IF you lived by the sea, you’d know that typhoons are frequent（頻繁的）visitors during summer .They bring Strong winds, heavy rain and flooding（洪水）But most of the time, when people stay indoors, they’re just all right.
This is what the people in the Philippines used to believe – until they met the “super typhoon”, Haiyan.
The typhoon hit the country on Nov 8, at around 5 am, when most people were still asleep. But being at home didn’t keep them safe, since few buildings remained standing once they were hit by wind as violent as 376 kilometers per hour, according to NBC News.
“This is at the top end of any tropical system that we’ve seen on our planet,” said Bryan Norcross, a weather scientist working for NBC. And so far, Haiyan has caused more than 3,600 deaths and left millions of people homeless.
.But where did Haiyan get its destructive power?
According to Brian McNoldy, a tropical weather expert at the University of Miami, US, Haiyan was so strong because “it had everything working for it”
“All typhoons feed off the warm ocean waters,” Colin Price, a weather researcher at Tel Aviv University in Israel, told National Geographic. Tropical storms are like giant engines（發(fā)動機），powered by the heat transferred（傳導(dǎo)）from the ocean waters to the air above. However, because of climate change, the oceans have been warming up in recent decades. “Warmer oceans will result in more intense（強烈的）storms，” Price said.
Also, Haiyan started near the equator（赤道），where it was able to pick up more heat before heading to the Philippines. Moreover, the route（路線）it traveled was mostly along open ocean, which means no land prevented it from gathering steam（水蒸氣）．
In addition, there happened to be very little “wind shear（風切變）in the area this time. Wind shear is a sudden change in wind speed or direction, which can tear apart developing storms. This is like when you stir（攪動） a glass of water with a chopstick: a swirl（漩渦）will form, ‘but if you move the chopstick in the opposite direction, the swirl will quickly disappear.”
“When all those things
align in a certain way, you’re going to get something like‘Haiyan’.”Jim Kossin, a scientist with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told National Geographic.
小題1:Which of the following is TRUE about typhoons according to the article?
| A．They mostly happen early in the morning. |
| B．They mostly do damage during winter. |
| C．During most typhoons people can keep safe just by staying at home. |
| D．This year, more intense storms have happened in the world, |
小題2:Which of the following made Haiyan so powerful?
a, lts starting point was the equator
b, The frequency of other intense storms
c. More heat was transferred from the ocean waters to the air above,
d. There was a strong wind shear in the area
e. There was no land in its way
| A．a(chǎn)bc | B．a(chǎn)cd | C．a(chǎn)ce | D． ade |
小題3:The underlined word “alignin” the last paragraph is closest in meaning to_____
| A．disappear | B．a(chǎn)ffect each other |
| C．Arrive at the top | D．Happen at the same time |
小題4:The article mainly talks about
| A．how destructive Haiyan was |
| B．Why Haiyan was so destructive |
| C．how typhoons like Haiyan form（形成） |
| D．ways to protect yourself when typhoons hit |
