Focus on Words

of volcanoes. The Hawaiian Islands are examples of this. Volcanoes are caused by
disturbances in the Earth’s crust. There re about 500 active volcanoes in the world.
The earthquake. An earthquake
often comes like a thief in the night
without warning. It is necessary,
therefore, to invent instruments that
do not sleep.
Tsunamis. Very long water waves
in oceans or seas. They sometimes
reach great heights and may be
extremely destructive. A tsunami is a
series of water waves. The original
Japanese term literally translates as
“harbour wave.” Tsunamis are a
frequent occurrence in Japan.
Casualties can be high because the waves move faster than humans can run. The Greek
historian Thucydides was the first to relate tsunami to submarine earthquakes, but
understanding of tsunami’s nature remained slim until the 20th century and is the
subject of ongoing research. About 80% of tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean, but are
possible wherever there are large bodies of water, including lakes. A tsunami cannot be
precisely predicted. One of the most successful systems uses bottom pressure sensors
that are attached to buoys. In 2004, ten-year-old Tilly Smith of Surrey, England, was
with her parents and sister in Tailand and having learned about tsunamis recently in
school, told her family that a tsunami might be imminent. Her parents warned others
minutes before the wave arrived, saving dozens of lives. She credited her geography
teacher, Andrew Kearney, who said that warning computer models can predict tsunami
arrival and predicted arrival times are usually within minutes of the actual time.
Hurricanes. What are the hurricanes? Hurricanes are very big storms. They usually
form in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of
Mexico. Hurricanes also form in other parts of the world, but they have different
names. In the Pacific Ocean, near Japan, China, and the Philippines, they are called
‘typhoons’.
The centre of the storm is called an eye. Hurricanes rotate anti-clockwise around
it. They move across the warm oceans and grow bigger and stronger. They bring forth
heavy rains, strong winds and huge waves at sea. Most of them stay at sea but
occasionally they may come onto the land causing a lot of damage to buildings, trees
and cars.
Hurricanes are measured by categories-from 1 to5.A category 5 hurricane is the
strongest. All hurricanes have names, men’s or women’s. The first storm of the season
usually begins with the letter A, for example Andrew. In the Atlantic hurricane season
is in the summer and autumn. The peak is in September when the sea is very warm.
Floods. As we all know, water is absolutely necessary for life on Earth. Yet too
much water in the wrong place can bring death and destruction. Floods have been part
of human history for thousands of years. In recent centuries there have been
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