Studying volcanoes is a demanding profession. Hazel Rymer frequently has to struggle through rainforests, climb to the top of mountains, then climb 200 metres into the crater of active volcanoes. But the 38-year-old volcanologist does her best to make it sound less alarming than it is. “Driving to work is more risky,” she insists. “And the deepest I go into the crater of a volcano is about 300 metres,” she adds, trying to make it all sound as ordinary as taking the dog for a walk.
Hazel has been studying volcanoes for a long time, so it’s not surprising she is used to the danger. Her interest in volcanoes began at school. A teacher gave her a book about Pompeii. “I remember reading about the eruption of Vesuvius and the destruction of the city,” she explains. “The thought of all those people just frozen in time had quite an effect on me and I am still excited by their dangerous beauty today.”
Nowadays, volcanoes are getting more and more unpredictable. There have been many changes in sea level caused by global warming and melting ice caps. These have resulted in some dormant volcanoes erupting, so studying them is more dangerous than ever before. Hazel says that although she doesn’t take any unnecessary risk she has had some frightening moments. Her worst experience was on the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily, when she was slowly surrounded by lava. “I had a choice of walking ten hours to get around the lava flow or just walking across it,” she explains. She chose to pick a path across the cooler rocks in the lava stream. “I guess it was five metres. The flow was 1,000°C, so if you hesitated your boots would begin to melt. It was scary, but it really was a practical decision --- there wasn't time to do anything else.”
And what about the future? “I haven’t been to the volcanoes in Indonesia yet. And I would love to spend some time working in the Antarctic,” she says. “I would also like to know why quiet lava flows erupt from some volcanoes and why other volcanoes go bang.” In other words, Hazel Rymer won’t be exchanging her volcanoes for the relative safety of driving to work just yet.
【小题1】Hazel’s claim that “driving to work is more risky” than exploring volcanoes shows that ______.

Three high students become heroes after their act of saving a baby’s life.

Andrew Willis, 15, his brother Chris, 13, and friend Reece Galea, 14, were walking along Swallow Drive on their way to school on May 23, when Nicholle Price ran out of her house, shouting for help. Her six-month-old son Corey had swallowed (吞下) an earring （耳环） and the young mother couldn’t ring for help because something was wrong with her phone. The three teenagers rushed to the aid of Ms Price, called an ambulance (救护车), calmed her down and waited with her until the ambulance arrived before heading to school.

Ms Price, Corey and his grandmother Joyce Finnie visited the school last Thursday to thank the boys for their kind action. “It’s good to know that there are still some good people who will stop and help,” Ms Price said. “While I was shouting for help, a woman walking her dog went straight past, without stopping. I don’t know what would have happened if these boys had not stopped.”

The teenagers were shocked at the attention they received at school for their heroic act but admitted that the incident was nerve-racking(刺激神经的). “We heard her shouting so we knew something wasn’t right,” Andrew said. “We thought someone had died. It was scary （惊慌的） but we just did what we had to do.”

Just as proud as the boys’ parents is their principal, Tim McCallum.

After two days in hospital, Corey has now fully recovered. “He’s got two new teeth to show,” Ms Price said. “I have to keep a closer eye on him. He’s into everything now and grabs whatever he finds to put it straight into his mouth.”

1.The three high students were _____ when a woman ran out of her house shouting for help.

A．playing near the house

B．on their way to school

C．walking their dogs nearby

D．on their way back from school

2.Ms Price spoke of a woman walking her dog without stopping to show _____.

A．how dangerous the case was

B．how brave the three boys were

C．why the three teenagers’ action was heroic

D．how clever the three boys were

3.The underlined sentence in the 4th paragraph probably means “_____”.

A．they didn’t expect they would be given so much praise

B．they felt excited to have become so famous after the incident

C．they were supposed to receive so many prizes for their good deed

D．they were proud of the attention they received at school for their heroic deed

4.Which would be the best title for this passage?

A．How a baby was saved after swallowing an earring

B．Why the mother shouted for help

C．Baby life saved: teenage heroes earn high praise

D．A mother came to school to thank 3 teenagers

As soon as I saw the cat in our yard, I knew he was a stray (流浪儿). He looked  36 —a wounded warrior with a badly scarred body.
I started putting out food for him each day, but he wouldn’t come near me if other people were  37 . Winter came, and he still wouldn’t  38  us. Then, one day, a car hit him so we took him to the vet’s.
After a week, we were eager to bring him home to  39  our family. But when we went to take the cat home, the vet told us we should put him to  40  immediately because the cat was so fierce and mean that he would  41  become tame , let alone a pet.
But I have always had  42  in love’s power to  43  even the wildest beasts. I told the vet, “I want to take him home.” We  44  him Paws.
Three days went by, and we only knew Paws was  45  the bed because when we walked past it we heard deep growling.
I wanted to somehow let him know he was  46  and loved. So I put on a hard hat and a pair of welding gloves. I  47  under the bed toward Paws, with my face to the  48  and only the top of my head facing him. I  49  out to stroke (抚摩) him gently over and over again.
He growled and tried to  50  and bite me. It was scary—but I knew he couldn’t  51  me, so I just kept going. Slowly, he began to  52 . Then I slid out from under the bed and left the room.
Several hours later, I noticed a cat on the bed. It was Paws—all  53  on the pillows! I couldn’t believe it.
That dear cat became the  54  of our household. Although Paws finally died of cancer, his legacy(遗赠)—my  55  and firm belief in the power of love — lives on.

