WILD WEATHERMAN

Name: Sam Champion

Hot job: TV Weatherman

Where: ABC-TV, New York City

When you were a child, did you plan to forecast wind, rain, and snow on TV?

I wanted to be a foreign journalist. I took courses in weather science at Eastern Kentucky University, but I majored in broadcasting news.

How did you finally become a weatherman?

My first job in the early 1980s was at the local TV station in Paducah, Kentucky. I did everything from turning on the lights in the morning to writing and delivering morning news. I put together weather forecasts, and became interested in them.

Back then, how did you forecast weather?

Independent companies collected computer information that showed, for example, how a single weather system might split into snow or snow mixed with rain. The information was often opposite and the job of a weatherman was to study the information and make the best educated guess about the storm.

Has weather forecasting changed much with new technology?

Advanced computers, satellites, and Doppler radar (sound waves used to track storms) have made forecasting more exact. But we still know very little about how weather is shaped. So far, we just have theories.

 Any advice for children who’d like to become weather scientists?

To me, weather is the most exciting field in the world. There are still so many more questions about weather than answers. After all, if we can’t foresee floods or hurricanes, how safe a society are we? Weather forecasting is wide open for scientists who love to solve puzzling problems. The next generation of meteorologists (weather scientists) will unlock many of Earth’s weather secrets. So get a general knowledge of Earth science, and study meteorology in college.

   Thanks, Sam.

40. Judging from the writing style, the text is _________.

A. a diary        B. an interview      C. a news story       D. an announcement

41. As a child, ABC-TV’s Sam Champion wanted to be a____________.

A. space scientist    B. weatherman      C. news reporter      D. meteorologist

42. Present weather forecasting technology___________.

A. has made weather report more exact than ever   

B. is still not perfect

C. hasn’t changed much in the last 50 years

D. both A and B

43. The study of weather science is called____________.

A. meteorology       B. forecasting        C. geography       D. Earth science