TOPIK Practice – TOPIK I 어휘 [vocabulary] 1–5 (8/26/2026) – el niño–southern oscillation

정답: A. 높아지는

How to solve: The question asks what happens to sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific during El Niño. El Niño is characterized by warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures.

A — Correct. El Niño is defined by the sea surface temperature becoming higher than normal.

B — Incorrect. '낮아지는' (becoming lower) describes La Niña, the opposite phenomenon.

C — Incorrect. '일정해지는' (becoming constant) does not describe the temperature anomaly of El Niño.

D — Incorrect. '변동 없는' (no change) contradicts the definition of El Niño, which is a significant temperature variation.

정답: B. 가뭄

How to solve: The sentence describes an impact of El Niño on agriculture. Consider what type of weather event severely damages crops and is associated with El Niño.

A — Incorrect. '홍수' (flood) can also occur due to El Niño, but '가뭄' is more commonly associated with widespread agricultural damage in specific regions affected by El Niño's dry conditions.

B — Correct. El Niño often leads to '가뭄' (drought) in various parts of the world, severely affecting agriculture.

C — Incorrect. '폭설' (heavy snowfall) is not a primary or widespread effect of El Niño on agriculture.

D — Incorrect. '지진' (earthquake) is a geological phenomenon and is not related to El Niño weather patterns.

정답: C. 홍수

How to solve: This question describes another impact of El Niño, often contrasted with the previous question's drought. Think about what extreme weather event, other than drought, is caused by El Niño and leads to significant damage.

A — Incorrect. '태풍' (typhoon) frequency and intensity can be affected by El Niño, but '홍수' is a direct consequence of altered rainfall patterns.

B — Incorrect. '폭염' (heatwave) can be an effect, but '홍수' is a more direct and widespread cause of damage related to altered precipitation patterns.

C — Correct. El Niño can also cause '홍수' (floods) in other regions due to increased rainfall.

D — Incorrect. '한파' (cold wave) is generally not a direct or primary consequence of El Niño; rather, El Niño typically brings warmer-than-average conditions to many regions.

정답: A. 기후, 영향

How to solve: The sentence discusses the global impact of El Niño and Southern Oscillation. Consider the primary domain of these phenomena and the type of effect they have.

A — Correct. El Niño and Southern Oscillation are major drivers of '기후 변화' (climate change) and have a significant '영향' (effect/impact) on it.

B — Incorrect. While El Niño can have economic impacts, '경제 성장' (economic growth) is not the direct phenomenon it influences in this context.

C — Incorrect. While El Niño can have societal impacts, '사회 발전' (social development) is not the direct phenomenon it influences.

D — Incorrect. '문화 교류' (cultural exchange) is entirely unrelated to El Niño and Southern Oscillation.

정답: A. 어획량, 감소

How to solve: The sentence describes an effect of warmer ocean water due to El Niño. Think about how warmer water affects marine life and subsequently, human activities like fishing.

A — Correct. Warmer sea temperatures due to El Niño often cause fish to migrate to cooler waters, leading to a significant '감소' (decrease) in '어획량' (fish catch) in affected areas.

B — Incorrect. While some species might increase, the general and often devastating impact of El Niño on traditional fishing grounds is a decrease in fish catch for many species.

C — Incorrect. '강수량' (precipitation) is related to atmospheric conditions, not directly to marine life or warmer sea water in this context.

D — Incorrect. '강수량 증가' (increase in precipitation) is a possible effect of El Niño in some regions, but it's not directly caused by warm sea water affecting '어획량' in this specific cause-and-effect relationship described in the stem.