For a long time, people did not know much about lightning or how it forms. Now we know that lightning is electricity traveling between the positive and negative parts of the cloud and ground. There are actually different types of lightning in various shapes and sizes, depending on the weather conditions. However, scientists are still unsure as to why some of them occur.
The most common is intra-cloud lightning, where the lightning travels between different parts of the same cloud and never reaches the ground. We see it as a light that spreads within a cloud. Inter-cloud lightning, where electricity travels between different clouds, is less often seen.
The most dangerous is cloud-to-ground lightning. Lightning travels from the bottom of a cloud to the earth, and generally strikes the tallest thing it can find. This item is usually a building, a tree, a boat out at sea, or a mountaintop. If a person becomes the tallest point and is struck, it can be fatal. Lightning causes about 58 deaths every year in America, according to the National Weather Service.An unusual and beautiful form of lightning is spider lightning. It got its name because it looks like it is ‘crawling' underneath the cloud. It is slow enough for people to watch as it moves across the sky, crossing distances of up to 120 kilometers. Another rare kind of lightning is ball lightning. Very few people have the chance to see it. The ones who have describe it as a red, yellow, or orange ball of light. It floats along the ground and disappears with a loud bang.
119. What is this reading mainly about?
a. different types of lightning
b. how people are hurt by lightning
c. the most common kinds of lightning
d. the science behind lightning
120. In the last sentence of paragraph 1, what does them refer to?
a. weather conditions
b. electricity
c. kinds of lightning
d. positive and negative parts of a cloud
121. Which kind of the lightning do we most often see?
a. Intra-cloud lightning
b. Inter-cloud lightning
c. Spider lightning
d. Ball lightning