Passage 1
Tornadoes and Hurricanes
What Is a Tornado?
A tornado is a rotating column of air from a thunderstorm to the ground. The most violent have winds of more than 400 kilometres per hour. Almost all of them occur in the US, in the area from Texas in the southeast to South Dakota in the north.
Tornadoes can pick up cars, trains and even houses and put them down in the next street — or even in the next town. They can tale the fur off the back of a cat and the feathers off a chicken. They can destroy houses, but leave the furniture inside exactly where it was.
On average, there are 800 tornadoes in the US each year, causing about 80 deaths and 1500 injuries. The worst tornado of all time occurred in 1925, affecting three US states: Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. By the time it ended, more than 700 people had been killed and 2700 had been injured.
What Is a Hurricane?
Hurricanes are strong tropical storms, and they usually occur in the southern Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. There are violent winds of 120 kilometres per hour or more, which cause huge waves, heavy rain and floods. There are on average six Atlantic hurricanes each year and they usually affect the east coast of the US from Texas to Maine.
The worst hurricane disaster of all time occurred on the 8th September 1900 in Galveston, Texas. Winds of 200 kilometres per hour and five-metre-high waves hit the city. The disaster killed 6000 people in a population of 37000 and destroyed 3600 buildings.
What If a Hurricane Comes?
There are many hurricanes occuring around the world every year. Knowing what to do during a hurricane is of great importance to survive.
Listen to the weather forecast so that you know when a hurricane is coming. If a hurricane warning is announced, stop doing whatever you're busy with, which is always the most efficient way to avoid being caught in a hurricane. If you are walking outside, stop and find a shelter which can protect you from a hurricane. If you are inside your house, do remember to close the windows and doors until you are sure when the wind is not that strong enough to blow it open.
（From Book 3 Module 3）
Passage 2
Sandstorms in Asia
Sandstorms have been a major disaster for many Asian countries for centuries. Scientists have tried many ways to solve this problem and in China, a mass campaign has been started to help solve it.
Sandstorms are strong, dry winds that carry sand. They are often so thick that you cannot see the sun, and the wind is sometimes strong enough to move sand dunes. The four main places in the world where there are sandstorms are Central Asia, North America, Central Africa and Australia.
Northwest China is part of the sandstorm centre in Central Asia. Sandstorms begin in desert areas. Sandstorms in China appear to have increased in recent years as a result of “desertification”. This is a process that happens when land becomes desert because of climate changes and because people cut down trees and dig up grass.
Sandstorms sometimes affect Beijing. Citizens wake up to an orange sky and strong winds that cover the city in a thick, brown-yellow dust. The storms sometimes continue all day and traffic moves very slowly because the thick dust makes it difficult to see.
The Chinese Central Weather Station can forecast a sandstorm some weeks before it arrives in Beijing, but the strength of the storm sometimes surprises people. When a sandstorm arrives in the city, weather experts advise people not to go out. Huang Xiaomei, who lives in Beijing says, “To be cycling in a sandstorm is frightening. The winds are very strong. It's difficult to breathe and the dust makes me ill. So if you want to go out, you'd better wear a mask.”
The desert is only 250 kilometres away to the west of Beijing. To prevent it coming nearer, the government is planting trees. Already the government has planted more than 30 billion trees and plans to continue planting for the next five years.
（From Book 3 Module 4）
Passage 3
The Boy Made It!
One Sunday, Nicholas, a teenager, went skiing at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine. In the early afternoon, when he was planning to go home, a fierce snowstorm swept into the area. Unable to see far, he accidentally turned off the path. Before he knew it, Nicholas was lost, all alone! He didn't have food, water, a phone, or other supplies. He was getting colder by the minute.
Nicholas had no idea where he was. He tried not to panic. He thought about all the survival shows he had watched on TV. It was time to put the tips he had learned to use.
He decided to stop skiing. There was a better chance of someone finding him if he stayed put. The first thing he did was to find shelter form the freezing wind and snow. If he didn't, his body temperature would get very low, which could quickly kill him.
Using his skis, Nicholas built a snow cave. He gathered a huge mass of snow and dug out a hole in the middle. Then he piled branches on top of himself, like a blanket, to stay as warm as he could.
By that evening, Nicholas was really hungry. He ate snow and drank water from a nearby stream so that his body wouldn't lose too much water. Not knowing how much longer he could last, Nicholas did the only thing he could — he huddled (蜷缩) in his cave and slept.
The next day, Nicholas went out to look for help, but he couldn't find anyone. He followed his tracks and returned to the snow cave, because without shelter, he could die that night. On Tuesday, Nicholas went out to find help. He had walked for about a mile when a volunteer searcher found him. After two days stuck in the snow, Nicholas was saved.
Nicholas might not have survived this snowstorm had it not been for TV. He had often watched Grylls' survival show Man vs Wild. That's where he learned the tips that saved his life, In each episode (一期节目)of Man vs Wild, Grylls is abandoned in a wild area and has to find his way out.
When Grylls heard about Nicholas' amazing deeds, he was super impressed that Nicholas had made it since he knew better than anyone how hard Nicholas had to work to stay alive.
（2015北京高考英语阅读A篇）
Word List
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Module 3
disaster n. 灾难
flood n. 洪水
hurricane n. 飓风
lightning n. 闪电
thunderstorm n. 雷暴
tornado n. 龙卷风
column n. 柱状物；柱状体
experience vt. 经历
cause vt. 引起；导致
current n. 海流；潮流
latitude n. 纬度
furniture n. 家具
bury vt. 埋葬
feather n. 羽毛
fur n. （动物的）毛皮
occur vi. 发生
tropical adj. 热带的
equator n. 赤道
rotating adj. 旋转的；循环的
violent adj. 猛烈的；激烈的；强烈的
wave n. 波浪
strike (struck; struck/stricken) vt. & n. （雷电、暴风雨等）袭击
cemetery n. 墓地；公墓
coffin n. 棺材
ruin vt. 毁坏
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Module 4
sandstorm n. 沙尘暴
frightening adj. 吓人的；可怕的
inland adj. 内地的；内陆的
mass adj. 大量的；大规模的
campaign n. 战役；活动
dune n. 沙丘
desertification n. （土地的）沙漠化
process n. 进程；过程
citizen n. 公民；市民
dust n. 沙尘；灰尘
forecast vt. 预报；预告
strength n. 力量；力气
cycle vi. 骑自行车
mask n. 面罩
Natural Disasters
tsunami n. 海啸
mudslide n. 泥石流
drought n. 干旱
volcanic eruption火山爆发
typhoon n. 台风
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