在每年的6月到11月的飓风期间要发生6-8次"飓风"，今年2003年9月"伊莎贝尔"飓风在美国东海岸的北卡罗来纳州大举登陆。当地媒体报道说，时速高达160公里的大风和250毫米降雨造成北卡罗来纳州和弗吉尼亚州南部41万多居民断电。飓风再一次让人类感受到它的威力。

　　Early every summer,weather scientists in North America prepare for a new season of powerful ocean storms.These storms are called hurricanes.The word"hurricane" comes from the language of people who lived on islands in the Caribbean Sea(加勒比海)before the Europeans arrived.They experienced strong ocean storms usually caused by weather movements off the coast of North Africa.These weather events gather force as they move west toward the Caribbean and North America.

　　A storm is called a hurricane when its wind speed becomes greater than 120kilometers an hour.Some huge storms cause great loss of life and thousands of millions of dollars in damage.Understanding the movements of storms and hurricanes is the job of the National Hurricane Center in Miami(迈阿密),Florida.Today,many electronic tools make the job of weather scientists,or meteorologists(气象工作者)easier.Satellites observe weather from space.New radar(雷达)instruments gain information about weather movements.Also，air-planes can drop special instruments into storms that record large amounts of information about air movements.One computer program permits meteorologists to see all the information about weather that the National Hurricane Center collects.

　　The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(美国海洋及大气管理局)has estimated(评估)the number of hurricanes for each year since 1998.NOAA expects six to eight hurricanes and nine to thirteen powerful Atlantic Ocean storms every year.Hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean lasts from the beginning of June to the end of November.

　　Also,a weather event called El Nino(厄尔尼诺)will affect storms forming in the Atlantic Ocean.El Nino is caused by unusual warm currents of water in the eastern Pacific Ocean.It affects weather around the world.

　　Judge the following true or false.

　　1.Hurricanes are a certain kind of powerful ocean storms.( )

　　2.The hurricane is not terrible and doesn't bring about deaths or do a lot of damage to the cities.( )

　　3.With the help of science and technology,it is not difficult for the scientists to know more about hurricanes today.( )

　　4.In the opinions of the NOAA experts,more than 20hurricanes happen every year.( )

　　5.Hurricanes and El Nino make the weather warm around the world.( )

　　Key:1.√2.×3.√4.×5.×

　　(文/湖南怀化宫可成；《英语通》高二版03~04学年度第12期；版权归英语辅导报社所有，独家网络合作伙伴新浪教育，未经许可，不得以任何形式进行转载。)