A powerful storm that struck the central Philippines has killed 38 people and left millions without power.

Ten more people were injured by Typhoon Rammasun and another eight remain missing. The typhoon swept through the country on Tuesday night before making a shift away from Manila on Wednesday.

More than 530,000 people took refuge in evacuation centers. Many of those who died were killed while outdoors by falling trees and flying debris. Millions living in provinces southeast of the capital still have no power. Officials have managed to restore power to only half of Luzon, which has 17 million people. Much of the eastern region of Bicol, which was hit first by the storm and is home to five million, is also without electricity.

Manila was hit by widespread blackouts as well, but most of the city’s power has since been restored. Officials said more than one million people were affected by the storm. Most of them were from Bicol.

The storm is now heading westwards towards China’s Hainan island. The Tropical Storm Risk website is predicting it will gain in strength to Category 2 - one grade below its strength in the Philippines - within 24 hours. The country’s stock exchange and government offices reopened on Thursday but many schools remained closed because of power shortages.

Alexander Pama, the executive director of the National Disaster Agency, told agencies that the storm destroyed about 7,000 houses and damaged another 19,000. About $1m (£580,000) in infrastructure was destroyed and at least $14m in crops and livestock in Bicol were lost, he said.

At its peak, Rammasun - which is a Thai word for “thunder god” - brought winds of up to 150 km per hour.

The Philippines is hit by around 20 major storms a year. Typhoon Rammasun was the first to make landfall this year after the rainy season began in June. Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the country last year, killed more than 6,000 people and was said to be one of the worst storms on record.

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1.What mainly caused the deaths or injuries during the storm?

A Tall trees.

B Long blackouts.

C Heavy rains.

D Flying bricks.

解析：选D。D。细节理解题。根据文章第3段…those who died were killed while outdoors by falling trees and flying debris可知，这些人的死亡主要是遭倒伏的树木砸压或飞扬在空中的瓦砾的撞击造成的。故选D。

2.What does the underlined word most probably mean in the fourth paragraph?

A Blackness outdoors.

B Darkness caused by cutoff of electricity.

C Shortage of power.

D Damage caused by the storm.

解析：选B。 B。猜测词义题。根据前后文语境中的without power 与no power可知，blackout意为“停电，灯光管制”。

3.What can be implied in the passage?

A The storm will be less destructive when it reaches Hainan island.

B The storm will be more powerful at its landfall of China.

C Students went to school as usual during the storm.

D People across the Philippines were affected by the storm Rammasun.

解析：选A。A。推理判断题。根据文章第五段…will gain in strength to Category 2 - one grade below its strength in the Philippines可以判断，“威马逊”到达中国后其破坏力将减弱。故选A。

4.What meaning does Typhoon Rammasun have?

A A pleasant ocean bird.

B A black monster.

C Thunder god.

D A beautiful girl.

解析：选C。C。细节理解题。根据文章倒数第二段可知，Rammasun 在泰语中的意思为“雷神”，故选C。

5.What can be the best title of the passage?

A Typhoon Rammasun Left the Philippines Black All Over.

B Typhoon Rammasun Caused Deaths and Damage in the Philippines.

C Typhoon Rammasun Hit the Philippines before Heading for China.

D Millions of People Evacuated to Escape Typhoon Rammasun.

解析：选B。B。主旨大意题。通读全文可知，本文的主要介绍了台风“威马逊”席卷菲律宾，造成人员伤亡并造成严重破坏的情况，故选B。