Read the text and divide the statements into 3 categories.
Most of us are interested in the weather forecast; do we need to wrap up warm today or take an umbrella or our sunglasses when we go out? But imagine if you heard that a never-ending lightning storm was on its way or a shower of animals! This might sound crazy but, believe it or not, these kinds of weird weather phenomena actually happen …
Heavy weather
Some people are used to extreme weather conditions. This is the case for those who live in the area where the Catatumbo River meets Lake Maracaibo and has dark clouds covering it most of the year. For centuries, these clouds constantly crash into each other and cause violent lightning storms that can last up to ten hours and occur between 140 and 160 nights a year. They call it ‘the never-ending lightning storm’. However, every cloud has a silver lining; this lightning activity produces nitrogen oxide which probably helps to restore the ozone layer. Another kind of rare lightning is ball lightning. This is a ball of brightly coloured light which usually occurs during thunderstorms but lasts longer than a lightning bolt. Sometimes the ball even explodes and leaves behind a smell, but the true cause of this phenomenon is a mystery. One sighting hit the news in 1984 when ball lightning entered a Russian aircraft, flew above the shocked passengers, travelled through the aircraft, and passed silently out again leaving two holes in the plane.
Fire from the sky
We're all used to hearing about tornadoes, but imagine if a tornado was a whirling firestorm instead of a windstorm. A fire tornado or a "fire devil" can happen when high temperatures from a wildfire mix with strong winds. They are usually about 300-450 meters high, but they can sometimes reach 1.6 km in height! A fire tornado made world news in 2010 in Brazil when astonished motorists watched one spin and burn its way through fields by a highway. In 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake in Japan ignited the largest fire tornado in history, killing 33.000 people in 15 minutes. Luckily, fire tornadoes are very rare.
A watery tale
Have you ever heard the saying "it's raining cats and dogs?" Well, what about frogs, fish, jellyfish, or even snakes? Believe it or not, there have been many stories about raining animals throughout history. One explanation is that strong winds or a tornado could pick them up and drop them far away. The rain of fish has been happening every summer in the region of Yoro, Honduras for over a century. Witnesses say that there is usually a violent storm, then afterward there are hundreds of living fish on the ground which people take home, cook, and eat! Many local people believe that the fish are from underground rivers and that the storms somehow bring them up above ground.

• Группы
  • TRUE
  • FALSE
  • NOT STATED
• Варианты
  • It’s possible that the Catatumbo lightning is helping the Earth.
  • The rain of fish is a new phenomenon.
  • It rains a lot in Catatumbo, Venezuela.
  • Ball lightning appears for longer than normal lightning.
  • Fire tornados can happen when a fire is very hot and it’s windy.
  • Fire tornadoes don’t happen very often.
  • Strong winds probably cause such a phenomenon as raining animals.
  • The Great Kanto Earthquake in Japan ignited the largest fire tornado in history, killing 33.000 people in 10 minutes.
  • When a strong storm happens, there are aften hundreds of living fish on the ground which people are afraid of taking home, cooking, and eating.