DO YOU KNOW WHY HURRICANES ARE GIVEN WOMEN’S NAMES?

Originally, hurricanes were given the names of saints who were honoured on the day they
occurred; but if two hurricanes hit on the same day, the second one carried an ordinal number
after its name, for example, Hurricane St. George and Hurricane St. George II.

By the end of the 19th century, Clement Wragge, an Australian meteorologist, started naming
storms using the letters of the Greek alphabet. After that, names form Greek and Roman
mythology were also used with the same purpose.

Formerly, in the United States, storms were labelled according to the latitude or longitude
where the hurricane originated. This system was difficult to communicate and many errors
occurred during radio transmissions. Thus, during the Second World War military
meteorologists settled in the Pacific Ocean started giving women’s names to hurricanes and
tropical storms. As this method was easier to use, the USA National Hurricane Center adopted
it to name storms in the Atlantic Ocean in 1953. The first one was the Tropical Storm Alice.

In the 1970s female meteorologists raised their voices against this denomination because it
was considered sexist. As a result, from 1978 up to now, women and men’s names have both
been accepted.

Every year a list of 21 names is drawn up in alphabetical order. Each letter is used only once
but names beginning with the letters Q, U, X, Y and Z are not used. The first hurricane or
tropical storm of the year receives the name with the letter “A”, the second with the letter “B”
and so on.

Some names are retired from the list when the storm has destroyed large áreas and caused
many casualties, such as the hurricane “Katrina”, whose name Will not be used again.

A) Find a Word that means:

1) a specific way of doing something

2) to be remembered and shown respect

3) unfair treatment of women; discrimination

4) described or identifield

5) people who are hurto r killed in an accident

6) earlier, in the past

B) Classify the discourse markers underlined in the text according to the following headings.

Remember!

Discourse markers or linking words show how ideas are connected in a text.

1) To add information 2) To indiate contrast 3) To give examples

4) To indicate result 5) To indicate condition 6) To give the reason for something

Key: A) method;2) honoured;3) sexist;4) labelled;5) casualties;6) formerly. B) 1) also;2) but;3) such as;4) as a result;5) if;6) because.