We lost our power last night. A big thunderstorm with high winds and a lot of lightning knocked out the electricity to our house and the homes of over 50,000 other people who live in our area. The outage lasted until early this morning.

When we first heard that the storm was coming, we turned on our TV. A meteorologist was giving a weather report on Channel 11. She said the storm was heading in our direction. She also said that high winds and possibly a tornado could cause damage to homes. We knew that we needed to prepare for the approaching storm.

We turned off and unplugged all of our computers, found some flashlights and candles, and then we waited. The sky turned a dark color. Suddenly there was hail. Then came the high winds and heavy rain as they were predicted. It was at that time we decided it would be a good idea to head down into the basement.

The rain pounded our house for several minutes. It was very loud. We could hear water spilling out of the gutters and onto the patio in the backyard. Rain splattered against the basement window, and then the lights went off. The inside of the house was dark and silent, but outside the storm continued to rage. We lit some candles and turned on the flashlights.

After the storm passed, we came out of the basement and looked outside. Even in the darkness, we could see there was a lot of damage. The wind blew over several trees on our street. We thought we were going to lose our old ash tree in the front yard, but luckily it survived.

Without a television to watch or a computer to use, we found a Scrabble board and played for a couple of hours until it was time to go to bed.

By early this morning, our power was restored. Repair crews were dispatched throughout the night to repair power lines that were damaged by the storm. As I drove to work, I could see downed trees and branches everywhere. We learned that a tornado had, indeed, passed through our town. A few houses in Minneapolis were destroyed by high winds or by the trees that had fallen on them. Fortunately, no one was hurt.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Now you try it. Read the paragraphs above. If you have a microphone, you can record your voice and compare it to my voice.

Check your comprehension. Choose one answer for each question. Answers are below.

1. What did they lose in the storm?

  A. their dog  B. their shoes  C. their electricity  

2. When was the power restored?

 A. in the morning    B. in the evening    C. It wasn’t restored.

3. What’s Scrabble?

 A. a card game  B. a word game  C.  a preparation of eggs  

4. What’s something that can be blown down in a storm?

 A. a house  B. a tree  C. both A and C

5. Who restored the power?

  A. the police    B. the government  C. repair crews

(Answers: 1. C;  2. A  3. B;  4. C; 5. C)

  back  next

Return to the Green Level