Lightening Strikes

　　Three years ago a bolt of lightning all but destroyed Lyn Miller’s house in Aberdeen—with her two children inside. “There was a huge rainstorm,” she says, recalling the terrifying experience. “My brother and I were outside desperately working to stop floodwater from coming in the house. Suddenly I was thrown to the ground by an enormous bang. ____1____ The door was blocked by rubble, but we forced our way in and found the children, thankfully unharmed. Later I was told to be struck by lightning is a chance in a million.” In fact, it’s calculated at one chance in 600,000. Even so, Dr Mark Keys of AER Technology, an organisation that monitors the effects of lightning, thinks you should be sensible. “I wouldn’t go out in a storm—but then I’m quite a careful person.” He advises anyone who is unlucky enough to be caught in a storm to get down on the ground and curl up into a ball, making yourself as small as possible.

　　Lightning is one of nature’s most awesome displays of sheer power. ____2____ 250 years ago, Benjamin Franklin, the American scientist and statesman，proved that lightning is a form of electricity, but scientists still lack a complete understanding of how it works.

　　____3____ Positive electrical charges streaming upwards from trees or church spires may glow and make a buzzing noise, and people’s hair can stand on end. And if you fear lightning, you’ll be glad to know that a company in America has manufactured a hand-held lightning detector which can detect it up to 70 kms away, sound a warning tone and monitor the storm’s approach.

　　Nancy Wilder was playing golf at a club in Surrey when she was hit by a bolt of lightning. Mrs Wilder’s heart stopped beating, but she was resuscitated and, after a few days in hospital, where she was treated for bums to her head, hands and feet, she was pronounced fit again. Since that time，she has been a strictly fair weather golfer1. ____4____ The best place to be is inside a car!

　　The largest number of people to be struck by lightning at one time was in September 1995 when 17 players on a football pitch were hit simultaneously. The most extraordinary aspect of the strike was the fact that 11 of the victims—seven adults and four children—had burn patterns of tiny holes at 3 centimetre intervals on each toe and around the soles of their feet.

　　Harold Deal, a retired electrician from South Carolina, USA, was struck by lightning 26 years ago. He was apparently unhurt, but it later emerged that the strike had damaged the part of the brain which controls the sensation of temperature. ____5____

　　Animals are victims of lightning too2．Hundreds of cows and sheep are killed every year, largely because they go under trees. In East Anglia in 1918, 504 sheep were killed instantaneously by the same bolt of lightning that hit the ground and travelled through the entire flock. Lightning is also responsible for starting more than 10,000 forest fires each year world-wide.

　　练习：

　　A　No wonder the ancient Greeks thought it was Zeus, father of the gods, throwing thunderbolts around in anger.

　　B　In fact, a golf course is one of the most dangerous places to be during a thunderstorm.

　　C　Lightning has long been hailed as one of the most impressive displays of nature’s power.

　　D　When I picked myself up, the roof and the entire upper storey of the house had been demolished.

　　E　Occasionally there are warning signs.

　　F　Since then the freezing South Carolina winters haven’t bothered Harold, since he is completely unable to feel the cold.

　　答案与题解：

　　1．D　前文讲到“我”被爆炸击中，因此后文要讲被击昏然后醒来之后的事，D项符合。

　　2．A　前文讲闪电是大自然绝对力量最可怕的展现方式之一，而宙斯在古希腊是力量的化身，古希腊人认为雷电产生的原因是宙斯发怒并投掷闪电。

　　3．E　后文讲到闪电来临之前的一些征兆，还讲到有一种产品可以预告闪电。此处要填的是该段的主题句，即闪电到来之前会有一些征兆。

　　4．B　前面讲到在高尔夫球场上被雷击的一个事例，后文讲闪电来临之时最安全的地方是汽车里，因此要填的句子应该是讲在高尔夫球场不安全。

　　5．F　前文讲Harold因为雷击丧失了感受温度的能力，F选项中关于他再也不怕冬天的寒冷的描述符合要求。