Годовая контрольная работа по чтению в 8 классе

Form 8

Reading

a) Read the text and match the titles to the paragraphs A-E. One title is extra.

1.   WHY DOES EACH HURRICANE HAVE A NAME?

2.   WHAT DO THE HURRICANE CATEGORIES MEAN?

3.   WHAT ARE HURRICANES?

4.   WHAT HAPPENS LATER?

5.    CAN WE DO ANYTHING TO STOP THEM?

6.    HOW DO THEY OCCUR?

Hurricanes

It was supposed to hit the coast of Florida. But hurricane Isaac changed the course midway. It directed its fury towards the three Gulf states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

A.      Hurricanes also known as cyclones in some parts of the world, are super powerful storms. They gain strength from winds that help them blow at speeds ranging from 75 to 225 miles per hour, resulting in mas­sive destruction when they hit land. When a hurricane first begins, the rising winds blow in towards the centre of the storm. While the hurri­cane is attempting to go straight, the Earth's movement causes it to turn to the right, forcing it to go counter-clockwise.

B.      For hurricanes to occur, the ocean temperatures must be at least 80°Fahrenheit and the atmosphere around it, full of moisture. Also, the winds must be blowing in the same direction and the same speed to force the air upward from the surface of the ocean. The warm water creates low-pressure air, causing it to rise. As the air rises, it collects, moisture-forming thunderclouds. The warm air produces more heat and rises faster, causing colder air to rush in. This increases the intensity of the storm. This water is the most deadly part of the hurricane, because it dumps into any landmass it hits, causing floods and devastation (опустошение).

C.  Hurricanes are given names, so that scientists can track the storms, from start to finish. In the fifties, hurricanes were named after the phonic alphabet, like Able, Baker etc. From 1953 to 1979, the US Weather Bureau decided to shift to only women's names. Since then, they have chosen between male and female names and now have six different name lists that they change each year. If a hurricane causes real major devastation, like Katrina did to New Orleans in 2005 the name is never used again.

D.  In the past, scientists tried various inventions to weaken these storms. But they gave up in the 1960's after realising that the weather patterns were too large to affect. Instead, they changed their focus to understanding how hurricanes form and move, so that they could predict the time and intensity with greater accuracy. But like other acts of nature, this too remains an inexact science that is neither completely predictable nor controllable.

E.   The hurricane categories range from 1 to 5. It is a way to measure their intensity, with 5 being the worst. A typical season sees about six hurricanes, the peak of the season is not until the end of September The good news is that Isaac is the fourth hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic season - the first three did not land on the US soil. So maybe the USA will escape the rest too, which would make this the best hurricane season Americans have had in many years.

b) Read the text again and mark the statements True (T), False (F), Not Stated (NS).

1.      Hurricanes are very dangerous as they can destroy anything on their way.

2.      Hurricanes hit the surface of the ocean causing huge waves.

3.      In fact, hurricanes occur due to the difference in the atmosphere temperatures.    

4.      Most of the hurricanes have male names.

5.      Hurricanes are named to help scientists study them.

6.      Scientists have invented traps for hurricanes to stop them.

7.      Nowadays scientists successfully predict the direction and time of any hurricane.

8.      The lower the category of the hurricane the easier it is to predict it.