Vocab Review and Reading Comprehension

Vocabulary Review and Reading Comprehension

By Sarah Gibson

an overflow of water on dry ground

​​flood

a long period of time with less than normal rain

​​drought

a rotating storm with strong winds

​​hurricane

​

a powerful snowstorm

blizzard

Multiple Choice

Which type of extreme weather is being described?

Winds of up to 100 kph have damaged houses in the east of the city.

• flood

• drought

• hurricane

• blizzard

Multiple Choice

Which type of extreme weather is being described?

Snow and high winds have stopped traffic from reaching the town.

• flood

• drought

• hurricane

• blizzard

Multiple Choice

Which type of extreme weather is being described?

If these people don’t get more rain this season, crops will fail.

• flood

• drought

• hurricane

• blizzard

Multiple Choice

Which type of extreme weather is being described?

The roads are under a metre of water in some places.

• flood

• drought

• hurricane

• blizzard

​Tornado Terror in Tavistock

A tornado has severely damaged parts of the city of Tavistock in Western Australia. The violent storm ripped roofs off houses, turned over cars and caused trees to fall down. 25 people were injured. Five people were treated in hospital.

One resident, Mike Hume, 45, told the Tavistock Times, ‘It was terrifying! Just before the tornado, the sky was very dark with strange clouds moving very fast. I’ve never seen anything like it!’

Another resident, 10-year-old Jason Foster told us, ‘First, I heard a strange noise, like an aeroplane taking off. My bedroom window was open. The wind smashed the glass and the window frame blew across the road.’

Jason said that he and his father took cover under the stairs while the storm raged. When they came out, a tree had fallen on the family car.

‘At least only the car got crushed,’ Jason said. ‘We are lucky that the tree didn’t fall on our house.’

There is still heavy rain in the greater Tavistock area and some houses are still without electricity. However, meteorologists predict that the storms will disappear in the next 24 hours.

Multiple Choice

35 people were badly hurt during the tornado.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Mike Hume saw the green clouds during the storm.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Jason Foster and his father hid under the stairs in their house during the tornado.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

A tree fell on Jason's house during the storm.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

The weather experts say that the storm will continue for the next 24 hours.

• True

• False