When weird weather strikes 當怪天氣來臨時

陳龍

Most of us know about hurricanes， droughts， and floods. But from time to time， nature delivers a weather event that is really unusual.

1.

One day in 2005， people in a small town in Serbia saw an unusual sight. It was raining frogs！ Without any warning， they found their streets filled with the little jumping creatures. “There were thousands of them，” one person told a local newspaper. “I thought perhaps a plane carrying frogs had exploded，” said another. Scientists believe a tornado passed over a lake and sucked up the frogs. It then dropped them on the town， far away.

2.

As if tornadoes arent dangerous enough，some can actually be made of fire. When a wildfire reaches very high temperatures， it causes the air to heat up and then rise. Cooler air moves quickly to replace the hot air. This creates strong winds， which suck up the fire. When this happens—like it did in 2014， in Denver， United States—a fire tornado is created. A tornado like this can become 15 meters wide and grow as tall as a 40?story building.

3.

In 1942， hundreds of thousand?year?old skeletons were found under the ice of Lake Roopkund in the Himalayas. Many had holes in their skulls（顱骨）—but they werent hurt in any other way. For years， the cause of their deaths was a mystery. Today， scientists think they were killed by giant hailstones. Hailstones are balls of ice that form when raindrops turn into ice. The ice pieces increase in size until the wind cannot hold them up. This results in hailstones falling to the ground， often at speeds of over 160 kilometers an hour. For the unlucky people at Lake Roopkund， there was nowhere to run.

Ⅰ. Match the headings below with the correct paragraphs.

A. Tornadoes of fire B. Huge hail

C. Rising floods D. Strange rain

Ⅱ. Choose the best answer for each question.

1. What is the main purpose of the reading？

A. To explain some new research into wild weather.

B. To describe some ways to prepare for unusual weather.

C. To give examples of strange weather.

D. To record the history of natural disasters.

2. In paragraph 2， the phrase “sucked up” could be replaced with? ? ? ? ? ? ? .

A. lifted B. used

C. blew D. reduced

3. What is probably true about the frogs that rained down in Serbia？

A. They fell out of an airplane.

B. They were dropped by a tornado.

C. They fell from very tall trees.

D. They were first noticed by a local newspaper.

4. What causes fire tornadoes？

A. Extremely hot wildfire.

B. Fires in very tall buildings.

C. Sudden changes in climate.

D. House fires in windy weather.

5. What can be inferred about the skeletons found at Lake Roopkund？

A. They were destroyed because of battles.

B. They came into existence in 1942.

C. They showed no signs of injury.

D. They formed in ancient times.

Complete the information using the words in the box. One is extra.

[actual〓〓increase〓〓local〓〓unusual〓〓warn]Mystery waves

Imagine this： You are out at sea， relaxing on a boat. Its a beautiful day. No rain is falling， and the winds are calm. Then something very 1.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?happens. Out of nowhere， you see a wall of water 10 stories tall coming toward you. This is known as a rogue wave， also called a freak wave. Some people think they are tsunamis， but they are 2.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?very different. Tsunamis start out very small in the open ocean， and only 3.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?in speed and height as they get close to the coast. When a tsunami is coming， the water will often seem to be sucked back into the ocean. However， there is usually no 4.? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? before a rogue wave strikes.

Scientists arent sure what causes these waves. But they know they are very real—and very dangerous—even to the largest ships.