10．Paracutin was born in Mexico in February，1943．At the end of one week Paracutin was 500feet high，and it is now over 9，000feet high．Today Paracutin is asleep．
Whatis Paracutin？It was the first volcano in the world which was seen from its birth right up to the present day．On February 20，1943，a peasant and his wife set out to work in their corn fields from the Mexican village of Paracutin．They were surprised to find the earth warm under their feet．Suddenly they heard noises deep in the earth and a small hole appeared in their field．In the afternoon there was a sudden loud noise and stones were thrown high in the air．The peasants ran from the field and turned to watch．They saw the birth of a volcano．
Large quantities of stone and lava broke out and a little hill began to form．By evening this hill was 100feet high and hot ashes were falling on the village．At night the strong light of the hot lava lit up the countryside．The trees near the village were killed and the villagers had to leave their houses．When the village was destroyed，its name was given to the volcano．The news quickly reached Mexico City，far to the east．Many people came to watch the scene．The volcano grew and grew for ten years and hundreds of square miles of forest were destroyed．Then Paracutin went to sleep．
51．Paracutin was once the name ofB．
A．a peasant
B．a village
C．an old mountain
D．a Mexican
52．What was destroyed in the growing up of the volcano？C
A．The little hill of stone．
B．The villagers living close by．
C．The forests and fields round Paracutin．
D．The Mexican peasant and his wife．
53．In this passage the writer is trying toA．
A．tell us an interesting happening
B．explain a scientific theory
C．make us believe something
D．make up an interesting story
54．What can we learn about volcanoes from this passage？A
A．New volcanoes may appear in places where people do not expect them to be．
B．Volcanoes are always growing．
C．Volcanoes are active from time to time．
D．New volcanoes are active for only ten years．
分析 本文介绍了墨西哥Paracutin火山的一些信息并描述了1943年2月20 日火山喷发的全过程．
解答 51．B 细节理解题．根据第二段的 theMexican village of Paracutin 以及第三段的 When the village was destroyed，its namewas given to the volcano 可知Paracutin 曾经是一个村子名．故选B．
52．C 细节理解题．根据第三段的 Thevolcano grew and grew for ten years and hundreds of square miles of forest weredestroyed 火山生长了十年，数百平方英里的森林被毁，故选C．
53．A 推理判断题．此题可用排除法做，本文描述了1943年2月20 日墨西哥Paracutin 火山喷发的全过程．不是科学理论，也不是编造的故事，目的不是让我们相信什么，选项B、C、D显然与原文不符，故选A．
54．A推理判断题．根据文章内容和一般常识可以排除选项B、C和D，而且从文章中我们可以了解到那个村庄没有人知道会有火山爆发，所以答案应为A．
点评 本文是故事类阅读，主要考查细节理解题和推理判断题．在做细节理解题时，首先根据题目要求迅速在文章里找出相应的段落、句子或短语．认真比较选项和文中细节的区别，在做推理判断题时不要以个人的主观想象代替文章的事实，要根据文章事实进行合乎逻辑的推理判断．
