It was June 8, 1816 and it was early summer in Vermont, US. Yet, a wild winter snow-storm was going on. Nearly a foot of snow covered the fields which had been planted crops only weeks before. This storm would kill all of the crops. At the time, people struggled to understand what had caused the weather to change so wildly. It is only now, more than 200 years later, that scientists have finally solved the mystery. The cause of the extreme weather was an event that took place a year earlier and 10, 000 miles away. It all started with a volcano called Mount Tambora.

Mount Tambora sits on the island of Sumbawa, a beautiful land with rushing streams, gentle hills, and thick jungles, in Indonesia. Nobody had any reason to think the peaceful mountain was in fact a volcano. It had been asleep for centuries, but on April 5, 1815, Tambora woke up.

The first eruption shook the island and sent up streams of fire and ash. But that was nothing compared with what would come five days later, on April 10. The volcano exploded with a huge cloud of gas, fire and ash shot high into the sky. The day turned midnight black, but the mountain turned red as rivers of lava（岩浆）flowed down the mountain.

The eruption went on for more than three days, which instantly killed at least 12, 000 people living on and around Mount Tambora. Ash and lava ruined the island’s soil and poisoned its rivers and streams. Rice fields were destroyed. No fruits or vegetables would grow.

There were no fish to catch; almost every animal had been killed. The eruption of Tambora in 1815 was the deadliest and most powerful volcanic eruption in human history.

Peter was a small boy.He lived with his parents in a small house near some hills.The people there were all poor.

One night it was very dry and windy.

When everybody was asleep，Peter suddenly heard some noise.It came out from the kitchen（厨房）.He got up and walked to the kitchen.He found that the wood beside the stove（火炉）was burning.There was no water tap（水龙头）in the house，so he could not put out（扑灭）the fire.He shouted loudly to wake up everyone in the house.Then he ran out of his house and knocked on the doors of many houses to wake the people up.They all left their houses quickly.

At last the fire was put out by the firemen.Many houses were burnt.But nobody was burnt in the fire.

Last Friday, at least 5 people were killed by lightning in Nepal.

Lightning strikes are the second most common cause of deaths during natural disasters in the US. The first is floods. Around 400 people nationwide are struck by lightning each year, and of those, 70 people die. That is, more people are killed by lightning than by tornadoes and hurricanes.

Because lightning kills only one or two people at a time, its danger does not receive as much attention as other disasters.

"If you hear the thunder, you are in danger from lightning," said Rocky Lopes, a disaster educator at the American Red Cross.

"Thunder means that lightning is close enough to hit you at any time, so you should move indoors immediately and stay there until the storm has ended. The most important thing to remember is to seek shelter (遮蔽物), " Lopes said.

Summer is the peak time for lightning storms, so when lightning strikes across the sky, remember these safety tips:

♦ Stop working, fishing, swimming or playing in open fields.

♦ Do not stand under a tree.

♦ Get off bicycle and motorcycles.

♦ Crouch down (蹲下) if there is no shelter.

♦ Avoid open spaces, wire fences, metal objects and electrical objects such as hair driers.