The following conversation is between Susan Russell-Robinson from the US Geological （地质学的）Survey and Barbara Reynolds from USA Today .
Q: Why , after 600 years of no activity , did Mount Pinatubo in Philippines erupt（喷发）in 1991 ?
A: Volcanoes （火山）each have their own eruption styles . This volcano probably has a rule which makes it erupt in the order of every 500 to 1000 years , but a volcano in Hawaii seems to erupt every year , and some of the Alaskan volcanoes might erupt every 10 or 20 years .
Q: So nothing caused it ?
A: There’s nothing out of the ordinary . If you were to take an ordinary calendar year , 50 to 75 or 80 volcanoes erupt around the world every year . There are 20 to 30 volcanoes every month that show signs of unrest . That might be a full-blown eruption or a whole host of activities like that .
Q: What is “the ring of fire” ?
A: If you look at where active volcanoes are placed around the world , there are somewhere between 500 and 600 of them . There is what appears to be almost a necklace that goes around the Pacific Ocean . It makes a ring where 60% of the world’s volcanoes lie .
Q: Why such a concentration（集中）there ?
A: That’s based on a theory that the oceans and the continents are like separate pieces . When they move , one might ride up over the other one . In this case , the Pacific Ocean goes under the continents and when that happens it seems to produce magma （熔岩）at depth and then you have volcanoes in the same ring .
1．What kind of writing do you think this passage is ?
A．A text taken from a geography book . B．An interview published in the press .
C．A conversation carried out in a film . D．An oral test recorded as an example .
2．Which of the following statements can correctly explain why we have so many volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean ?
A．The movement of the surface of the earth makes it possible.
B．The Pacific Ocean produces magma and presses it everywhere.
C．The oceans and the continents are separated from each other.
D．The earth’s surface around the Pacific is thinner than any other part.
3．Barbara Reynolds’ main purpose here is______________ .
A．to show how dangerous volcanoes are to the world
B．to learn what signs a volcano gives us before its eruption
C．to warn the world of the existence of “the ring of fire”
D．to introduce some general idea of volcanoes to the public
4．Which of the following can be considered as the best conclusion of the conversation?
A．There are so many volcanoes in the world and we are always in danger.
B．Volcanoes have erupted more frequently than ever before.
C．Volcanoes are waiting to be better known.
D．Something must be done to protect the people near the ring of fire.
