第三篇 Florida Hit by Cold Air Mass In January, 2003, the eastern two thirds of the United States was at the mercy of a bitterly cold air mass that has endangered Florida’s citrus trees, choked 3 northern harbors with ice and leftbewildered residents of North Carolina’s Outer Banks digging out of up to a foot of snow. The ice chill deepened as temperatures fell to the single digits in most of the South, with an unfamiliar dip below the freezing mark, as far South as parts of interior South Florida. Temperatures in Florida plunged, with West Palm Beach dropping to a record low of 2 degrees. "We couldn’t believe how cold it was," said Martin King, who arrived this week in Orlando from England "We brought shorts, T-shirt, and I had to go out and buy another coat." The temperature plunge posed a threat to Florida’s USS 9.1 billion-a-year citrus crop, more of which is still on the trees. Growers were hurrying to harvest as much of the fruit as possible before it was damaged by cold. "Time is of the essence in getting fruit to the plant," said Tom Rogers, a citrus grower who expected to see damage to oranges and grapefruit at that time. In Florida, Governor Jeb Bush signed an emergency order to eliminate the weight limit on trucks so citrus growers could get as much fruit to market as possible. Casey Pace, a spokeswoman for Florida Citrus Mutual, said growers had sprayed trees with sprinklers, which created a layer of ice and helped maintain a temperature near freezing. Citrus trees are considered in danger of damage if the temperature drops below minus 2 degrees Celsius for four hours or more. Snow ranging from a dusting to up to 30 centimeters blanketed the Carolinas, Tennessee and parts of Virginia. citrus n. 柠檬，柑橘；柑橘属果树 bewilder v. 使迷惑；使为难；……弄糊涂 sprinklern. 洒水器；洒水手 Celsius adj.摄氏的 shorts n. 宽松运动裤；男式短衬裤 King’s statement that "We brought shorts, T-shirt, and I had to go out and buy another coat." shows that ______. A: he was caught’by the sudden cold B: he needed formal clothes C: fashion in Florida is tempting D: Florida is hot compared with England