Note
thunderstorm 雷を伴ったあらし;

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I was asleep at 3 a.m. Suddenly, there was a loud noise, and my apartment building shook. I thought it was an earthquake at first. Then I realized that it was a thunderstorm. The thunder went on for another 15 minutes. Each time I saw a flash of lightning, I started to count. If you count to 3, the lightning is about one kilometer away. I counted to 10. That means that the lightning was about 3 kilometers away. Sometimes I saw a flash and heard the thunder right away. The lightning was just above me! Finally, the thunder stopped, and it started to rain heavily. I went back to sleep. (by Prof. Douglas Jarrell)
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What do people in New York City do on the Fourth of July? Some of them go down to Coney Island, one of New York City’s oldest beaches. It’s a good time to go swimming, but many stop to see the famous Nathan’s Hot Dog eating contest. Since 2011, there has been a separate contest for men and women. Each contest has about 20 contestants who try to eat the largest number of hot dogs in 10 minutes. Sonya Thomas holds the record for women: 45 hot dogs. Joey Chestnut holds the record for men: 71 hot dogs. This year’s winners were Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo, but neither of them broke these records. (by Prof. Douglas Jarrell)
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