8/17/2019 Viewpoints1 WEBs Unit6-WeirdWeather 2699
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Viewpoints 1 Web Extra – Unit 6, Page 65
Read the text and answer the questions that follow
Weird Weather
Have you ever heard of ball lightning or St. Elmo’s Fire?
They're just two of the weird andrare weather phenomena that loo
lie spe!ial effe!ts in a film.
!all "ightning " #s you !an guess from the name$ this is
round lightning. %anging in si&efrom a few !entimetres to over
two metres in diameter$ it !an be noisy and destru!tiveit has
destroyed buildings and illed people( or silent and harmless. )t
!an move throughobje!ts " in!luding walls and windows " and there
are well*do!umented !ases of it inpeople's homes and even inside
aeroplanes. S!ientists !an't yet fully e+plain ball lightning$but
re!ent e+periments indi!ate that it may result from a !hemi!al
rea!tion betweenordinary lightning and the obje!t it stries.
#t El$o%s &ire " The blue ,flames- or glow of St.
Elmo’s Fire are not really from a fire.St. Elmo’s Fire is a
harmless ele!tri!al event that o!!urs when there’s an imbalan!e
ofele!tri!al !harges in the air during or after thunderstorms. The
phenomenon was firstdes!ribed $/// years ago. 0ater$ it got its
name from sailors in the 1editerranean Seawho saw it on their
ships’ masts and named it after their patron saint$ St. Elmo. St.
Elmo’sFire usually o!!urs on tall$ pointed obje!ts$ su!h as ship
masts$ street lamps and !hur!hsteeples.
!lue 'oon " The idiom once in a blue moon means ,very
rarely-. #!!ording to the 2+fordEnglish 3i!tionary$ the phrase
!omes from the fa!t that there's no su!h thing as a bluemoon.
However$ a!!ording to meteorologists$ blue moons do o!!ur " as
a result of dust$ash and other pollutants released into the
atmosphere by wildfires or vol!ani! eruptions.
4hen this happens$ the moon appears to be blue as we view it
through a ha&e of dust orash.
&ish and &rog Rain " %ainstorms that pour down fish
or frogs as well as water have beenreported for !enturies. They're
more fre5uent than you might thin6 in 7ritain alone$ forinstan!e$
fish*rains have o!!urred si+ times during the past 8/ years$ and
there were twofrog*rains in the 9::/s. The phenomenon o!!urs when
mini*tornadoes$ or waterspouts$!olle!t fish and frogs near the
surfa!e of water and !arry them into storm !louds.Eventually$ the
!louds release the rain together with the animals.
1 What is the shape and si(e of ball lightning)
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* +ow do sientists thin- ball lightning $ight be reated)
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. When does #t El$o/s &ire our)
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0 +ow did #t El$o/s &ire get its na$e)
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5 f we sa2 so$ething happens 3one in a blue $oon4, what do we
$ean)
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8/17/2019 Viewpoints1 WEBs Unit6-WeirdWeather 2699
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Viewpoints 1 Web Extra
6 n the last paragraph, wh2 are the 1s $entioned)
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7 +ow are fish and frogs arried into stor$
louds)...............................................................................................................................................................
8 9o$plete the sentenes
1 Ship masts$ street lamps and !hur!h steeples are
e+amples of
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.
* ;iewing the moon through a ha&e of dust or ash
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Webquest
+ere are fi:e $ore rare weather pheno$ena 9hoose one and explain
what it is, how it for$s andwh2 it is so unique ;lso searh the
nternet to find a piture or :ideo that shows this pheno$enon
9. 3ere!ho
. . #urora
