四、(2026·扬州市仪征期末)阅读理解。
Meteorologists are scientists who study changes in the earth's weather and predict storms. Scientists say that there are about 16 million thunderstorms on earth every year and at any moment, about 2,000 are happening in different places across the planet.
The word "storm" is used to describe lots of extreme weather conditions. These can include strong winds, heavy rain, snow, and thunder and lightning.
A sudden drop in the weight of the air can mean bad weather is on its way. Meteorologists use a barometer(气压计) to predict storms. Some animals seem able to sense these changes too. Scientists have noticed sharks swimming to deeper waters before storms and birds changing their direction of flight to avoid storms.
□ The idea became popular in the 1950s and organizations across the world now do the same. The Met Office, which studies the UK's weather, started naming storms in 2015. It works with organizations. Every year they ask the public to suggest names for a new list.
The 2023—2024 storm season reached the letter L in the list—the furthest it has ever got. However, the season before only had two named storms. Storm Eowyn in January was the strongest to hit the UK in the last 10 years, with wind speeds over 100 miles per hour. It was almost as powerful as the Great Storm of 1987. Then, 15 million trees were blown down. The UK isn't getting more storms but scientists think climate change has increased rainfall in storms, making them more intense.
To keep people safe, the Met Office gives the public weather warnings. For Storm Eowyn, the UK government also sent emergency messages to people's phones.
1. What is meteorologists' job according to the passage?
A. Sending messages to people's phones.
B. Inventing a barometer to predict storms.
C. Helping birds change their direction of flight.
D. Studying changes in weather and predicting storms.
2. 新考法 句子回填 Which sentence should go in the empty box in Paragraph 4?
A. Studying climate change makes it easy to prevent storms.
B. Meteorologists and animals can predict storms in different ways.
C. Naming storms will make people more aware of possible dangers.
D. The Met Office gives some advice on how to keep safe in the storms.
3. 新考法 写作意图 The writer uses some numbers in Paragraph 5 to show .
A. Storm Eowyn happened in January
B. Storm Eowyn was the strongest storm
C. Storm Eowyn was named after the public
D. Storm Eowyn blew down millions of trees
4. What might be the best title of the article?
A. Naming the storms and protecting us
B. Learning from meteorologists
C. Understanding storms and staying safe
D. Studying weather in different ways
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