سؤال قراءة ستيب محلول — المفردات في السياق (تدريب 7359)

(1)The Aral Sea is a large lake located in the former Soviet Union (today’s Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan). It was once a beautiful lake, surrounded by trees. It supported a large population of fishermen and farmers, but now living near the Aral Sea is difficult. The fishing industry is almost gone, and farming is impossible. (2)In the 1950s, the Soviet government started several huge national agricultural projects in the region around the Aral Sea. It wanted to produce cotton for export. It extracted the water needed to produce this valuable crop from the rivers that feed the Aral Sea. This was good for the national economy, but terrible for the region. First, the climate around the Aral Sea changed. The land next to a large body of water tends to be warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than land that is not near water. By 1990, the Aral Sea had lost 60% of its volume and had halved in the area. Due to this change, summers in the area became hotter and winters colder. Second, the government farms used harmful chemicals that were bad for the environment. These caused the water to become toxic, killing fish and making it more difficult to get clean drinking water. The worst effect, however, has been on public health. In summer, when the Aral Sea dries up, the wind blows toxic sand into towns causing several serious health problems including asthma, cancer, and diabetes. What caused the climate around the Aral Sea to change?