Clouds and Rain雲與降雨
一朵普通的積雲重達幾百公噸，卻浮在天上。因為組成它的水滴實在太小了。
CEFR A2閱讀約 5 分鐘 · 12 個單字 · 測驗卷 100 分
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The Water Cycle Island水的循環島
12 個可以點的單字 · 可以隨時暫停、轉動場景
逐字稿（15 段）
- 1Welcome to the water cycle. The water in today's rain has been on Earth for billions of years.歡迎來到水的循環。今天這場雨裡的水，已經在地球上待了幾十億年。
- 2The sun heats the ocean, and the water evaporates. It turns into gas and rises.太陽加熱海洋，海水就蒸發，變成氣體往上升。
- 3This jar is full of that gas, but it looks empty. The gas is invisible.這個罐子裝滿了那種氣體，看起來卻是空的，因為它是看不見的。
- 4High up, the air is colder. The gas condenses back into tiny drops.高空的空氣比較冷，氣體又凝結成小水滴。
- 5Each tiny drop forms around a speck of dust.每一顆小水滴，都是圍著一粒微小的灰塵形成的。
- 6Together the drops make a cloud. When the drops grow heavy enough, they fall as rain.小水滴聚在一起就是雲。當水滴長得夠重，就會落下來變成雨。
- 7This fluffy cloud with a flat bottom is a cumulus. It usually means fair weather.這朵蓬鬆、底部平平的雲是積雲。它通常代表好天氣。
- 8Clouds look white because the drops scatter all colours of light equally.雲看起來是白的，因為水滴把各種顏色的光平均散射出去。
- 9If a cumulus keeps growing into a huge tower, it becomes a thunderstorm cloud.如果積雲一直往上長成巨大的高塔，就變成了雷雨雲。
- 10Stratus is a flat grey layer of cloud. It can cover the whole sky.層雲是一整片又平又灰的雲層，可以蓋住整片天空。
- 11Stratus brings drizzle and dull days. Don't forget your umbrella!層雲會帶來毛毛雨和陰沉的日子。別忘了帶傘！
- 12Very high up, thin cirrus clouds are made of ice crystals.在非常高的地方，細細的卷雲是由冰晶組成的。
- 13Cirrus often appears a day or two before a change in the weather.卷雲常常在天氣變化前一兩天出現。
- 14In May and June, Taiwan has the plum rain. It is named after the season when plums ripen.五、六月，台灣有梅雨。這個名字來自梅子成熟的時節。
- 15Now it's your turn. Turn the island around and click on anything you see.現在換你了。轉動小島，點點看你看到的每一樣東西。
Water Goes Around水在繞圈子
The water in today's rain has been on Earth for billions of years. It just keeps going around.今天這場雨裡的水，已經在地球上待了幾十億年。它只是一直在繞圈子。
The sun heats the ocean and the water evaporates — it turns into invisible gas and rises.太陽加熱海洋，水就蒸發——變成看不見的氣體往上升。
High up the air is colder. The gas condenses back into tiny drops around specks of dust, and those drops together are a cloud.高空的空氣比較冷。氣體圍繞著微小的灰塵凝結成小水滴，這些水滴聚在一起就是雲。
When the drops grow heavy enough, they fall as rain. Then the water runs back to the sea and starts again.當水滴長得夠重，就會落下來變成雨。水接著流回海裡，再重新開始。
Reading the Sky看懂天空
- Cumulus — the heaps積雲——一坨一坨的
- Fluffy clouds with flat bottoms, like cotton wool. They mean fair weather, unless they keep growing taller.蓬鬆、底部平坦的雲，像棉花一樣。通常代表好天氣——除非它一直往上長。
- Stratus — the layers層雲——一層一層的
- Flat grey sheets that cover the whole sky. They bring drizzle and dull days.覆蓋整片天空的灰色平坦雲層。它帶來毛毛雨和陰沉的日子。
