It begins when a feeling of stillness creeps into my consciousness. Everything has suddenly gone quiet. Birds do not chirp. Leaves do not rustle. Insects do not sing.

The air that has been hot all day becomes heavy. It hangs over the trees, presses the heads of the flowers to the ground, sits on my shoulders. With a vague feeling of uneasiness I move to the window. There, in the west, lies the answer--cloud has plied on cloud to form a ridge of mammoth white towers, rearing against blue sky.

Their piercing whiteness is of brief duration. Soon the marshmallow rims flatten to anvil tops, and the clouds reveal their darker nature. They impose themselves before the late-afternoon sun, and the day darkens early. Then a gust of wind whips the dust along the road, chill warning of what is to come.

In the house a door shuts with a bang, curtains billow into the room. I rush to close the windows, empty the clothesline, secure the patio furnishings. Thunder begins to grumble in the distance.

The first drops of rain are huge. They split into the dust and imprint the windows with individual signatures. They plink on the vent pipe, and plunk on the patio roof. Leaves shudder under their weight before rebounding, and the sidewalk wears a coat of shiny spots.

The rhythm accelerates; plink follows plunk faster and faster until the sound Is a roll of drums and the individual drops become an army marching over fields and rooftops. Now the first bolt of tightening stabs the earth. It is heaven's exclamation point. The storm is here!

In spite of myself, I jump at the following crack of thunder. It rattles the windowpane and sends the dog scratching to get under the bed. The next bolt is even closer. It raises the hair on the back of my neck, and I take an Involuntary step away from the window.

The rain now becomes a torrent, flung capriciously by a rising wind. Together they batter the trees and level the grasses. Water streams off roofs and out of rain spouts. It pounds against the window in such a steady wash that I am sightless. There is only water. How can so much fall so fast? How could the clouds have supported this vast weight? How ran the earth endure beneath it?

Pacing through the house from window to window, I am moved to open-mouthed wonder. Look how the lilac bends under the assault, how the day lilies are flattened, how the hillside steps are a new-made waterfall! Now hailstones thump upon the roof. They bounce white against the grass and splash into the puddles. I think of the vegetable garden, the fruit trees, the crops in the fields; but, thankfully, the hailstones are not enough in numbers or size to do real damage . Not this time.

For this storm Is already beginning to pass. The tension is released from the atmosphere, the curtains of rain let In more light. The storm has spent most of its energy, and what is left will be expended on the countryside to the east.

I am drawn outside while the rain still falls. All around, there is cool and welcome feeling. I breathe deeply and watch the sun's rays streak through breaking clouds, One ray catches the drops that form on the edge of the roof, and I am treated to a row of tiny, quivering colors--my private rainbow.

I pick my way through the wet grass, my feet sinking into the saturated soil. The creek in the gully runs bank-full of brown water, but the small lakes and puddles are already disappearing into the earth. Every leaf, brick, shingle and blade of grass is fresh-washed and shining.

Like the land, I am renewed, my spirit cleansed, I feel an infinite peace. For a time I have forgotten the worries and irritations I was nurturing before. They have been washed away by the glories of the storm.

提示：

在这篇散文中，作者仅在第一段就使用了creeps（蠕动），chirp（调嫩），rustle(沙沙作响）和sing（歌唱）四个拟声词，从而强化了这段"静"的描写。在第二段中，作者使用了white（白色的）和blue（兰色的）两个拟色词，把篮天中白云的活动带到读者的眼前。在第三段中，作者用flatten（使平展），a gust of wind whips（劲风卷起）以及 chill warning（冷嗖嗖的）之类的词把即将来临的风暴以及作者的感觉带给读者，从而引出下一段对风暴开始的描写。

第四段一开始，作者就用了ban（关门时发出的"砰"的声响）和billow(窗帘卷动时发出的"扑扑"的声音）两个拟声词把整段带活，然后又用gumble（雷声）开始风暴来临的描写。紧接着，又用split（雨点打在地上发出的响声），plink（雨点打在金属物上发出的响声），plunk（雨点打在屋顶上发出的声音）和shudder（树叶在雨水中发出的声音）这四个十分形象的拟声同把雨景描绘得淋漓尽致，仿佛使人亲耳听到了雨点发出的各种声响。在第六段中，作者重复使用plink和plunk两词把对雨的描写带到了高潮。

在第七段的一开始，作者转而描写雷和闪电，用crack一词描绘清脆震耳的雷声，并用rattle这个拟声同形容窗子在暴风中发出的格格响声，接着再用scratching一同把狗被吓得连滚带爬的情景展现在读者的眼前。在第八段中，作者使用了flung，batter，pounds这三个有力的拟声词把雨水的"量"感带出来，使人仿佛置身于瓢泼大雨水之中。描写完雨水之后，又用thump，pounce这两个拟声词开始描绘冰雹，把冰雹拍打在屋顶上的声音以及冰雹落在地面上四处飞溅的场景描绘得活灵活现。除了上面提到的二十七个拟声词，文中还包含了许多其它的拟声、拟形、拟物、拟景的词语，从而使这篇散文充满了生机和活力。