Fill in the blanks.

Every year, major storms …………1……….. (cause / have caused / are causing) major problems around the world. There’s nothing people can do ………2……….. (to stop / stopping / to stopping) the powerful forces of nature. But new techniques are helping scientists to predict how, when, and where the big ones …………3………… (occurs / will occur / would occur).

………4……….. (While / If / When) we cannot prevent a storm, scientists have developed technologies that help them predict the advent of a storm. Nevertheless, there ……………5……. (is / are / has been) plenty left to learn. Even when scientists can figure out where a storm …………6……… (is headed / heads / has headed), winds can change at the last minute, …………7……… (to carry / carrying / carry) the storm in a new direction. Scientists …………8……. (predict / predicts / are predicting) hurricanes with the help of computer simulations, or models, and knowledge of the past. Scientists …………9……. (are collecting / have been collecting / had been collecting) data about storms for decades. They’ve noticed patterns that …………10……….. (suggest / suggested / are suggesting) what it takes for a strong storm to form in the first place.

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