台风英文

台风的英文typhoon很好记，因为“台风”这个词是外来词，所以中英文的发音是一样的（除了语调有点不同之外）。英文中表示与台风类似的词还有好几个，常见的还有 tornado, cyclone和 hurricane。这些词有什么不同呢，下面来看看牛津词典对这些词的定义。

typhoon: a violent tropical storm with very strong wind. 台风
tornado: a violent storm with very strong winds which move in a circle 龙卷风，旋风
cyclone: a violent tropical storm in which strong winds move in a circle 气旋；旋风
hurricane: a violent storm with very strong winds, especially in the western Atlantic Ocean (尤指西大西洋的) 飓风

从单词记忆上，typhoon 和 cyclone 都比较好记，因为前者读音与汉语相同。而后者是从单词 cycle (循环)演化而来。另外, hurricane 前边的 hurri 应该是从单词 hurry 而来，表示”疾”，”快速”。　
但是在意思方面，单单从上面的解释，我们恐怕还是对这几个词的区分比较模糊。下面来看一段对这些“台风英文”单词的描述，相信你看后就会对它们有比较清楚深刻的理解。

Tornadoes can be up to 4km across, and are usually no more than a few hundred meters wide, while Tropical cyclones are hundreds of kilometers across.
Tornado(龙卷风)影响范围可达4公里宽，通常不超过几百米宽，相比之下，热带cyclone(气旋)则有数百公里宽。
句子分析: be no more than 意思为“不超过, 仅仅”。while用于表示对比或相反的情况。

Tornadoes usually only last a few minutes, rarely over an hour, while Tropical Cyclones last several days, maybe even a week.
tornado(龙卷风)通常只持续几分钟，很少超过一小时，而热带气旋(tropical cyclone)长达几天，甚至一周。

Tornado wind speeds typically range from 63 to 177km/h though can exceed 480km/h. When the wind speeds of a tropical cyclone are between 63km/h and 118km/h they are called tropical storm. When the speed reaches 119km/h, they are called hurricanes, typhoons, or intense tropical cyclones depending on the region.
虽然tornado的范围可以超过480公里/小时，但其风速一般为63至177公里每小时。当热带气旋(cyclone)的风速在63公里每小时和118公时每小时之间时，称为热带风暴。当速度达到119公里/小时，根据区域的不同而称为飓风(hurricane)，台风(typhoon)，或强热带气旋(intense tropical cyclone)。

Tropical Cyclones form over sea then may travel over land, while Tornadoes form primarily over land. When Tornadoes form over seas, they are called waterspouts.
热带气旋(tropical cyclone)形成于海面，游走于陆地，而龙卷风(tornado)则主要是在陆地上形成的。如果龙卷风是在海面上形成的话，就叫waterspout(海龙卷)。

Tornadoes are formed when wind shear sets thunderstorms rotating, and that rotation then tightens, intensifies, and extends to the ground.
龙卷风(tornado) 是由风切变使雷暴旋转而形成的，这个旋转收紧，加剧，并延伸到地面。
句子分析: 这里的 that 为形容词，指thunderstorms rotating。

A Tropical Cyclone is formed when an area of low pressure moves over warm ocean water. The moisture feeds into the system causing it to intensify. An effect called the 'Coriolis effect' causes it to rotate in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction, depending on whether you are in the southern or northern hemisphere.
一个热带气旋(cyclone)的形成则是起因于一个低压区域移到温暖的海洋上。水分进入这个系统而使它变强。这种效应称为“科里奥利效应”，促使它按顺时针或逆时针方向转动，取决于你是在南半球还是北半球。
句子分析: called 为过去分词作后置定语，修饰effect。