20160510:Hotsnake 触电的蛇
At last firemen have put out a big forest fire in California. Since then, they have been
trying to find out how the fire began. Forest fires areoften caused by broken glass or by
cigarette ends which people carelessly throw away. Yesterday the firemen examined the
ground carefully, but were not able to find any broken glass. They were also quite sure that
a cigarette end did not start the fire. This morning, however, a firemen accidentally
discovered the cause. He noticed the remains of a snake which was wound round the
electric wires of a 16,000-volt power line. In this way, he was able to solve the mystery.
The explanation was simple but very unusual. A bird had snatched up the snake fromthe
ground andthen dropped it on to the wires. The snake then , wound itself round the wires.
When it did so, it sent sparks down to the ground and these immediately started a fire.