NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A line of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes marched across the South on Friday, peeling away roofs, overturning cars and killing at least 11 people in Tennessee, officials said.

It was the second wave of violent weather to hit the state in less than a week. Last weekend, tornadoes killed 24 people in the western part of the state and destroyed more than 1,000 homes and buildings.

The storms crossed an area from northern Mississippi to northern Virginia as they moved to the northeast late Friday after developing from a low-pressure system in the central Plains.

The Nashville suburbs were the hardest hit, with at least eight deaths happening northeast of the city. Three more people were killed in a rural area about 65 miles southeast of Nashville.

Tornadoes were also reported in some other places. The storms pulled up trees, knocked down power lines and damaged buildings. What’s worse, phone lines and most businesses were out of service. Hospitals admitted at least 60 people with storm-related injuries and transferred at least nine badly injured patients to Nashville hospitals.

In southern Indiana, the storms damaged some areas with golf ball-sized hail. High winds blew the roof off a country club and overthrew a semitrailer（拖车）. As the storms moved farther east, parts of West Virginia were lashed with heavy rain and winds, great damages caused.

The number of tornadoes in the US has jumped through the first part of 2006 compared with the past few years. Through the end of March, an estimated 286 tornadoes had hit the US, compared with an average of 70 for the same three-month period in each of the past three years.

The number of tornado-related deaths was 38 before Friday's storms. The average number of deaths from 2003 to 2005 was 45 a year, the prediction center said.

1. How many deaths have the thunderstorms and tornadoes on Friday caused?

2. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

3. In the first 3 months of last 3 years, about ____ tornadoes happened each month in the US.

4.We can infer from the report more deaths and injuries were caused because ____. 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A line of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes marched across the South on Friday, peeling away roofs, overturning cars and killing at least 11 people in Tennessee, officials said.

It was the second wave of violent weather to hit the state in less than a week. Last weekend, tornadoes killed 24 people in the western part of the state and destroyed more than 1,000 homes and buildings.

The storms crossed an area from northern Mississippi to northern Virginia as they moved to the northeast late Friday after developing from a low-pressure system in the central Plains.

The Nashville suburbs were the hardest hit, with at least eight deaths happening northeast of the city. Three more people were killed in a rural area about 65 miles southeast of Nashville.

Tornadoes were also reported in some other places. The storms pulled up trees, knocked down power lines and damaged buildings. What’s worse, phone lines and most businesses were out of service. Hospitals admitted at least 60 people with storm-related injuries and transferred at least nine badly injured patients to Nashville hospitals.

In southern Indiana, the storms damaged some areas with golf ball-sized hail. High winds blew the roof off a country club and overthrew a semitrailer（拖车）. As the storms moved farther east, parts of West Virginia were lashed with heavy rain and winds, great damages caused.

The number of tornadoes in the US has jumped through the first part of 2006 compared with the past few years. Through the end of March, an estimated 286 tornadoes had hit the US, compared with an average of 70 for the same three-month period in each of the past three years.

The number of tornado-related deaths was 38 before Friday's storms. The average number of deaths from 2003 to 2005 was 45 a year, the prediction center said.

How many deaths have the thunderstorms and tornadoes on Friday caused?

A. Three.           B. Eight.           C. Eleven.           D. Twenty-two.  

 Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. Tennessee was hit twice by tornadoes within a week.

B. The latest tornado might start in northern Mississippi.

C. At least four states were hit by the tornado.

D. In the tornadoes of the first 3 months 38 people were killed.

In the first 3 months of last 3 years, about ____ tornadoes happened each month in the US.

A. About 23.        B. About 70.        C. About 98.        D. About 210.  

We can infer from the report more deaths and injuries were caused because ____. 

A. the phone lines were destroyed        B. there were enough hospitals

C. the people hid in their houses          D. there was also a hail in Tennessee

We often hear the phrase: "You've a greater chance of being struck by lightning." It is used to describe something that hasn't got much chance of happening. However, the common saying undermines(掩盖) the very real dangers of lightning.

Last Friday, at least 5 people were killed by lightning in Nepal(尼泊尔).

Lightning strikes are the second most common cause of deaths during natural disasters in the US. The first is floods. Around 400 people nationwide are struck by lightning each year, and of those, 73 people die. There are more people killed by lightning than by tornadoes and hurricanes.

Because lightning kills only one or two people at a time, its danger does not receive as much attention as other disasters.

So to raise awareness, the US has made June 22-28 National Lightning Safety Week. It aims to warn the public of the dangers of lightning and provide safety tips during thunderstorms.

"If you hear thunder, you are in danger of lightning," said Rocky Lopes, a disaster educator at the American Red Cross.

"Thunder means that lightning is close enough to hit you at any minute, so you should move indoors immediately and stay there until after the storm has ended. The single most important thing to remember is to seek a hiding place," Lopes said.

Summer is the high time for lightning storms, so when lightning strikes across the sky, remember these safety tips:

Stop working, fishing, swimming or playing in open fields.

If you can count less than ten seconds between a thunder and a lightning flash, take cover inside the nearest building.

Do not stand under a tree.

Get off bicycles or motorcycles.

Crouch down(蹲下)if there is no hiding place.

