Cyclone Hudhud is striking the eastern Indian coast, causing serious damage and moving some 350,000 people to safer places. At least three people have been killed in Andhra Pradesh and three in Orissa.

The cyclone（旋风，气旋）, classed “very severe”, brought winds of 205km/h (127mph), as it passed over the coast near the city of Visakhapatnam. The winds and heavy rains have brought down trees and power lines, and damaged crops in both states. It is feared a storm surge of up to two meters could flood low-lying areas and hundreds of relief centers have been opened in the two states. Disaster relief teams have also been sent. The authorities say the next few hours will be extremely important.

The strength of the cyclone has been revised upwards since Friday, and the Indian Navy is on standby to assist. “Hundreds of trees have been uprooted and power lines knocked down. The national highway in the region has been shut.” Local journalist Hridayesh Joshi told the BBC from Visakhapatnam, “The situation is becoming increasingly bad. There is very strong wind and rain right now - objects are flying and smashing things. We are relatively safe in the centre of town, but the danger is for those in open areas. We are hoping it won’t get much worse.”

In its latest report, the India Meteorological（气象学的）Department said sea conditions would become “phenomenal” off the north Andhra Pradesh and south Orissa coasts.

Pradeep Kumar Mohapatra, a special relief commissioner, said that authorities were ready. “The administration is fully prepared,” he said. “The collectors (senior government officials) have been given permission to take up any evacuation wherever necessary for areas which are likely to be hit and flooded.”

A super-cyclone in 1999 killed more than 10,000 people in Orissa. Last October as many as 500,000 people in India were evacuated（疏散）when a severe cyclone called Phailin swept through Orissa and Andhra Pradesh states. India’s eastern coast and Bangladesh are routinely hit by cyclonic storms between April and November which cause deaths and widespread damage to property.

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1.What is mainly talked about in the passage?

A Great damage has been caused by Cyclone Hudhud.

B Indian authorities were ready for Cyclone Hudhud.

C Thousands of people were affected by Cyclone Hudhud.

D Eastern Indian coast was hit by Cyclone Hudhud.

解析：选D。D 主旨大意题。文章第一段为主题段，根据首句Cyclone Hudhud is striking the eastern Indian coast可知，文章的主要内容为热带风暴“Hudhud”袭击印度东海岸的情况报道。

2.Why do the authorities say the next few hours will be very important?

A Low-lying areas are likely to be flooded by a storm surge.

B The strength of the cyclone will be growing to its highest level.

C The cyclone will bring strong winds and heavy rains.

D More trees will be uprooted and power lines knocked down.

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据文章第二段与第三段It is feared a storm surge of up to two meters could flood low-lying areas…可知，由于热带风暴来势凶猛，将会造成大风与强降雨，地势低洼地带将被洪水淹没，因此未来几小时的情况将非常严峻。

3.What damage has been caused by Cyclone Hudhud?

A National highway has been destroyed.

B Objects were flying and smashing things.

C Large areas of crops have been damaged.

D Sea conditions were becoming surprisingly worse.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据文章第二段…have brought down trees and power lines, and damaged crops…可知，风暴将大树连根拔起，电线杆被吹倒，大片庄稼遭到破坏。因此选C。

4.What can we infer from the passage?

A Cyclone Hudhud is the worse one in years.

B Cyclone storms strike India every year.

C People in low-lying areas have been moved out.

D Open areas are safe for people to stay.

解析：选B。B 推理判断题。根据文章最后一段India’s eastern coast and Bangladesh are routinely hit by cyclonic storms…可以判断，印度东海岸与孟加拉国经常受到热带风暴袭击，因此这些地方每年都会发生热带风暴。

5.Where can you mostly come across the passage?

A From a relief report released by the government.

B From a news report on the radio.

C From a weather report on TV.

D From a comment posted on the Internet.

解析：选B。B 推理判断题。根据文章第三段Local journalist Hridayesh Joshi told the BBC from…可知，这篇文章出自英国广播电台（BBC）。