere and had all data about
it, that was 100% accurate, the computer
processing time would be very long and
the weather would have happened before
the computer finished its calculations.
Humans are generally curious beings
and I ask, why do we want to predict
the weather anyway? One important use
is, so that we can know if there is any
hazardous weather on our way and can
issue weather warnings. These can protect
life and property. Forecasts based on
temperature and rain levels are important
for agriculture. For average people, like
you and me, weather forecasts can help
us decide what clothes we might need to
wear, or if we might need a rain coat in
the afternoon. It can also be a good idea
to check the weather before you decide to
go on a hike or play sports. Some people
don’t mind walking in the rain, but some
of us, like me, would prefer not to be
caught in it.
Which of the following statements is true?
AComputerised models always calculate
the data about the atmosphere accurately.
BEven with the most accurate data and
the newest technologies, mistakes are
inevitable.
CAtmosphere isn’t very complicated; it is
easy to figure out how it might change.
DDetecting changes in atmospheric pressure
requires little data.