- Cirrus — the wisps卷雲——絲絲縷縷的
- Thin white streaks very high up, made of ice crystals. They often appear a day or two before a change in the weather.非常高空的白色細絲，由冰晶組成。常常在天氣變化前一兩天出現。
- Cumulonimbus — the tower積雨雲——高塔
- A cumulus that has grown into a huge tower, sometimes flattening at the top into an anvil shape. This is the thunderstorm cloud.積雲長成巨大的高塔，頂部有時會被壓平成鐵砧的形狀。這就是雷雨雲。
- The prefixes tell you the height字首告訴你高度
- Cirro- means high, alto- means middle, and a plain name means low. So cirrostratus is a high layer and altocumulus is a middle heap.cirro- 是高空、alto- 是中層，沒有字首就是低空。所以 cirrostratus 是高層雲、altocumulus 是中層積雲。
Cloud Heights雲的高度
| Group 分類 | Height 高度 | Examples 例子 |
|---|---|---|
| High 高雲 | Above 6,000 m 6,000 公尺以上 | Cirrus 卷雲, cirrostratus 卷層雲 |
| Middle 中雲 | 2,000 – 6,000 m 公尺 | Altocumulus 高積雲, altostratus 高層雲 |
| Low 低雲 | Below 2,000 m 2,000 公尺以下 | Stratus 層雲, cumulus 積雲 |
| Vertical 直展雲 | Low base to very high top 底低頂高 | Cumulonimbus 積雨雲 |
資料查證至 2025 年底
積雨雲的頂端可以衝到一萬公尺以上，比飛機的巡航高度還高——所以飛機會繞開它，不會穿過去。
Did You Know?你知道嗎？
- An average cumulus cloud weighs hundreds of tonnes, but it floats because each water drop is far too small to fall quickly.一朵普通的積雲重達幾百公噸，但它浮著，因為每一顆水滴都小到根本掉不快。
- Clouds look white because the drops scatter all colours of light equally. A cloud looks grey when it is thick enough to block the light from above.雲看起來是白的，因為水滴把各種顏色的光平均散射出去。當雲厚到擋住上方的光，看起來就是灰的。
- Taiwan has a rainy season called the plum rain, usually in May and June, named after the season when plums ripen.台灣有一個雨季叫「梅雨」，通常在五、六月，名字來自梅子成熟的時節。
- Rain is measured in millimetres. Ten millimetres means that if none of it drained away, the water would be one centimetre deep.雨量用毫米計算。十毫米的意思是，如果水都不流走，會積到一公分深。
Key Words單字表
evaporate/ɪˈvæp.ə.reɪt/v.
蒸發
The sun makes sea water evaporate.太陽讓海水蒸發。
condense/kənˈdens/v.
凝結
The gas condenses into tiny drops.氣體凝結成小水滴。
drop/drɑːp/n.
水滴
A cloud is made of tiny drops.雲是由小水滴組成的。
invisible/ɪnˈvɪz.ə.bəl/adj.
看不見的
Water vapour is invisible.水蒸氣是看不見的。
dust/dʌst/n.
灰塵
Drops form around specks of dust.水滴圍繞灰塵形成。
fluffy/ˈflʌf.i/adj.
蓬鬆的
Cumulus clouds look fluffy.積雲看起來很蓬鬆。
layer/ˈleɪ.ɚ/n.
層
Stratus forms a flat layer.層雲形成平坦的一層。
crystal/ˈkrɪs.təl/n.
晶體
Cirrus is made of ice crystals.卷雲由冰晶組成。
thunderstorm/ˈθʌn.dɚ.stɔːrm/n.
雷雨
Cumulonimbus brings thunderstorms.積雨雲帶來雷雨。
scatter/ˈskæt̬.ɚ/v.
散射
The drops scatter all colours.水滴散射所有顏色。
drizzle/ˈdrɪz.əl/n.
毛毛雨
Stratus brings drizzle.層雲帶來毛毛雨。
ripen/ˈraɪ.pən/v.
成熟
The season is named after when plums ripen.這個季節以梅子成熟的時候命名。
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