Avoid open spaces, wire fences, metal objects and electrical objects such as hair driers.

   The popular opinion about being struck by lightening is that ______.

A. there’s a greater chance for being killed by lightening than any other natural disaster

B. it is the most dangerous among all the natural disasters

  C. the chance for a person to be struck by lightening is very small

  D. it is impossible for people to be killed by lightening

The average death rate of being struck by lightening in US is about _______.

  A.18%　　　　　B.50%　　　　　    C. 30%　　　　  D. 73%

thunder in             the open air______.

A. just stand by your bicycles and motorcycles

  B. quickly find a place to go inside

  C. count ten seconds between a thunder and a lightening

  D. don’t have a hair drier in your hand

According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?

A. There are more people killed by tornadoes and hurricanes than by lightening in US each year.

B. There are on average 5 persons killed by lightening in Nepal each day.

C. The death rate of being stuck by lightening is much higher than by other natural disasters.

D. The National Lightening Safety Week is made to warn the public against the lightening.

ERATH WEEK---A DIARY OF THE PLANET
Enduring Storms
Several more rounds of severe storms, tornadoes and flash flooding struck many parts of the American Midwest and Northeast as bad weather continued across the US for a second month.   

Monsoon Storms
A south-west monsoon has caused havoc in parts of Sri Lanka. Government meteorologists said that unexpected monsoonal winds blew directly across the country from the Southern Hemisphere at about 100km/h, producing several rounds of stormy weather. Nearly 250 houses in the capital Colombo were damaged.
Mt. Etna Erupts
Sicily’s Mount Etna volcano erupted shortly after midnight on July 1, shooting “bombs” of lava nearly 1.5 meters in diameter on the eastern side of the mountain. The 30-minute eruption could be seen for several miles, but did not threaten any nearby villages.
Hurricane
Hurricane Blas lost strength as it moved over cooler waters in the Pacific Ocean to the west of Mexico. Blas formed off southwest Mexico during the previous week, but squalls on the outer fringes of the storm lashed western Michoacan State, killing four people when their wood and cardboard home collapsed.
Monkey Repellent
After years of unsuccessful attempts to keep crop-eating monkeys out of Japanese fields, a Tokyo research team believes that it may have finally found a way to prevent the damage caused by the monkeys. Animal raids on crops were successfully prevented by shooting chilli powder into the air, irritating the eyes and noses of monkeys that passed in front of carefully-placed warning sensors. “We’ve tried al kinds of preventive measures, but the monkeys are smart enough to outwit the tricks, “said Toshiaki Wada, Director of the Tokyo Forestry Experiment Station in western Tokyo.
【小题1】.
. According to the information, which of the following statements is TURE?
A. The eruption of Mt. Etna lasted thirty days.
B. Hurricane Blas was formed off the coast of Italy.
C. The American Midwest had fine weather throughout July 1998.
The eruption of Mt. Etna did not destroy local villages.
【小题2】.
. According to the information, the monkeys in the Japanese fields ________.

ERATH WEEK---A DIARY OF THE PLANET

Enduring Storms

Several more rounds of severe storms, tornadoes and flash flooding struck many parts of the American Midwest and Northeast as bad weather continued across the US for a second month.   

Monsoon Storms

A south-west monsoon has caused havoc in parts of Sri Lanka. Government meteorologists said that unexpected monsoonal winds blew directly across the country from the Southern Hemisphere at about 100km/h, producing several rounds of stormy weather. Nearly 250 houses in the capital Colombo were damaged.

Mt. Etna Erupts

   Sicily’s Mount Etna volcano erupted shortly after midnight on July 1, shooting “bombs” of lava nearly 1.5 meters in diameter on the eastern side of the mountain. The 30-minute eruption could be seen for several miles, but did not threaten any nearby villages.

Hurricane

   Hurricane Blas lost strength as it moved over cooler waters in the Pacific Ocean to the west of Mexico. Blas formed off southwest Mexico during the previous week, but squalls on the outer fringes of the storm lashed western Michoacan State, killing four people when their wood and cardboard home collapsed.

Monkey Repellent

   After years of unsuccessful attempts to keep crop-eating monkeys out of Japanese fields, a Tokyo research team believes that it may have finally found a way to prevent the damage caused by the monkeys. Animal raids on crops were successfully prevented by shooting chilli powder into the air, irritating the eyes and noses of monkeys that passed in front of carefully-placed warning sensors. “We’ve tried al kinds of preventive measures, but the monkeys are smart enough to outwit the tricks, “said Toshiaki Wada, Director of the Tokyo Forestry Experiment Station in western Tokyo.

1..

. According to the information, which of the following statements is TURE?

A. The eruption of Mt. Etna lasted thirty days.

B. Hurricane Blas was formed off the coast of Italy.

C. The American Midwest had fine weather throughout July 1998.

 The eruption of Mt. Etna did not destroy local villages.

2..

. According to the information, the monkeys in the Japanese fields ________.

A. destroy crops                  B. kill unsuspecting humans

C. spread eye diseases to humans    D. stop farmers from working

3..

. The information in the “Earth Week” diary _______.

A.       predicts future weather patterns

B.        gives advice on dealing with monsoons

C.        shows that weather can be unpredictable

D.       shows the effects that storms have on animals