Номер 1, страница 86 - гдз по английскому языку 8 класс (starlight) учебник Баранова, Дули

The Tunguska event

"Suddenly ... the sky was split in two and high above the forest the whole northern part of the sky appeared covered in fire. At that moment, there was a bang in the sky and a mighty crash ... followed by a noise like stones falling from the sky, or of guns firing. The earth trembled." This is how a witness described one of the most mysterious and frightening events to occur on the planet in history.

It was around 7 am on 30th June 1908 near Vanavara in Siberia and people were just waking up when suddenly there was huge explosion in the skies above the Podkamennay Tungunska River. The shock of the blast was so strong that it was recorded by instruments as far away as England. Millions of trees were flattened and thousands of reindeer and other wildlife were killed. Surprisingly, and fortunately, there were no human victims though. After the blast, thick clouds gathered in the skies over the region reflecting the sunlight away. At the time no one understood what had

happened and local people thought that the god Ogdy had punished them.

The Tunguska region is so remote that it took over a decade for scientists to organise an expedition to investigate the event. Most experts now believe that a comet or asteroid was to blame for the destruction. They say that as it ripped through the sky it heated the air around it to 24,700 degrees Celsius and eventually exploded into a fireball at 8,500 meters above the ground, releasing energy equal to about 1000 times the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Recent studies of the area have revealed a pleasantly surprising fact though. The soil in the Tunguska area is richer than volcanic ash and the plant life is growing four times faster than it normally should. In fact, it seems the comet, meteor, or asteroid, may have been a gift from the heavens as the area is becoming like a Garden of Eden.

Check these words

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Reading & Listening

1 Look at the picture. What do you know about the Tunguska event? Think of three questions.

🎧 Listen to and read the text. Can you answer your questions?

Reading & Listening

1 Look at the picture. What do you know about the Tunguska event? Think of three questions.

Listen and read the text. Can you answer your questions?