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Heavy rain continues to slam South Carolina after a powerful storm flooded much of the state over the weekend. Emergency workers are going door-to-door to search for anyone who may still be trapped in their homes. At least seven deaths have been blamed on the storm so far.

The storm dumped more than 20 inches of rain on one area of Columbia, South Carolina’s capital. Many cars ended up completely under water on flooded streets. Even weather experts said they were surprised by the amount of rain the storm dumped on the state. On Sunday, Governor Nikki Haley said the storm is the kind seen only once in a thousand years.

Earlier in the week, weather experts had predicted Hurricane Joaquin to slam the East Coast, but the hurricane turned away in the Atlantic Ocean. Despite the shift, Shepherd says tropical moisture from the hurricane helped boost the power of the rainstorm in the Carolinas and several neighboring states.

According to the National Weather Service, Sunday was the wettest day in the history of Columbia. The rainfall total at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport was 6.87 inches, the highest one-day level ever recorded there.

The flooding caused water main breaks that have threatened the drinking water supply for South Carolina’s capital city. Columbia officials told all 375,000 of its water customers to boil water before drinking it. Worse still, many roads and bridges across the state were washed out or under water.

One of the hardest hit areas in Columbia was near Gills Creek, where a weather station recorded over 20 inches of rain over the weekend. Rescue crews used boats to save the family of Jeff Whalen, whose house backs up on the creek.

Columbia residents have also been helping one another. Rawlings LaMotte, 38, said he and a friend got into a small motorboat and transported several people to safety.

“Until you've experienced something like this, you have no idea how bad it really is,” LaMotte said.

1.Why is the storm said to be the kind seen only once in a thousand years?

A Because it came so suddenly.

B Because it was so serious.

C Because it caused so much damage.

D Because it failed to be predicted.

解析：选B。推理判断题。根据第二段Even weather experts said they were surprised by the amount of rain the storm dumped on the state.可知该暴风雨之大为历史之最，故选B。

2.The underlined word “boost” in Paragraph 3 most probably means ______.

A reduce

B control

C increase

D cause

解析：选C。词义猜测题。尽管飓风没有抵达，但来自它的热带水汽对暴风雨起了推波助澜的作用，使之更厉害，即热带水汽增强了暴风雨的力量，故选C。

3.What damage was caused to South Carolina?

A Hundreds of people were killed in the storm.

B Drinking water supply was cut off.

C Many roads and bridges were destroyed.

D A large number of people lost their homes.

解析：选C。细节理解题。根据第五段的Worse still, many roads and bridges across the state were washed out or under water.可判断暴风雨破坏了大量的道路和桥梁，故选C。

4.Rawlings LaMotte was mentioned in the passage to show _______.

A how people helped each other

B how people handled the storm

C what people thought of the storm

D that people were thankful to rescue crews

解析：选A。推理判断题。根据Columbia residents have also been helping one another. Rawlings LaMotte, 38, said he and a friend got into a small motorboat and transported several people to safety.可判断此处是举例说明南卡罗来纳州居民是如何互相帮助的，故选A。

5.What’s the best title for the passage?

A Damage Caused by a Natural Disaster.

B Hurricane Striking the United States.

C Rescue Operations in a Storm.

D Flooding in South Carolina.

解析：选D。文章标题题。文章提到了暴风雨之大，之危害及其援救，全文是围绕发生在美国南卡罗莱纳州的一场暴风雨来写的，故选D。