Ⅵ. Read and finish the tasks.
A. Complete the passage with the proper form of the words in the box.
rush, begin, coach, quick, shower, scared, leave, spend, behind, crowded
Pliny and his mother were living in a small town near Pompeii.
One night, Pliny was sleeping soundly when the ground 1. shaking. The bed in his room was also shaking. His mother, filled with fear, 2. into his room, shouting, “Pliny, wake up! We must leave!”
They ran outside, and the cold night air hit their faces. Pliny’s mother was so 3. that she kept her eyes wide open all the time. They 4. the whole night outside.
At six o’clock the next morning, buildings were still shaking. The roads were 5. as people were hurrying to escape. When the mother and the son got to a place outside the town, their 6. couldn’t go straight ahead. At the same time, the seawater moved back suddenly. Many sea animals 7. on the beach.
Pliny looked up and saw a huge dark cloud over Mount Vesuvius. It was spreading 8. , covering the sea and then approaching them. His mother asked him to escape and leave her 9. , but Pliny refused.
As they were moving forward, the cloud was turning day into night. Ash began to fall in heavy 10. , and people around were shouting and crying. Finally, when the daylight came back, Pliny and his mother found everything was covered with ash. After that horrible night, they were too tired to think about what would happen ahead.
B. Read the passage again and choose the best answer.
()1. What does the underlined word “It” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
A. The cold air.
B. The huge dark cloud.
C. The sea animal.
D. The shaking ground.
()2. What is the writer’s purpose in writing the passage?
A. To introduce a great person in history.
B. To explain how to survive in a mountain.
C. To describe the beauty of an ancient town.
D. To show the event during a natural disaster.
()3. Where can you probably find the passage?
A. On a news website.
B. On a noticeboard.
C. In a sports newspaper.
D. In a fashion magazine.

A. 1. began 2. rushed 3. scared 4. spent 5. crowded 6. coach 7. were left 8. quickly 9. behind 10. showers
B. 1. B 2. D 3. A

【分析】本题分为两部分，A部分为词汇运用题，需先明确方框内单词的词义、词性，再结合短文语境、时态、词性变化及固定搭配确定每个空的正确形式；B部分为阅读理解选择题，需根据短文细节、主旨大意及文体特征分析选项，选出最佳答案。
【解析】A部分：1. 结合语境“地面开始震动”，用begin的过去式began；2. 妈妈因恐惧冲进房间，用rush的过去式rushed；3. 描述妈妈的状态，用形容词scared；4. 表示“度过整晚”，用spend的过去式spent；5. 道路因人们逃生而拥挤，用形容词crowded；6. 结合语境“无法直行”，此处指交通工具，用名词coach；7. 海洋动物被留在沙滩，用被动语态were left；8. 修饰动词spreading，用副词quickly；9. 固定搭配“leave behind”（留下），填behind；10. 表示“大量的阵雨（ash showers）”，用名词复数showers。B部分：1. 第五段中It指代前文的“huge dark cloud”，选B；2. 文章主要描述火山喷发时的事件，作者目的是展示自然灾害中的事件，选D；3. 文章为记叙文，讲述历史事件，最可能出现在新闻网站，选A。
【答案】A. 1. began 2. rushed 3. scared 4. spent 5. crowded 6. coach 7. were left 8. quickly 9. behind 10. showers；B. 1.B 2.D 3.A
【知识点】英语词汇运用、阅读理解
【点评】本题综合考查初中英语核心考点，涵盖词汇变形与阅读理解能力，题型常规，需学生掌握词汇语境运用及阅读技巧，难度适中。
【难度系数】0.6