New Impact 1 Tests

The shocking truth about lightning Do you want to know the truth about lightning? Then read on! Paul Simons, author of ‘Weird Weather’, tells you things you never imagined. Lightning is an enormous spark of electricity. During a thunderstorm, it strikes the earth a hundred times every second. Apparently, there are nearly two thousand thunderstorms in progress across the world at any one time. Have you ever been outside during a bad storm? Don’t worry – there’s only a one in three million chance that you’ll be struck by lightning. However, if you do get caught in a storm, you’ll find the following advice useful. Firstly, stay away from trees. Lightning usually strikes the highest object, such as tall trees or telegraph poles. Next, try and get to a building or a car, and make sure you close the windows. However, staying indoors doesn’t mean you’ll be safe. A few years ago, lightning struck a house in Lincolnshire, England. The lightning went down the chimney, out of the fireplace, past the surprised family and into the kitchen. Their Sunday lunch was instantly cooked! And lightning can strike more than once. The Empire State Building in New York is struck on average about twenty times a year. However the record for a person is held by Roy Sullivan from California. Lightning has hit Roy an incredible seven times – and he’s still alive. But perhaps the most amazing lightning story happened to a blind man, Edward Robinson. It was a summer afternoon in 1980 when Edward went out for a walk. When a storm began, he stood under a tree and waited for the rain to stop. Suddenly he was struck by lightning. Edward fell to the ground and was unconscious for several hours. When he awoke, he could see again.

Reading
1 Read the text. Are the sentences true or false? Give evidence from the text. (6 marks)
1 There’s a strong possibility of someone being struck by lightning.
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