For hundreds of years, Japan has been hit, from time to time, by enormous (巨大的) tsunamis（海嘯）. These awful sudden risings of the sea are caused by earthquakes or underwater volcanic actions. The story of the boy Yuuki is the story of such a disaster.
Yuuki lived with his family in a seaside village, below a small mountain. One day, as he played on top of the mountain, Yuuki felt a small earthquake but it was not strong enough to frighten anybody and passed quickly. Soon after, however, Yuuki noticed the sea darken and begin running away from the shore very fast, leaving behind wide stretches of beach that had never been seen before.
With a grasp, Yuuki remembered reading that just before a terrible tsunami, the sea suddenly and quickly rolls backward. He ran to the beach, warning the villagers who had gathered to admire the new beach land.
“Get back!” shouted the boy, “There is a terrible danger!”
But no one listened. They laughed at him and continued playing in the new sand and watched the sea roll backward even more.
Desperate, Yuuki could think of only one thing to do. He lit a tree branch, raced to the rice fields and began burning the harvested rice. Then he called out, “Fire! Fire! Everyone run to the mountain! Now!”
When everyone reached the mountain-top, a villager cried out, “Yuuki is mad! I saw him set the fire.” Yuuki hung his head in shame, but said nothing as the villagers cursed him. Just then, someone shouted, “Look!”
In the distance what seemed to be a huge dark line was speeding towards the shore. As it got nearer the people realized the long thin line of darkness was the returning sea, towering like a mountain.
The villagers watched in terror as the water struck the shore, smashing over their homes then tearing out the land as it receded.
On the mountain everyone stared speechlessly at the destruction below.
“I'm sorry I burned the fields,” said Yuuki, his voice trembling.
“Yuuki,” village-chief answered. “You saved us all.”
The villagers cheered and raised Yuuki into the air. “We were going to
celebrate our rice harvest tonight,” said one, “but now we’ll celebrate that we’re all still alive!”
小題1:Where was Yuuki when the earthquake struck?
| A．On the beach. |
| B．On the mountain. |
| C．In the rice fields. |
| D．At his family home. |
小題2: In what order did the following events take place?
a. Yuuki set fire to the rice fields.
b. The villagers laughed and played on the beach.
c. The land was torn away by the water.
d. Yuuki ran to warn the villagers.
e. The villagers stared at the destruction.
f. The people were cursing Yuuki.
| A．d, b, e, a, c, f |
| B．b, a, d, e, c, f |
| C．d, b, a, f, c, e |
| D．a(chǎn), d, b, e, f, c |
小題3:How did Yuuki save the villagers from the disaster?
| A．He told them about the earthquake. |
| B．He explained why the sea was flowing out. |
| C．He told the village chief to warn the people. |
| D．He set fire to the rice field. |
小題4:What were the people planning to do before the tsunami struck their village?
| A．Harvest the rice crop. |
| B．Play on the beach. |
| C．Climb the mountain. |
| D．Celebrate the rice harvest. |
