3. Imagine that you are the first person ever to see Hawaii. What would be the first thing you would set foot on?
The beach, naturally. There are hundreds of miles of beaches on the twenty islands of Hawaii. These islands cover 1,600 miles and are about 2,300 miles west of California. Most of them are covered with fine white sand. They are thought to be among the finest beaches in the world.
Another wonderful thing about the beaches of Hawaii is the water temperature. The year-round average (平均)temperature of the water at the famous Waikiki Beach is 23
0C!
The same is true of air temperature. In fact, there are no real seasons in Hawaii. There is a difference of only two or three degrees between the hottest day of summer and the coldest day of winter. That’s why the Hawaiians don’t have a word for weather in their language.
Perhaps the nicest thing about Hawaiian beaches are the waves. The earliest settlers (定居者) in Hawaii, the Polynesians, quickly learned how much fun it was to ride the waves. They developed a sport which is now very popular on the islands called body surfing. You go out into the ocean, wait for a big wave to come towards you, jump on it, and ride it all the way to the beach.
Now imagine once again that you are the first person ever to set foot in Hawaii. What do you think would be the second beautiful thing you would notice?
Would it be those strange triangles (三角形状物) rising out of the water hundreds and hundreds of meters high? What are those beautiful things? They are volcanoes (火山), of course. These volcanoes are not just a part of the islands. They made the islands at first. Because of them the islands are still growing.
The most famous volcano on Hawaii is Mauna Loa. It is the world’s most active volcano. It has been erupting (喷发) for thousands of years. Even when it isn’t erupting, smoke comes out of the earth from a thousand little holes.
In 1950 Mauna Loa erupted for twenty-three days. That erupting produced the greatest amount of lava (熔岩) in modern history. In 1960 it erupted again. That time it added a kilometer of beach to the island. Because Mauna Loa has erupted so often, it has become the biggest (but not the tallest) mountain in the world.
These volcanoes could be dangerous to the population of Hawaii. In fact, Hilo, the second largest city in Hawaii, is built just under Mauna Loa. The volcano could erupt at any time. Most people believe that it will erupt sometime in the next twenty-five years. But the people of Hilo do not seem worried. They live with the danger as part of their lives.
【小题1】According to the passage, what are the two most beautiful things in Hawaii?
| A．Waves and cities. |
| B．Beaches and language. |
| C．Volcanoes and beaches. |
| D．Volcanoes and people. |
【小题2】Which is NOT the reason why the Hawaiians don’t have a word for weather in their language?
A. There are no real seasons in Hawaii.
B. The temperature of the water at one of the beaches is always 23
0C.
C. The Hawaiians feel almost the same in the hottest day and coldest day.
D. There is not much difference in air temperature all the year round in Hawaii.
【小题3】It can be inferred that _________ according to the passage.
| A．volcanoes are more active because the area of the island is enlarging |
| B．the visitors to Hawaii can probably see more than one active volcano |
| C．Mauna Loa is the tallest mountain in the world because it has erupted so often |
| D．people in Hilo are sure that more visitors will come because of volcanoes |
