Reading Comprehension. Natural Disasters: Hurricane. Volcano.

Text B. Hurricane

Hurricanes are the most violent storms on Earth. People call these storms by other names, for example, typhoons or cyclones.It depends on where they happen. The scientific name for all these storms is “tropical cyclone”. Only tropical cyclones that happen over the Atlantic Ocean or eastern Pacific Oceanhave the name "hurricanes."Tropical cyclones have different names, but they all form the same way.

Tropical cyclones are like giant engines that use warm, moistair as fuel. That is why they happen only over warm ocean waters near the equator.

Storms that form north of the equator spincounterclockwise. Storms south of the equator spin clockwise. This difference is because of Earth's rotation on its axis.

As the storm system rotates faster and faster, an eye forms in the center. It is very calm and clear in the eye, with very low air pressure. Higher pressure air from above flows down into the eye.

When the winds in the rotating storm reach 39 mph, the storm has the name a "tropical storm." And when the wind speeds reach 74 mph, the storm is officially a "tropical cyclone," or hurricane.

Tropical cyclones usually weaken when they hit land, because they no longer get the energy from the warm ocean waters. However, they often move far and cause much rain and lots of wind damage before they die out completely.

Vocabulary practice:

1. Match the pairs of antonyms from the text.

1. Are the sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1. Hurricane is the scientific name for tropical cyclones that happen over the Atlantic Ocean or eastern Pacific Ocean.

2. Tropical cyclones form differently and it depends on where they form.

3. Tropical cyclones can form over warm ocean waters in all parts all over the world.

4. Storms that form north and south of the equator spin the same way.

5. An eye forms when the speed of the storm becomes higher.

6. Hurricane causes much damage before it disappears completely.

2. Answer the following questions:

1. What’s the difference between ‘a hurricane’ and ‘a tropical cyclone’?

2. What do tropical cyclones use as energy?

3. How do storms over north and south of the equator spin?

4. When do tropical cyclones start to weaken?

Text A. Volcano.

Volcanoes happen when hot material erupts outside onto the surface of a planet or moon from its interior. When this happens, it is called eruption. An eruption can be explosive, when it sends material high into the sky. Or it can be calmer, with gentle flows of material.

These volcanic areas usually formmountains. These mountains have many layers of rock, ash or other material that collect around them.

Volcanoes can be active, dormant, or extinct. Active volcanoes are volcanoes that have had recent eruptions or when weexpect that they will have eruptions in the near future. Dormant volcanoes no longer produce eruptions, but maybe it can happen again sometime in the future. Extinct volcanoes will likely never erupt again.

On Earth, the erupted material can be liquid rock ("lava" when it's on the surface, "magma" when it's underground), ash, cinders, and/or gas. There are three reasons why magma might rise and cause eruptions onto Earth’s surface.

Volcanoes on Earth form from rising magma. Magma rises in three different ways.Magma can rise when pieces of Earth's crust called tectonic plates slowly moveaway from each other. The magma rises up to fill in the space. When this happens underwater volcanoes can form. Magma also rises when these tectonic plates move toward eachother. When this happens, part of Earth's crust can be forced deep into its interior. The high heat and pressure cause the crust to melt and rise as magma. A final reason why magma appears is that it rises over hot spots. Hot spots are exactly what they sound like – hot areas inside of Earth. These areas heat up magma. The magma becomes less dense. When it is less dense it rises. Each of the reasons for rising magma are a little different, but each can form volcanoes.

Vocabulary practice

Match the pairs of antonyms from the text.

Are the sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1. Volcanic eruption happens when hot material escapes outside.

2. Explosive eruption can throw materials high up into the sky.

3. Calm volcanic eruption can form mountains.

4. There are three types of volcanoes.

5. Liquid rock erupted from the Earth is called ‘magma’ when it’s on the surface.

6. There is only one way how volcanoes occur.

2. Answer the following questions:

1. How does a volcano happen?

2. What is the difference between the explosive and calm volcanic eruptions?

3. What is the difference between active, dormant and extinct volcanoes?

4. What are the three reasons why magma rises and cause eruptions?

Text A. Volcanic Eruption. Words

TextB. Hurricane. Words