Eruption escape火山喷发逃生

侯昌玮

主题语境：工作与冒险 篇幅：363词 建议用时：7分钟

1 I am a scientist and I decided to study Mount Roderigo， in Italy. It is a beautifulplace with wonderful views from the top of the mountain. But it hides a terrible secret， forMount Roderigo is a volcano.

2 I was staying with a family who owned a farm not far from the volcano. The Piazzofamily lived there because Piazzo's eldest son， Jon Piazzo， worked as a guide for thetourists who visited the volcano. Anyway， I was staying with them because they lived soclose to the volcano， making it easy to study.

3 It happened very early in the morning. The ground shook so violently that I fell out ofbed. I pulled myself to my feet. Then it occurred to me to get to safety. I knocked loudly onthe door of Mr and Mrs Piazzo's room. We woke all of the five children. Down in the kitchenMrs Piazzo insisted on packing us all food. She argued that we were far enough from the volcanoto be safe for the time being.

4 Jon had a car and we all piled into it. We sped down the road. Suddenly we werejolted forward. It was a volcanic bomb. Jon swerved off the road into a wood that lined theroad. Then we crashed into a tree.

5 Looking back I saw lava （熔巖）. It was the flow， and it was coming closer. I tried torun faster， but I knew that， truly， there was no hope. I was going to die a very horrible death.

6 Above the flow， I saw the foothills ahead of me. I began to make my way up the hill. Iwas unbelievably lucky. I thought of all the people who hadn't been as lucky as me， maybeincluding the Piazzo family. I thought I fell asleep， because the next thing I knew was thatthe sun was making its way up the sky. And there were more survivors with me on the top ofthe mountain. To my great relief， the Piazzos were there too. I smiled at them. Three daysafter the eruption， I was in a hostel in a nearby city that had agreed to house the survivorsof the eruption.

Reading

Check

1. Why was the scientist staying with the Piazzo family？

A. They were relatives of the scientist.

B. They had the best facilities for tourists in the area.

C. They offered a convenient location for the scientist.

D. They provided the cheapest accommodation in the area.

2. What prompted the scientist to think of getting to safety？

A. A warning from Jon Piazzo.

B. The eruption of the volcano.

C. A violent shaking of the ground.

D. Loud noises coming from the volcano.

3. How did the Piazzo family and the scientist try to escape the volcanic danger？

A. On foot.

B. By driving Jons car.

C. By bicycle.

D. By bus.

4. How did the scientist and the Piazzos ultimately find safety？

A. They reached the top of a mountain.

B. They found a cave to hide in.

C. They were rescued by a helicopter.

D. They found a house on the top of the hill.

Language

Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text

The Piazzo family lived there because Piazzos eldest son， Jon Piazzo， worked as aguide for the tourists who visited the volcano. 皮亞佐一家人之所以住在那里，是因为皮亚佐的长子乔恩·皮亚佐是参观火山的游客的导游。

【点石成金】本句中，because引导原因状语从句；who引导定语从句，在从句中作主语；as在句中作介词。

Ⅱ. Fill in the blanks.

Our vacation on the tropical island was 1._________（wonder） until a terrible realitystruck. The ground shook 2._________（violent）， and a local screamed， “Volcano！” Thepeaceful paradise was now a scene of chaos. Ash filled the sky， and the earth roared wildly，3._________I had only read about in books.

The eruption 4._________（occur） with little warning. Our guide yelled for us to followhim to 5._________（safe）. We ran， unbelievably fast， lungs bursting as we gasped for airthrough the thickening haze. 6. _________（glance） back， I saw the once peaceful peak nowspitting fire.

We reached the evacuation zone just in time， 7._________（board） the last boat as moltenrock flowed down to the ocean behind us， sizzling and steaming as it met the cool water.8._________（relieve） washed over everyone's face as the shore became a distant outline.

As I looked around at the frightened 9._________safe faces， my heart calmed down.We escaped nature's terrible anger. That day， we all knew the power and 10._________（predictable）of Earth we call home.