After a lot of weightlifting and 25 exhausting days training, a 52-year-old woman recently became the first female “gripman” on San Francisco’s historic cable cars.

Fannie Barnes passed her written test and completed a final run under the watchful eye of a supervisor, Municipal Railway spokesman Alan Siegel said.

Deep calluses(茧) are already forming at the base of her fingers and there is a hole in her glove. Two other women quit after a single day with injured muscles. “Now they’re going to have to change the word from gripman to grip person, just because of me,” Barnes said earlier, “I’m so excited.”

After almost a year of serious workouts, Barns can pull more than 61 kilos, only 23 kilos less than her body weight. And she’ll need the muscle, for this is no modern, push-button technology. Every time a car starts up again after making a stop, the gripman must haul back on a lever controlling a device that grips the cable, which runs continuously at 14 kilometers per hour. If the grip slips, so does the car. A second person operates the brakes.

In addition to having to throw her weight around on the job, she’s got to throw out some attitude to men who were hard to convince. The city employs 76 men in the job.

“A lot of men said mean things to me and didn’t want to help train me. But I would like to thank the guys who were against me because they gave me even more inspiration to do it.” she said.

Not all the men were against her. Many of the male colleagues yelled out support as she did her training runs. One of her biggest tests was drizzly December morning. She first went down the Hyde Street Hill, considered the most dangerous incline on the cable car routes. “I had to have the will and I had to believe I could do it,” she said. “It was scary, but as I started going down full grip and felt that I was in control, I knew I was on my way,” Barnes already is a pioneer of sorts. She started working as a cable car conductor six years ago, collecting fares and assisting on the back brake. She is one of only three women to have that job. But she said she always wanted the job up front on the car. (400)

What is unusual about Fannie Barnes getting a job as a gripman?

 A. She is the oldest one to work as a grpman.

 B. She is the first women to work as a gripman.

 C. She is the fattest women to work as a gripman.

 D. She is the most suitable one to work as a gripman.

What did the 52-year-old woman do when she first began working on the city’s cable car?

 A. As a gripman.    B. As a conductor.    C. As a brakeman.  D. As a supervisor.

It can be inferred from the passage that Fannie Barnes is ________.

A. strong and easy-going            B. strong-willed and self-confident

C. popular and humorous            D. considerate and quick-tempered

When Chato’s barking didn’t stir Jerrica Seals, the recently adopted dog tried nibbling on the teenager’s leg to get the girl out of the burning house.?

    “No one was hurt.” Fort Myers firefighters responded at about 7:00 a.m.

    Five people lived in the Garcia’s home. That was neighbor Janice Hamilton’s main concern when she looked out of her window Friday and saw the flames. “I just threw my pants on to run outside and make sure they knew how many people lived there,” Hamilton said. “It was scary.”

    “Seals called me screamingly,” said Leticia Vega, 36, the sister of Seals’ boyfriend, Javier Garcia, 23, who owns the house. “She said the dog woke her up barking, jumped on the bed and bit her on the leg.”?

    It is said that Garcia’s brother brought Chato home several weeks ago after the animal wandered onto a Lehigh Acres construction site. Since then, Vega said, Chato had been mostly quiet until it mattered. “He doesn’t usually bark.” Vega said. “He’s really friendly.”?

    According to deputy fire chief Steve Clyatt, possibly the fire started because of an improper extension cord(电缆) used on a window air conditioner. More than half of the house was burned down. There was extensive smoke and water damage in the remainder of the structure. Estimates （估计）for repair costs were unavailable. “I’d say it’s unlikely they will recover this, but I’ve been surprised before.” Clyatt said.?

1. Which of the following would be the best title for the passage??

    A. Janice Hamilton Helps Save Neighbors?

    B. Firefighters Put out House Fire?

    C. A Dog Saves the Whole Family from House Fire?

    D. Family Needs Help Due to House Fire

2. The underlined word “they” in the third paragraph most probably refers to _______.

    A. other neighbors?                              B. Hamilton’s family members?

    C. Vega and her brother Garcia?             D. the firefighters

3. By saying “I’d say it’s unlikely they will recover this, but I’ve been surprised before.” in the

   last paragraph, Clyatt means _______.?

    A. it’s a wonder that Seals survived the fire?    B. the house was badly damaged?

    C. such a big fire was seldom seen?            D. Chato is a very clever dog

4. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT mentioned??

    A. The person who called the firefighters.?

    B. The possible cause of the accident.?

    C. The relationship between Seals and Garcia.?

    D. The owner of the house.