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Seeing a volcano erupt is a wonderful experience, and you can really feel the heat by climbing to the summit of Pacaya for a close-up view. There are guided tours every day up this highly active volcano from Antigua, giving travelers a chance to see Mother Nature at her most powerful.
Pacaya is an easy drive from Antigua, a beautiful city with many colorful houses along its old streets that are turned into art-works during its Holy Week festival. No matter when you come to Antigua, you won’t miss the Pacaya-tour companies.
But climbing Pacaya is no easy job: it is 2560 meters high, and reaching the summit takes two to three hours of seemingly one-step-forward and two-step-back movements. As you climb, you hear the dull sounds of eruptions high above. Steaming, hot remains from recent eruptions begin to line the path as you near the active summit: the McKenney Cone （火山锥）. Just as though you were going to walk over the edge of the cone, the road turns to the left and up to the relative safety of the old, inactive summit.
Many tours are timed so that you arrive at the cone of the volcano in plenty of time for sunset and the full contrast between the erupting red lava（熔岩） and the darkening sky. On a good day the view from the summit is extremely exciting. The active mouth boils, sending red lava over its sides, and once in a while shoots hot streams up to 100 meters into the air. There is a strong bad smell in the air even if you take care to be upwind of the cone. As evening turns deeper into the night, the burning lava quietly falls down the side of the volcano. For you, too, it is time to get down.
1. What is the main purpose of this passage?
A. To attract tourists to Pacaya.
B. To describe the beauty of Pacaya.
C. To introduce guided tours to Pacaya.
D. To explain the power of nature at Pacaya.
2. Antigua is a city ______.
A. where people can enjoy cultural festivals
B. where the daring Pacaya tour starts
C. that gives a close-up view of Pacaya
D. that is famous for its tour companies
3. Climbing to the McKenney Cone, people will ______.
A. walk directly to the active summit
B. hear the continuous loud noise from above
C. make greater efforts than to other summits
D. see a path lined with remains of earlier eruptions
4. Many tours are timed for people to ______.
A. get down the mountain in time when night falls
B. avoid the smell from the upwind direction of cone
C. enjoy the fantastic eruption against the darkening sky
D. appreciate the scenery of the 2560-meter-high mountain
erupt v . （火山等）喷发，爆发
summit n . 绝顶，顶点，极点
close-up view 特写镜头；近摄
Mother Nature 自然的力量
art-works 艺术作品
remains n . 残余；遗体；遗迹
cone n . 尖峰，火山锥
inactive adj . 不活动的；不灵活的；停业的
upwind adv./adj . 逆风向地/的
1. There are guided tours every day up this highly active volcano from Antigua, giving travelers a chance to see Mother Nature at her most powerful.
（参考译文） 每天都有导游带队的登山之旅，从安提瓜攀登这座高度活跃的火山，让游客有机会领略大自然最为强大的一面。
2. But climbing Pacaya is no easy job: it is 2560 meters high, and reaching the summit takes two to three hours of seemingly one-step-forward and two-step-back movements.
no easy表示“绝不容易”，冒号后面的从句是用来解释为何“绝不容易”的，采用的是并列句结构，一句说明火山的高度，另外一句说明攀登的艰难。one-step-forward意即“前进一步”，two-step-back意思是“后退两步”。
（参考译文） 但是攀登帕卡亚火山绝不是件容易的事，这座火山海拨2560米，到达山顶需要两至三个小时，攀登似乎是前进一步、后退两步的运动。