54 What Do Clouds Tell Us？

What Do Clouds Tell Us? by LAURA HULBERT With the Editors of TIME FOR KIDS

云告诉我们什么?作者:劳拉·赫尔伯特，《儿童时代》编辑

Chapter 1 How Clouds Form Do you know how clouds form? The Sun heats water on Earth. Heat changes some water into water vapor— a gas. Water vapor rises into the sky. It cools and turns back into tiny drops of water. Many drops of water make clouds. Some clouds are fat and puffy. Some are thin and flat. Clouds can be white or gray. Some are almost black. Clouds can tell you what kind of weather is coming. In this book, you will find out how to "read" clouds!

你知道云是如何形成的吗? 太阳加热地球上的水。 热使一些水变成水蒸气——一种气体。 水蒸气升入天空。 它冷却后又变成了小水滴。 许多水滴形成云。 有些云又胖又蓬松。 有些又薄又平。云可以是白色或灰色的。 有些几乎是黑色的。云可以告诉你即将到来的天气。 在这本书里，你会发现如何“读”云!

Chapter 2 How to Read Clouds These are cirrus (SIR-uhs) clouds. Cirrus means "curly." Some people think cirrus clouds look like horses' tails. What do you think? These thin clouds form high in the sky. You see them on a sunny day. They tell you the wind is changing. It may bring rain in the next day or two.

这些是卷云(SIR-uhs)。 Cirrus的意思是“卷的”。有些人认为卷云看起来像马尾。 你怎么看?这些薄云在高空形成。 你在阳光明媚的日子看到它们。 他们告诉你风在变。 这一两天可能会下雨。

These are stratus (STRAYT-uhs) clouds. Stratus means "spread out." Stratus clouds block the Sun. They make a gray day. When stratus clouds are low in the sky on a warm day, they mean rain. In the winter, stratus clouds mean snow. When a stratus cloud forms very low to the ground, this is fog.

这些是层云(strayt -uh)。 Stratus的意思是“展开”。 层云挡住太阳。 他们使天变得阴沉。当层云在温暖的天气低垂时，就意味着下雨。 在冬天，层云意味着下雪。 当层云在离地面很低的地方形成时，这就是雾。

These are the clouds you like to draw. They are cumulus (KYEW-myuh-luhs) clouds. Cumulus means "heap" or "pile." Sometimes these puffy white clouds are low. There is blue sky all around. This usually means it is a nice day. Sometimes cumulus clouds grow tall. They rise high in the sky. Then you can tell rain is coming. There could be a thunderstorm.

这些是你喜欢画的云。 它们是积云(KYEW-myuh-luhs)。 Cumulus的意思是“堆”或“堆”。 有时这些蓬松的白云很低。 四周都是蓝天。 这通常意味着今天是个好天气。 有时积云会长得很高。 他们在天空中高高升起。 然后你就知道要下雨了。 可能会有雷雨。